Kia ora everyone,

We are delighted to be part of the Kōtuitui programme this term as not only do our tamariki enjoy Miramar Rangers coming once again to coach them in football but being part of the programme further supports our focus on  Self Determination | Tino Rangatiratanga. Through our literacy and inquiry, we are looking at how stories and history shape who we are and how we grow in understanding the many other rich cultures that surround us here at St Anthony’s. Kōtuitui is a school programme for tamariki to support them in developing their cultural intelligence skills to celebrate Aotearoa New Zealand's bicultural roots and our ever-growing multicultural landscape through football. An opportunity that enhances the learning for all of our tamariki and it begins next Thursday so could everyone come in P.E uniform please. 

Everyone was so excited with the arrival of our giant chess pieces and it has been wonderful to see the age range of our tamariki that love the game. Ka pai to those chess players who are busy teaching others how to play this strategy game. 

Ngā mihi nui ki a koe | great acknowledgments to you - Svylia Hull Trust for supporting us in purchasing this fantastic equipment.

We welcome back Lesley Mitrakas, who has had a wonderful time away in Greece - our tamariki and kaimahi | staff were thrilled to see her back!

We hope you are having fun creating the book character costumes for next Tuesday which is part of our Book Week. The Student Council has been busy planning for this event so we hope you can join us on Tuesday morning - we plan to begin the parade at 9 am. 

All of our tamariki have been gathering in their groups depending on which continent they are from and have been busy planning how they will share part of their culture. The teachers will be emailing you to see if you are happy with what the students would like to contribute and we welcome you to come along on any of the afternoons that you can. The celebration and learning about our various cultures is in Week 6, August 26 - 30 and the order of the continents will be

• Monday: Asia  
• Tuesday:Europe
• Wednesday:Africa 
• Thursday:Oceania: 
• Friday:America 

We hope you can join us at 1:40 pm to share in this fun and learning.  

We have discovered that we have some talented marketers as our Year 7 & 8 tamariki outlined the benefits and opportunities of completing their intermediate years at St Anthony’s. Be it digital, pen and paper, or even illustrations our senior students outlined life in Te Maunga as a Year 7 & 8. Some of the highlights were the leadership opportunities; A.R.I.S.E; Education Outside the Classroom such as the city each week and the beloved camp; learning to become a more independent learner and having many amazing learning opportunities such as Minecraft and Aquabots. Ka pai to Te Maunga for sharing their opinions so well to our Year 5 & 6. They were active learners!

Finally thanks to everyone who is collecting the Yummy Stickers - it is wonderful to see all the sheets arriving in the school office as it is an easy way to ensure we have new sports gear. Ka pai to you all! 

Key dates to remember:-

Tomorrow

- Assembly at 2:15 pm

Week 5

- Book Week and on Tuesday Book Character Day

Week 6

Our Celebration and Learning about the Cultures

- Tuesday, August 27 Our speaker event: John Parsons - have you registered yet? Please see the Board news below for details 

Ngā manaakitanga

Denise