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

Kia ora e te whānau

St Anthony’s Speaker Event Series: the Board focus with this series is to to promote community awareness of our school and issues that face us all. We have two events coming up this year that we hope our parent body will support. We would also love you to share the link and invite others in your networks who might be interested in the topics to register now!

Keeping Your Kids Safe Online, 28 August @7pm

We are pleased to announce that John Parsons, a highly sought-after cyber-safety expert, will be speaking at St Anthony’s on Tuesday, 27 August, at 7 pm. This event, a year in the making, is a unique opportunity for parents and community members to gain valuable insights into keeping our children safe in the digital world. John’s expertise is in high demand, and his presentations are known for being both informative, hard-hitting and engaging. His insights will empower us as a community to better understand the challenges our children face online and how we can support them in navigating these safely.

This free community event is for all parents and caregivers.  We encourage you to attend this session and take advantage of the opportunity to learn from one of the best in the field.

To register and for more information, please go to: https://www.eventbookings.com/b/event/keeping-your-kids-safe-online or QR code:

Health and Physical Education consultation - please complete survey

At least once every two years the School Board is required to consult with the parent community, school proprietor, and students about St Anthony’s Health and Physical Education programmes.

The purpose of consultation is to inform the school community about the Health and Physical Education programmes being delivered and to seek the community perspective and feedback regarding the health education needs of our students for future planning.

 This week parents were sent a Hero notice about the Health and Physical Education Consultation.  The survey is found via this link: Health & Physical Education Consultation Survey

Please complete this survey.  The information you provide is a very important input into the planning and prioritisation about the health and physical education programmes implemented at St Anthony's School.

Mid year Student Achievement Report - Ka mau te wehi! Awesome!

One of the goals in the St Anthony’s School strategic plan is that “Our tamariki develop the skills/attributes they need to succeed across the school curriculum and realise their all-round potential.”   We have high expectations for our students and formally report on student progress and achievement twice per year.  

We are thrilled to recognise our students’ achievements and acknowledge the high teaching standards that have been demonstrated in the mid year student achievement report.  School-wide highlights are:

• Reading: 86% of students are on track to be working ‘at’ or ‘above’ their expected curriculum level in Reading.  29% of all students are on track to be working ‘above’ their curriculum level at year-end.
• Writing: 80% of students are on track to be writing ‘at’ or ‘above’ their expected curriculum level.  25% of students are on track to be ‘above’ their curriculum level at year-end.
• Mathematics: 91% of students are on track to be achieving ‘at’ or ‘above’ their expected curriculum level in Mathematics.  Note: our Year 8 achievements: 86% of our Year 8 students are on track to be working ‘at’ or ‘above’ their expected curriculum level.

Our students' impressive mid-year achievement results are a direct reflection of the teaching pedagogy and dedication of our teaching staff at St Anthony's.   Our teachers continuously review, adapt and refine their teaching methods to meet the diverse needs of our students, ensuring that each child is challenged, supported, and inspired to reach their full potential.  Professional development, collaboration, and lesson planning as well as always striving to provide the highest quality education are the characteristics of St Anthony’s teaching staff. 

Congratulations and well done to students and teachers and we look forward to year end results.

2025 Bazaar

The St Anthony's School and Community Bazaar is coming up in February next year, and your enthusiasm and energy will make it a smashing success! This isn’t just any event; it’s our chance to come together as a community, have fun, and make a real difference for our school and Church. This is a significant fundraiser, and your involvement—whether it’s volunteering, contributing to stalls, or participating in the preparations —matters more than ever. Every bit of effort you put in directly benefits our kids and enhances our learning environment, creating lasting memories and a stronger community.   Watch for ways you can be involved in upcoming newsletters.

Whāia te iti kahurangi ki te tūohu koe me he maunga teitei

Seek the treasure you value most dearly: if you bow your head, let it be to a lofty mountain

This whakatauki is about aiming high or for what is truly valuable, be persistent and don't let obstacles stop you from reaching your goal.

Next Tuesday on the 20th August, Week 5, we will be having Book Character Day as part of Book Week. We ask that your child comes dressed up as a book character but cannot dress up as a character from a movie. 

It is a competition, that we the Student Council will be judging so there will be prizes and different categories that they will be able to win: Best Junior, Best Senior, Most Creative, Best Group, and Best House. 

Your child will need to come to school that day dressed as their character, and we will have a parade outside depending on the weather. So feel free to come and watch the parade, it will be starting at 9am. 

Thank you

St Anthony’s Student Council

It was great having Constable Aaron Dan visit us in Week 2 as we began learning about how to keep ourselves and others safe. Te Maunga wrote about some of the things we discussed. Here are two of our authors:

Safety

Most people don’t know what the number 105 is for. This number is for when there is no danger and you don’t need the Police straight away. For example, someone robs your house but the robber is not there, so there is no immediate danger in your house. 111 is for when the robber is still in the house.

In New Zealand, Police Officers don’t carry around guns because our country is more sage than other countries. But there is only one type of Police Officer who carries a gun in NZ - that is airport Police. Did you know it is illegal to carry weapons around? You can’t carry around knives, pepper spray, guns, and a lot of other weapons. But say if you are a butcher and you’re taking your knife to work, that is fine because you aren’t going to kill someone. It is okay if you are just taking it to work.

Have you ever been told that someone else is being abused and they say not to tell anyone else? Well here is the best thing to do - you should tell your parents, their parents, or the teachers. You can really help them out. It is really important to tell someone because their safety is at risk. 

Have you ever been home alone? Well, the legal age to be home alone is 14. A lot of parents leave their kids at home who are under 14. It’s alright if you’re slightly underage and your parents are just popping out quickly. So if you're underage and your parents won’t be back for hours or days, then that is illegal.

A lot of these things are really important to keep yourself and others safe. Especially if you don’t know what to do when you are being abused. Your safety is vital.

By Emily

Keeping Ourselves Safe

Keeping yourself safe is all about being aware. You can never be safe if you’re not aware of the situation you’re in. You need to ask questions such as if your friends are pressuring you to do something ask them or yourself what is the outcome. What are the consequences? If you’re about to go for a walk alone at night to clear your head, you need to think if your neighbourhood is safe. There’s no need to be a control freak but just realise the outcome.

If you are being put in danger against your will/wants, then you can call 111. The Police can’t deny a call for sounding silly. If you’re feeling like you’re not really in danger and just paranoid it is still okay to seek help. If you’re not in immediate danger, you call 105 or you call a trusted friend/adult to comfort you. No matter what, there is someone there for you, immediate danger or mental. You just need to know who.

Abuse is a scary thing. Sometimes you can be getting abused and not even realise it. Abuse can be online, emotional, physical, sexual and neglect. Your parents may be abusing you and you might not even realise it - if they don’t change your diapers or don’t take you to the doctor then that is neglect because they aren’t being a good caretaker. And sometimes you may notice but not think it's serious enough to report. Being hit or beaten with a belt or wooden spoon is illegal and not a joke. These things may seem harmless but they’re not.

Keeping yourself safe is vital for your wellbeing. Always stay aware and make sure you stay safe.

By Tom

Te Maunga had an enjoyable time in the City for our first Friday experience this term. We went to City Gallery to play with plasticine. Our focus question was: How would you represent the digital world in tactile form? We had to think about the digital world and use plasticine to model a part of it that is important to us. We then had to recreate our model using only marbles or snake shapes. The next part of the challenge (which we did not get to) was to then recreate our model again using balloons. Next week we will learn how this all links to the new exhibition at Te Papa: Generation X.

We love hearing feedback on how our tamariki are going outside school life and appreciated hearing from the coach of our combined Holy Cross and St Anthony's netball team on recent success with our girls. Ka pai McKenzy and Olive! From their coach:

McKenzy Paese was awarded player of the day for her outstanding goal shooting. She scored the majority of the goals throughout the game and as always she was calm, focused and cool as a cucumber under pressure. (As a side note, both McKenzy and Olive are a delight and blessing to have in the team and we always look forward to having them join us each year!)