Kia ora everyone, 

Welcome to the school year of 2025 and a special haere mai to our new families! 

Nothing begins a year more significantly than our biannual bazaar and what an incredible day we had last Saturday! We were truly blessed with perfect weather, and the community came together to enjoy a spectacular Bazaar. With incredible bargains, endless fun, and an atmosphere full of joy and cheer, it turned into yet another unforgettable community event. A massive thank you to the amazing Bazaar team, who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to make this day a reality. Special thanks to the team leads who went above and beyond: Glen, Sian, Wendy, Eric, Simone, Ollie, Suzy, Steve, Paul, Catherine, Fareen, Sonia, Anna, Sophie, Kim and John – your dedication and hard work are deeply appreciated. We’d also like to thank our Samoan, Ethiopian, Iraqi, and Indian communities for bringing stunning, authentic dishes to the event – Ka pai!

Of course, no team can function without a leader, and we were fortunate to have a true superstar in Silke. She was an absolute powerhouse, pouring her heart and soul into every aspect of the Bazaar to ensure its success. No task was too big or too small for her, and we are incredibly grateful for her tireless commitment. Silke, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you for making it all possible!

Our thanks too to our wonderful staff - Sam, Deb, Eibhlin, Sophie and Ariana who worked endlessly to support both myself and the team to bring success to the day. We are truly blessed with an excellent staff. 

A huge thank you to our main sponsor, Steve Farrell, Ray White Real Estate, Auctioneer who once again shared his talent to hold our auction as well as and to all the wonderful businesses who supported us with generous donations. Please join us in returning the favor by supporting their businesses, as we are truly grateful for their contribution.

Kia ora rawa atu | Thank you very much to:

Congratulations to the winners of our main ticket raffle:

We hope you enjoy your winnings!

Finally please keep in your prayers the leader of our church, Pope Francis as he battles to return to good health. May the Lord put his loving arms around him. 

Ngā mihi nui

Denise

Nau mai haere mai

A big welcome from the School Board to all whānau returning and new to St Anthony’s. It’s wonderful to see our tamariki enjoying the start to the school year and making the most of this beautiful weather. We especially welcome our new tamariki, Sophie, Cindy, Amy, Fedor, Nirvana, and their whānau. We pray that your years at St Anthony’s are blessed and that your learning is combined with friendship, faith and fun.

 Bazaar 2025 

We were blessed with beautiful weather and would like to extend our thanks to the excellent team who led this day and to those who contributed either big and small to its success. A special thanks to Silke Koepl (Rebecca, Benedict and Jason) who was our wonderful organiser and did an amazing job of leading the planning committee for this community activity.  Thank you, danke schön Silke.

Our School Board 

The Board is a group of parent and proprietor representatives, the Principal, and a staff representative who collectively represent the St Anthony’s School community. The Board oversees the governance of the school and is the employer of all staff in the school. We are responsible for setting the school's strategic direction in consultation with parents, staff, and students, and for ensuring that our school provides a safe environment and quality education for all our students.

The first meeting of the year was held last Tuesday and we elected the Chair and Deputy-Chair of the Board for 2025. Congratulations to our returning Chair, Oliver Meech, and to our returning Deputy-Chair, Mark Mulhern. We are grateful for your commitment, energy, and enthusiasm to ensuring St Anthony’s is a great experience for all our tamariki, their whanau, and our staff.

To learn more about the Board’s role and membership, please see our website page: https://www.stants.school.nz/bot

Board membership update

We would like to say ngā mihi nui to David Crosbie for his time and contributions as a valued member of our school board. His dedication and commitment have made a meaningful impact on St Anthony’s, and we are grateful for his service. We send our best wishes to David, Dee, Glen, Gila, Leanne, and Glenys for this new chapter in their lives in Washington. Though they may be far away, they will always be part of our St Anthony’s community.  Go well and stay in touch (we’d love to see some photos)!

With David’s resignation from the Board, we co-opted Silke Koepl onto the Board for the remaining term before the school board election.  Thank you Silke for agreeing to take on this position.

School Board Elections 2025 – Get Involved!

Every three years, school board elections give parents and whānau the opportunity to help shape the direction of our school and make good governance decisions. The next election is in September 2025, and we’d love to see more of our community step forward. We need a diverse range of experiences and representation of our school community.  Board members work together, share ideas, and it’s a fantastic opportunity to develop new skills.  Free training and education are offered to every school board member through NZSTA’s range of learning and development opportunities, the Advisory and Support Centre, and their regionally based team of advisors.

This is a great opportunity to contribute to our school and share your knowledge and skills.  The time commitment is 2 meetings per term with some time for analysis and policy reviews (a couple of hours per term).  

If you’re curious about what’s involved, this link is to a helpful guide from the NZ School Trustees Association: https://www.schoolboardelections.org.nz/becoming-a-board-member/ 

If you're keen but have any concerns—like evening childcare or other barriers—please reach out for a chat. We’d love to make it work for you!  

For further information or if you have any questions, our email is bot@stants.school.nz 

You are invited to our Board meetings

Everyone is welcome to attend our school board hui which are held twice a term at school.  The next board hui starts at 6 pm on Tuesday 18 March.

Speakers’ programme 2025 – your ideas, please!

Our popular parent and community education speaker series has covered issues that face us all such as building resilience in our tamariki, healthy eating and movement for tamariki, and cyber-safety awareness and keeping our tamariki safe online. 

We are planning events in term 2 and term 3 and would like to hear from you about potential topics and/or recommendations for particular speakers.

Please email your ideas to office@stants.school.nz

Little Angels Mainly Play 

Little Angels Mainly Play, our playgroup for children under 5s at St Anthony’s, has started back this term.  This playgroup is a fun time of play and learning for 0- to 5-year-olds with their whānau members (Mums, Dads, Grandparents, and Caregivers). 

Each play session will be held every Friday during school term time starting at 10 am in the school library.

Love to see you there, all craft materials and morning tea provided. 

Ko ngā pae tawhiti whāia kia tata, ko ngā pae tata, whakamaua kia tina.

The potential for tomorrow depends on what we do today. 

SHEPHERD IN OUR PRAYERS Lifting Pope Francis in faith, hope, and love ...

“Pray for me.”

Reflection

Pope Francis has always reminded us of the great power of prayer. Time and time again, he has asked, “Pray for me.” Now, as he recovers in hospital, we have the opportunity to respond with faith and love. Throughout his leadership, he has challenged us to live with compassion, to stand up for the vulnerable, and to bring hope to the world. In this moment, we can return that gift by surrounding him with our prayers. As a global Church, as Catholic school communities, and as people of faith, let us unite in lifting up our shepherd, asking for strength, healing, and peace. May our prayers be a source of comfort for him, just as his words and witness have been a source of encouragement to us.

Story A group of young students once wrote letters to Pope Francis, thanking him for his kindness and his courage in speaking up for those in need. To their surprise, he wrote back! His message was very simple: “Pray for me.” Those three words remind us that no one is beyond the need for prayer – not even the Pope himself. Now, as he recovers in hospital, we are invited to take up that request with open hearts and strong faith.

Prayer

God living among us, you have called Pope Francis to lead with humility, courage and love. As he faces this time of recovery, we pray for his strength, for the hands of those who care for him, and for the peace of knowing that he is surrounded by the prayers of people all around the world. May he continue to be a voice of hope, a witness to Your love, and a reminder of the joy of the Gospel. Amen.

Blessing

May the healing presence of God surround Pope Francis, may the wisdom of the Spirit guide those who care for him, and may we, as a global Church, walk with him in prayer, sharing his hope, his courage, and his witness.

Amen.

We are a team of 1.4 billion and Pope Francis leads our team - his simply message is Pray for me and so our challenge is to do just that!

We congratulate Charlie on an awesome piece of writing to begin the year with. Ka pai Charlie

Stunning Seatoun Wharf

The stunning weather brought everyone down to Seatoun Wharf. Well that's what brought Cobie, Tyler, Me and my Dad down. It was packed! People everywhere! Was I ever going to get to take my jump?! When I looked down towards the shimmering ocean I saw arrays of silvery, silky fish. Everyone was gazing at them, that’s when I knew it was my time to jump!

My feet fled off the railing as I hit the water, a splash of salty sea water flew into my mouth and stained the good taste of strawberry mints. Cobie and Tyler still hadn't jumped because they were scared that it was cold even though they were in full body wetsuits. I tried swooping down to the sandy sea bottom but my legs dragged me back up to the surface. As I looked up at the wharf everyone was clumped up like sheep staring at something beyond the other side. 

I darted like a squid to the ladder. The ladder felt like oozing slime on my feet, my head peeped over the ladder and I saw splashes in the deep water. I thought it was the splashes but no, it was dazzling dolphins diving in and out of the water. The dolphins swam back and forth. They were as fast as a jetski, I don’t know if they were running away or chasing something. It was so confusing it felt like a math question. I gazed across the other side and the water shimmered in the distance and it looked like tiny diamonds swaying across the water. 

I trotted down the sandy wharf to the boiling hot sand where I could lie down and relax. My feet burnt like sausages in a pan. It was actually that hot. I eventually got too hot and trudged down the transparent blue water and swam to the oozing ladder again, trying to shake the boiling hot sand off. I got up to the wharf and saw that the dolphins were gone. I sat down and gazed for a minute at the people jumping of the wharf

I saw my dad walking up the packed wharf. I saw him do his signal (waving his hand). It was twilight and time to go. I took my last jump and made it my best one. I swam endlessly to shore and saw my packet of strawberry mints glistening in the sun. “Yum I can finally get rid of the disgusting taste of seawater!”

By Charlie Smith

Calling All Kids!
Whether you’re a dancer, an active go-getter, or just love to move – Enhance Your Skills at Bigair with Gym and Tumbling Classes! If you haven’t booked your child’s spot for Term 1 Gym Classes at Bigair Gym yet, there’s still time! Classes are almost fully booked, but the great news is we still have spaces left. But that’s not all – these classes build resilience, confidence, determination, and the ability to receive and apply feedback – valuable life skills for school, sports, and all life’s adventures.

Classes to Help Your Child Shine:

• Pocket Rockets Gym Classes (3-4 years) – Start building coordination and confidence early!
• Gravity Busters Gym Classes (5+ years) – Perfect for beginners looking to develop fundamental gym and tumbling skills.
• Team Extreme Gym Classes (Advanced) – For those ready to take their skills to the next level.
• Free Running (5+ years) – Enhance agility and aerial awareness through parkour and flips.
• Trampoline (5+ years) – Boost spatial awareness and acrobatic abilities.
• Recreational Cheerleading (5+ years) – Build strength, flexibility, and performance skills.
• Tumbling (5+ years) – Focused on mastering walkovers, handsprings, aerials, and more – perfect for dancers, mastering fundamental tumble moves like walkovers, aerials, and handsprings which can significantly enhance performance, flexibility, and overall stage presence.

Hurry – Book Now Before Spots Run Out! Don’t miss out on the chance to help your child grow, learn, and have fun at Bigair Gym! Contact us at: Bigair Gym Owhiro Bay: ph.383 8779, e.wgtn@bigairgym.co.nz at 14 Landfill Road, Owhiro Bay.

Kind regards,

Leanne Davenport

Director

Bigair Gymsports & Cheersports

Tawa, Owhiro Bay & Kapiti

www.bigairgym.co.nz