Special Character 22 February 2017

We have had a very prayerful start to the year.  It was amazing to welcome 52 new students and families to the school last week. With such a big group of new families we really need to extend our welcome to our new families and help them to feel part of our community.

Each week we have a liturgy on Monday morning at 9am, families are welcome to attend and pray with us.  Most Thursday mornings we celebrate mass at 9am in the Chapel, all welcome. Our first Thursday mass in week 2  was to bless the Liturgical and House leaders for this year, classroom masses have now begun.

Last Thursday night the Bishop blessed the staff of the local schools, thank you to the students and families who attended to support our school. 

Next Sunday we look forward to the combined Parish Mass at Aquinas college, 10:30am, Sunday 5 March. Followed by a Parish picnic.

Our first School Parish Mass is on Sunday 26 March at 10:30am.

It is great to see the children’s liturgy has started at the 10:30am mass on Sunday.  Many of our families attend this mass and if you have any questions about attending mass please just ask me.

Staff have prayer in the chapel on a Tuesday morning, if you have an intention you would like us to include in our prayers please email me, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Lent
Lent begins next week, students will make their lenten promises which we will pray for in our Promise Liturgy on Monday.  An Ash Wednesday Liturgy will be at 10am in the BAMJC, we extend an invite to all our community. 

Lent is a time for us to grow more ‘Christlike’ to challenge ourselves to do better each day.  It is a great time to make new ‘good habits’.  It is always a challenge to come up with a lenten promise - a good idea is to ‘take something positive’ up - setting aside time each day to pray as an individual or a family, helping those in need... It also provides an opportunity to work on things as a family. 

Atrium
Atrium for the junior school has begun for the year and we would like to thank; Mary Pat, Noelene and Desiree for all the wonderful work that they do each week to help our students develop their relationship with God. 

Target
This year as a school, we will be focusing on Scripture. Our target is to provide opportunities for : All students to increase their knowledge and understanding of the relevance of scripture in their daily lives.   I will let you know further details on this throughout the year.

E te Atua Manaaki ki a koutou

Teresa Rush
Director of Religious Studies

Parent Information Evening Term 1 2017

In Week 2 this term we had a parent information evening on future focused and collaborative teaching and learning.  If you missed it, you can access the slideshow here.  Over the next few weeks we will be answering the questions, that were raised at that meeting, in our newsletter and on our website.  

How is St Mary’s School preparing our students for secondary school, university and more ‘traditional’ environments?

At St Mary’s we work hard to make the transition to Intermediate and secondary school as smooth as possible.  Our job is prepare students both academically and socially and over the last couple of year’s we have been working closely with Aquinas College so that important information is shared. 

We are preparing our students for life in a changed and changing world.  Education must prepare our children “for jobs that don’t yet exist, to use technologies that have not been invented and to solve problems that we don’t even know are problems yet” Kath Murdoch sums it up nicely in this 2 minute clip: http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/content/download/83861/651458/version/1/file/Karen+sewell.mp4

Research states that the successful transition to school and the ability to deal with change relies heavily on the students acquiring certain key dispositions or competencies.  These competencies are a valued aspect of the teaching and learning in our classrooms and align closely with our Catholic Character.  

As required by the New Zealand Curriculum, we place an emphasis on the following Key Competencies:   Thinking; Using Language, Symbols and Texts; Managing Self; Relating to Others; Participating and Contributing.  You can find more information about the NZC Key Competencies here: http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/Key-competencies/Capable-kids-Working-with-the-key-competencies.

ERO, through their research on ‘Transition from Primary to secondary’, has identified the following aspects that make transition successful:  “How well students respond to the changes is largely dependent on two key aspects – students’ personal resources and coping skills (such as their acquisition of the Key Competencies described in The New Zealand Curriculum framework); [2] and the school culture into which students transition. Schools can support students to make successful transitions by helping them to develop a sense of themselves as competent and capable beings characterised by:

• a ’can-do’ attitude
• a sense of self capability
• resourcefulness
• resilience
• strategies to deal with challenges
• independence
• skills relating to others such as listening actively, being tolerant and cooperation
• a sense of contribution to school and community.

At St Mary’s, we are excited to join you in the journey of developing lifelong learners who are able to collaborate, be creative, and solve problems that really matter in all of the environments that they encounter.  

Anna MacKinnon

Deputy Principal

Christmas present delivery to Merivale School by the Young Vinnies

On Friday 2nd December 47 students of the St Mary’s Young Vinnies group went to Merivale School. We brought a shared lunch and a Christmas present for each of the students at Merivale School. The Young Vinnies have been working on this project all term by sorting, wrapping and labelling the donated toys. We are pleased to have had the opportunity to share a bit of Christmas joy with the Merivale School students.  It was lovely to see the excitement in their faces as they unwrapped their presents.

The Young Vinnies brought along a shared lunch for the Merivale Students and the St Mary’s students to enjoy.

The Merivale students did their haka as a way of saying thank you to the Young Vinnies for the shared lunch and the Christmas presents that they were soon to receive. 

The Young Vinnies sang Mo Maria then performed their Haka Powhiri in gratitude for all that they had experienced throughout this year.

Liz Driver

Bus price increase 2017

Bus fares on Tauranga’s Schoolhopper bus network will increase at the beginning of term one 2017.
For Schoolhopper students, the new cash fare is $2.00 per trip from $1.90, just a 10 cent increase; and if using a Smartride concession card the new fare is $1.60 per trip from $1.51.

New gold group member - Kaleidoscope Child Care

Opening early in 2017 we welcome to our Gold Group Sponsor family Kaleidoscope Child Care.  A family owned and managed child care centre at 106 Eleventh Ave., Tauranga. 
www.kaleidoscopechildcare.co.nz
Email : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
For more information please email our centre manager Marama Vryer.

Jump Jam Champions!!!!

The St Mary’s Jump Jam squad once again had a successful time at the end of year championships, and for the third year running was the most successful school in the country. The North Island Jump Jam Championship was held in Tauranga at Baycourt on Saturday 5 November. The Boys Team were crowned North Island champions, the fourth year in a row they have won a title.
While not winning, our other two teams, the Seniors and the Juniors, both had great success in taking out second places in their divisions. The juniors coming second by the slimmest of margins for the second year in a row, and the Seniors doing an amazing job to come second in the toughest category of all. The person in charge of backstage was full of praise for all three teams as to how they conducted themselves, which was very pleasing to hear.
Once again I would like to give a huge thank you to all the parents who made this success possible. Especially the assistant coaches Tammy, Laura and Amy who take on such a big job and just go for it.
Kim Artus

Nutcracker with the Imperial Russian Ballet Company

Last weekend Alana Perrett and Isabella Marsh saw their dreams come true as they danced in The Nutcracker with the Imperial Russian Ballet company, in front of a sold out theatre.
The ballet company is conducting a tour of New Zealand and Australia, which sees local children performing alongside their professional dancers.  Isabella played a child and an angel, and Alana a mouse.
The girls had a very busy 6-week rehearsal schedule in the lead up to the two performances.  When the girls arrived at BayCourt for their final rehearsal they were surprised to see the Head Coach of the Russian Ballet Company instructing the professional dances in his All Blacks rugby jersey!
The dancers and staff spoke very little English so there was lots of hand movements and miming to communicate with each other.  The show included the most amazing stage props, beautiful costumes and magical moments including snowing on stage!
What a wonderful experience Alana and Isabella.  Congratulations!

Ra Whakangahau reminders

Key Times
The festival will start with a Powhiri at 8.30am, this will be closely followed with our school performance at 9.15am.  Both St Thomas More and Aquinas College Kapahaka Students will be present at the powhiri and will follow on from the performance of our school.  The first day will conclude at approximately 2.30pm. Performances start again at 9am Friday morning, with the final performance again at approximately 2.30pm.

School Based Organisation
Classes will run as normal during this time but teachers have been encouraged to spend as much time as possible taking in the unique opportunity the festival presents.  There are a number of food stalls that will be in operation during the day and children will be able to purchase items at interval and lunchtime should they wish to.  More information in regard to this is again available on our school website.

Key Messages for Parents
With over 5000 people expected to visit our school site over the two days there will firstly be a lot of extra people around our school site and surrounding area.  To help manage the traffic in around our school we are operating a park and ride service from Memorial Park however, it would be advisable to take extra care when collecting and dropping off students.  The eastern end of Harvey Street will also be closed to traffic from 8am until 3pm so please make sure you allow plenty of time to park appropriately and accompany students to and from your cars.
As parents we would like to, of course, encourage you to take the time to come down and enjoy the festival.  There is no charge to enter and morning tea and lunch times would present opportunities for you to watch the festival with your children.  As mentioned, food stalls are operating with many options for you to enjoy.
Food available at the Food Stalls
Hangi - $10
Raw Fish - $4
Mussel Fritter with Bread - $4
St Mary’s Maori Burger - $4
Pies - including the famous ‘Boil Up’ Pie - $4
Sausages Rolls & Savouries - $2
Sausage Sizzle - $2
Smoothies - $4
Ice Blocks & Ice Cream - $2 - $4
Fruit Cups - $3
Juice, Bottled Water - $2 - $3
Cakes, slices, muffins - various prices