Naumai e te whānau o te kura St Anthony's Tēnā Koutou Katoa 

Dear Parents and Caregivers

This week is NZ Bullying-Free Week ‘Whakanuia Tōu Āhua Ake! Celebrating Being Us!’

Student Wellbeing is paramount at St Anthony's and all teachers work collaboratively to create a supportive and safe learning environment where our students can grow and develop. All classes have been engaging in a myriad of activities throughout this week focusing on the NZ Bullying-Free initiative, discussing what bullying is and how it may make you feel, what to do if you are being bullied, as well as what to do if you see others being bullied. Please join us for our School Assembly on Friday at 2.15pm in the Church, led by Hoiho Class. Classes will be sharing their learning with us.

Last week, Years 5-8 students completed the NZCER Wellbeing at School Survey. As a staff, led by Jeannine Winton our Kahui Ako In-school teacher, we will be analysing this year's data and comparing it with the 2018 data collected in April and November. Findings will help inform further wellbeing initiatives within our school and clarify key areas of focus for the rest of the year. We look forward to sharing these key areas with you in a future newsletter.

Open communication within our school community is key to the success of any wellbeing programme. All staff members are committed to making themselves regularly available to discuss student needs and/or any issues at hand. This is an area that we prioritise and look forward to continuing to enhance positive relationships with whānau to benefit our students.

At St Anthony's, we have a responsibility to respect and protect all of our students even when they have made poor choices. All schools have students who present challenging behaviour at times. As professionals, we have knowledge and training on how to support these children during their heightened times of stress/anxiety, as well as supporting the children who may have been affected by these behaviours. 

A reminder that as per our school policy, it is not appropriate for an adult to approach a child from another family. It is important that the classroom teacher is contacted in the first instance and the matter will be investigated. The sooner issues are addressed by the teacher, the quicker they can be resolved. However, if you feel that an issue hasn't been resolved or adequately addressed, please do not hesitate to contact me. 

We ask you for your support in following this process to maintain the values, beliefs and culture that is St Anthony's School.


Ngā manaakitanga

Jennifer Ioannou

PRINCIPAL