"Let us have a big heart and great courage so that while we are doing the work of God, He does His own in us” Suzanne Aubert

With October being the month of the Missions who better to focus on than venerable Suzanne Aubert who as a missionary left France to come to New Zealand to do the work of Christ. She firmly believed in the equality of all people and moved around New Zealand helping all those in need. Suzanne was passionate about the Māori people, learning their language and culture as she lived and worked among the people of the land. Suzanne went on to found the Sisters of Compassion, caring for vulnerable especially those who were disabled and elderly. Her work continues today through the hands of the Sisters of Compassion, one of the most notable being the Soup Kitchen in Tory Street where meals have been served since 1901. Mother Aubert’s funeral is still the largest ever seen in Wellington for a woman. A remarkable person who spent her life answering God’s call. May we all follow her example by reaching out to help someone in need.  As someone said “wouldn’t the world be a much better place if we all acted as Mother Aubert did." Please remember Suzanne in your prayers as the Sisters of Compassion work to gain proof of her final miracle in order for her to be canonised as a saint. 

What an amazing week we have had! Blessed with a beautiful day last Friday, it was wonderful to see the many grandparents and whānau who came to spend the morning with us. There was added excitement as the students came dressed in costume and of course, the staff had fun being in costume as well. Our thanks to Father Ron who celebrated the mass for us, helping us to focus on the love that grandparents and grandchildren have for one another. 

Our next big event was our Rosary evening on Tuesday and once again, we adults were amazed at the wonderful leading of this prayer that all the children did. Our thanks to all the whānau who joined us for this special time of prayer. A special thanks to Vivienne Pujji’s grandmother who kindly donated holy picture cards and medals in memory of Our Lady. 

And if that is not all, the senior syndicate participated in the Catholic Cultural Celebration at Holy Cross School yesterday. Each Catholic school performed song and dance and we were absolutely delighted with the performance by our tamariki.  A special note of congratulations goes to the tamariki who lead the various songs - Valentina Zadimas, Olivia Napp, Maramatina Peni, William Thurston and Katelyn Wilson. Thanks too to our wonderful Kapa Haka tutors, Tepora and Liz.

Finally, a significant note of thanks to Francesca von Lanthen who as the DRS, planned and organised us all for each of these events. We are grateful Francesca for your dedication and hard work!

Over this past fortnight, our seniors have been competing in the Epro 8 Challenge so our thanks to all the parents who have offered transport and support for this. We will showcase this great competition in our next newsletter. 

We extend our condolences to Lucy Williams who is on bereavement leave today and tomorrow. Lucy has travelled to Alexandra to support her partner, Harry with the loss of his grandmother. I myself will be travelling to the Bay of Islands for my annual tramp so I will think of you all as I experience the beautiful sights of the far north. Jeannine Winton and Francesca von Lanthen will be in charge of the school until my return on Wednesday. 

Heads Up for Next Week:-

• Eastern Zones Athletics is on for Wednesday, November 6th
• Football sessions are on each Thursday so the students wear their PE uniform
• We have our fun run on Friday, November 8th so we hope you can join us for that
• Please join us for the First Holy Communion on Sunday, November 10th
• We will be sending out the communication for our student-led conferences which are scheduled for Thursday, November 14th

It has been a very busy start to term but we thank you all for your wonderful support and energy in all of our activities. It is much appreciated. We especially thank our hard-working BoT who has been focused on analysing and sharing the Whānau Survey with us all as well as working through the appointment process of a new principal. We are grateful for the extra hours that they are committing to all of this. 

Ngā manaakitanga

Denise Johnson

Thank you to everyone who took the time to complete our Whānau Survey and provide useful comments so that we could identify areas where we are doing well and areas where we need to make changes and improvements. It was extremely heartening to hear that overall our families think that St Anthony’s are doing a good job with teaching and learning with 97% agreeing with this statement. This should be celebrated, and we commend our staff for their excellent work. There are certainly areas identified through this survey where the school needs to improve, and we will support our wonderful staff to do this. You can read the summary of the Whānau Survey results in the Schoolzine Board of Trustees news that was sent on 30 October 2019.

Our advert for a new school principal has now closed and we are in the process of reviewing the applicants. We are looking for someone who will build upon the strong foundations already in place and who will work collaboratively with our existing collegial team of staff to carry on their great work. The new principal will be required to work with the Board and staff to identify ways to make improvements where required, some of which have been identified through the Whānau Survey. Another aspect is to work with the Board to identify ways to increase the school roll to maintain (or increase) our current levels of funding and staffing provided by the Ministry of Education. We have been fully supported by the Catholic Schools Education Service in this recruitment process and we are grateful for their expertise and guidance.

Thank you

It was so lovely to see so many families attend the rosary on Tuesday night, it was very special for the children to share their learning with you in this way. We also really appreciate the time you put into helping the children learn the Our Father and Hail Mary in their native languages. 

Faith Reflection

It’s common practice to use a block of initials in referring to corporations or government departments that have long titles. DHB (District Health Board), MOW (Ministry of Works) and UNESCO are a few examples. Civic Honours are similarly known by initials: KCMG, QSM, MBE…  

Words themselves are often broken down to their individual letters to give an additional meaning. For instance, in popular thought, the word POSH which emphasises opulence and elegance, denotes First Class tickets on ships to and from India: Port Out, Starboard Home!

There are also acronyms in church language and symbols, although they are displayed rather than spoken. Among the most obvious is IHS, printed on vestments or as a stylised design on altar fronts or floors. Sometimes explained as In His Service, it really denotes the first three Greek letters in the name, JESUS. Another is the CHI-RHO sign – depicted as an X superimposed over an R. This is the first three letters of the Greek spelling of CHRIST.

Look for these symbols next time you visit a church. Design one to illustrate you own Christian commitment or way of life.

School Lunches

Again in Term 4, lunches will be available FORTNIGHTLY.  It might be easier to put these dates in your calendar now: Friday 8 November, Friday 22 November and Friday 6 December.

Friday 8 November

Hamburgers

Thanks to our fabulous parent lunch heroes Makie Balogh, Anna Kempton & Sofia Georgiou. Year 6 helpers are Marimatina Peni & James Pink, thanks guys!

NAME: Kirsten Bouras 

POSITION: Teacher Aide/Librarian

Tell us a little about your journey
I grew up in Hawkes Bay and came to Wellington to attend university. After gaining my BA I trained to become a secondary teacher but on completion of the course decided it wasn’t the job for me. However, my training meant that I was fortunate enough to gain a private teaching position in Fiji on the island of Taveuni. On returning to Wellington I ended up with Telecom’s Video Conferencing team. I once was in charge of an international video conference with Sir Alex Ferguson for this huge fundraiser - at the time I had no clue how famous he was (just as well as I think I would have been sick with nerves). George and I then headed overseas and spent a bit of time traveling before deciding to live in Melbourne. We spent three great years there, got married, bought a house etc., but decided to come back to NZ to start a family. And here we are 14 years, 3 children, a cat and a dog later.

What do you like most about your job?

The variety of the job and the great students and staff I get to spend time with.

What is the best advice you have ever received?

A smile can go a long way to changing someone’s day.

If you weren’t a Teacher Aide, what other career would interest you?

I really enjoyed my job in Australia as an administration assistant so would probably look for something in that field. (My husband had me lined up to do this for him before I agreed to work a term at St Anthony’s - two years later he is still waiting for me to start).

What part of your job do you find the most challenging?

I do find it challenging working at the same school my children attend. While this makes drop off and pick up easy it's hard being both a parent and a member of the staff.

●    Introduction 

Hi, my name is Sam Taylor and I am a year 8 student in Tui Class. I am 13 and I love sports because it’s fun and is challenging. My favourite sports would be football and cricket. I have been lucky enough to have played in rep teams for both sports. I have two brothers, my younger brother Jamie is in Kea class and my older brother Maiti is attending St Pat’s College Kilbirnie. 

●    Favourite subject

My favourite subject is P.E and Art. I enjoy P.E because it is cool to play with my classmates in different sports. I like Art because it’s fun to draw and show my creativity. At the moment I am working on a couple of pieces for my A.R.I.S.E project and hopefully, you will view a finished piece soon. 

●    When I’m not at school I like

To practice sports so I can get better and improve my skills in soccer or cricket, which are my favourite sports. I also enjoy walking my dog, Jess.

●    I like coming to St Anthony’s because...

To learn different subjects in different ways so it will help me for college and my future. One example is the way I learnt more about angles by using my passion for cricket and exploring the angle of hits that go around the wicket. I had fun videoing myself in action. I also enjoy coming to St Anthony’s to be in the new learning space of Tui Class because it has a nice feel to the open room. Another reason I like coming to school is to see my friends and hang out with them.

Seatoun Arts & Crafts

Seatoun Arts & Crafts will celebrate its Annual Exhibition and Sale at the Village Hall, Forres Street, Seatoun.  Saturday 16 November 10.00am–4.00pm  and   Sunday   17 November 10.00am–4.00pm

St Catherine’s College Sport Coordinator

St Cath’s are looking for a Sports Coordinator. Please see the attached advert (Part-time role) and contact Chris Perry if you have any questions.  Chris, PA to Principal, 939-8988 or view www.stcatherinescollege.school.nz

Capital Trout Centre Open Day - Sunday 3 November 2019

Children must have a licence to fish for trout and free licences/tickets are available from Steve’s Fishing Shop, 49 Ghuznee Street (off Cuba Mall). The Centre is located behind the WCC Administration buildings on the way to the WCC Southern Landfill, Happy Valley, and is open to the public on specific days.

Children do not have to bring any gear as Club members will assist children to catch a trout on fly fishing tackle.  

As the Centre is manned and maintained by volunteers we rely on donations to cover our expenses of purchasing the fish from the hatcheries, fish food and general maintenance.

Your donations will be appreciated. Contact: Strato 387 7878 (wk)   386 3740 (hm) or email: strato.cotsilinis@gmail.com

Wellington Harrier Children's Athletic Club

The Wellington Harriers children's athletics programme runs through until the end of March 2020 with club days held at Newtown Park athletic track on Saturdays mornings from 11.30 am-1 pm. Activities on club days will cover a range of traditional events such as long jump, high jump, shot put, discus, sprints, hurdles, middle distance, and race walking.  Alongside this, we will also be doing a run jump throw programme which teaches children athletic skills through fun athletic games. We also offer a “Get Set, Go” program for ages 4 - 6 years. This is made up of fun games based around running, jumping and throwing activities.  (Please note for children aged 4 - 6 the programme is for 1 hour). We offer two types of memberships social and competitive and your welcome to give it a go before you signup. For more information, please contact: Julie Richards, email:  juliemaerdy@yahoo.co.uk, mobile: 0212959026

Noel Leemings Annual Friends & Family Promotion

Noel Leemings are again running their annual Friends & Family fundraising event this year in November 2019 and extend an invitation to Parents/whanau and communities of our school

• Friends & Family (including their wider network) will be given preferential pricing for two weeks.
• To be eligible for the preferential pricing in-store, people simply display the Friends & Family flyer (either printed or on their digital device)
• Our Price Promise applies, so customers will be confident of getting the best deal + they also earn Fly Buys
• The flier (see attached) should be sent to the entire school community and they should be encouraged to send it onto their 'friends and family' too, the wider the network the greater the success. 
• Promotion starts 30th October till 12th November 2019

Bigair Gymsports, Owhiro Bay, Wellington

Gym is fun for kids but it’s exceptionally good for them as well! They gain strength, flexibility, balance and body control but they also learn determination and perseverance, through persistently practicing skills until they are achieved. Kids also gain resilience and confidence, as they extend themselves and learn new skills! Our experienced coaches run classes in Gymnastics, Tumbling, Trampolining, Parkour and Cheerleading! BOOK NOW!

Bigair Gym Owhiro Bay: 04 3838779 or wgtn@bigairgym.co.nz