Talofa lava 

Despite some restrictions with Covid19, we had a brilliant time celebrating Samoan Language Week - everyone embraced the learning and it was wonderful to see our fanau (children) of Samoan heritage sharing their knowledge and culture as well. A special thanks to the aiga (families) who came in to support the learning and sharing. Take some time to read all about our Samoan Language Week celebrations in this newsletter, we hope that next year we can invite everyone in our community to join in the learning. 

Thank you to all those wonderful students and families who have sent in their Readathon forms and sponsor money. Although very disrupted due to Lockdown, it has been wonderful to see the great volume and range of reading that our tamariki have completed and of course the sponsorship has been fantastic. So far 13 families have contributed $1503 so a huge thanks to you! We look forward to seeing all forms and monies back by Monday so that the winning class and individual can be named. Please note that money needs to be paid into the FOSA account. 12 3140 0317046 00  

Movin’ March became Movin April and then Movin’ May with the final day being today - Well done to the many who have walked or ridden to school - an impressive effort one and all. 

Ka pai to the parents who have supported us to clean and reshelve our books and tidy up the library - we are incredibly grateful for your help with this. 

Online learning – One good change that has come out of Lockdown is that many professional development opportunities are now running online which means less cost for our school. Amy and Helen attended a Mathematics workshop on Mathematical reasoning with a focus on spatial reasoning while Francesca and I attended a Minecraft workshop to explore learning tools that are relevant within this ‘digital world’. Both opportunities have been a wonderful experience and we look forward to using our learning with our tamariki. 

Ever since Facebook completed an update we have been unable to load videos to our page which is so disappointing. If you have some knowledge or expertise to help us fix this problem we’d love to hear from you as so far none of our efforts have been successful. 

Important Date: The final day of Term 2 will be Friday, July 3. This is a school day now as our Kāhui Ako Super Hui with our fellow Catholic colleges and schools has been postponed until July 2021. 

Finally, it seems strange to not have gathered together for the important Feast of Pentecost however we hope the children have been sharing their learning and understanding of Te Wairua Tapu over these past weeks. It was wonderful to hear one of the students make the connection that Pente in Greek means 50 and yes, Pentecost was originally celebrated 50 days after Easter. This Pentecost, a key message to discuss at home is that we are the face and hands of Te Wairua Tapu and when we use the gifts of the Holy Spirit, we make our world a better place. This message seems very appropriate right now as we all should be challenging ourselves to listen and to learn from other people’s perspectives, to help bring peace and harmony to our world. 

Faamanuia le Atua

Denise

Last Sunday was Pentecost Sunday, the disciples of Jesus were all together and just before nine o’clock they heard the rush of violent wind that filled the entire house. This was followed by divided tongue shapes of fire that appeared among them and settled slowly on each of them. All of the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit and they began to speak in other languages as the Holy Spirit enabled them to. 

This meant they would have to live their faith publicly, not behind closed doors but out and about among the people despite their fears of being persecuted because they had been followers of Jesus who was crucified. The Holy Spirit replaced their fear with courage and strength so they could begin the work of the Church to spread the good news, rongo pai, of God’s love for all people just as Jesus had taught them.

New parent representative on Board of Trustees
We are pleased to welcome Lynda Adams as our new parent representative on the Board following a casual vacancy. Lynda and Clayton’s children, Mia and Tom, both attend St Anthony’s. Lynda is a registered nurse and has a wealth of experience in both public and private practice. We are looking forward to your involvement Lynda.

Invitation to Board meetings
A reminder to our school families and community that our Board meetings are open to everyone to attend and we invite you to come along and hear our agenda and discussions about our school governance.
Our next meeting is Tuesday 9 June from 6 pm to 8 pm. Please email the school office
(office@stants.school.nz) to let us know if you are coming so we can decide the best meeting room for numbers attending.

Celebration to welcome our new Principal
We are very much looking forward to celebrating the appointment of our new Principal, Mrs Denise Johnson which happened just before the Covid-19 lockdown. Once we know about Level 1 conditions for gatherings, we will be able to progress our planning and an invitation to you and our school community will be sent out in due course.

Important information for participation in Parish Masses, commencing on 6 & 7 June: All members of Holy Trinity Parish can rejoice, as the New Zealand Catholic Bishops have said, that we are able to take these first steps towards returning to some semblance of normality. The Parish Pastoral Council has carefully considered the advice of the Bishops in establishing protocols and practices that will enable us to safely recommence Sunday worship, through a Vigil Mass and two Sunday morning Masses. 

Our start date coincides with the Feast of the Holy Trinity, on 6 & 7 June. Here are the protocols that apply during Alert Level 2 (the Council acknowledges that they may seem severe, but these are the Ministry of Health requirements, as applied by the Bishops and to our Parish circumstances):

• Two Masses at St Patrick's Church, one at Holy Cross Church:  
  • St Patrick's: Vigil Mass at 5.30 pm and Sunday Mass at 10.30 am
  • Holy Cross:  Sunday Mass at 8.30 am
  • Sadly, the protocols for social distancing mean that St Anthony's is too small (for 100 people) and narrow for ensuring that people remain at least 1 metre apart. As soon as social distancing restrictions are lifted, we will restore Mass at St Anthony's.

• For Vigil and Sunday Masses, the following protocols apply:
  • Only those who have registered for Mass attendance will be allowed in. The limitation on numbers and the contact tracing requirements can only be feasibly managed through pre-registration. No exceptions.
  • The Church will open 45 minutes before Mass starts, so please come early to allow time for entry protocols.
  • On entry, if there is a queue, remain in your bubbles, distanced by at least 1 metre from people not in your bubble. 
  • Go to the table in the foyer to one of the 2 volunteers who will be marking off names on the Parish contact register - 1 person, or 1 bubble of people, at a time. 
  • Use the hand sanitizer in the foyer.
  • An usher will accompany you and seat you.
  • To minimise numbers in the Sanctuary, there will be 1 leader/commentator, 1 reader (both to sit in a front pew), and no Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist.
  • Father Ephrem will distribute Holy Communion which is to be only under the form of the Host and is to be received on the hand. Communicants will come forward row by row to ensure social distancing is maintained--no cutting through pews, the aisles need to be used without crossing others' paths.
  • To minimise potential spread of the virus, there will be no singing, only Father will process to the altar, no touching/handshake at the Sign of Peace, no offertory procession, and the collection baskets will not be passed around (donations can continue by internet banking, and cash can be dropped in secure collection boxes on entry at the Church foyer). 
  • At the dismissal, Father or the leader/commentator will invite us to leave, row by row from the back of the Church, to ensure social distancing is maintained. We will need to leave immediately and not gather into groups in the foyer or outside the Church. Remember, we are still at Alert Level 2.
  • The cleaning volunteers will then clean all the pews, Lectern, door handles, light switches, and toilets.

• The Sacraments of Baptism and of Reconciliation can be arranged by appointment with Father Ephrem. 

• The Bishops are maintaining the dispensation from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass, so if you feel afraid, or if you are vulnerable or may be unwell, please stay home. There are still online Masses available and Mass on Shine TV Freeview channel 25, Sky Channel 201 on Sundays at 2 pm from Auckland Diocese.

Volunteers for our Masses will receive communications from the Parish Pastoral Council in the next few days about training sessions. 

If you have not already registered for Mass attendance or to volunteer, please do so now by clicking on this link https://forms.gle/d3qFRao9beKh6Xz6A or contact the Parish Office (holytrinity.wgtn@xtra.co.nz ; 04 388 6953). Please help anyone you know without access to the internet; with their permission, you can register them.

Next Monday the government will be making an announcement with regard to us moving to Level 1. After that announcement, the MoE will be sending us guidance as to what Level 1 will look like for our school. We will send you that outline once the information has been finalised. Meanwhile please take time to consider:-

The Golden Rules for everyone at Alert Level 1

1. If you’re sick, stay home. Don’t go to work or school. Don’t socialise.
2. If you have cold or flu symptoms call your doctor or Healthline and make sure you get tested.
3. Wash your hands. Wash your hands. Wash your hands.
4. Sneeze and cough into your elbow, and regularly disinfect shared surfaces.
5. If you are told by health authorities to self-isolate you must do so immediately.
6. If you’re concerned about your wellbeing or have underlying health conditions, work with your GP to understand how best to stay healthy.
7. Keep track of where you’ve been and who you’ve seen to help contact tracing if needed. Use the NZ COVID Tracer app as a handy way of doing this.
8. Businesses should help people keep track of their movements by displaying the Ministry of Health QR Code for contact tracing.
9. Stay vigilant. There is still a global pandemic going on. People and businesses should be prepared to act fast to step up Alert Levels if we have to.
10. People will have had different experiences over the last couple of months. Whatever you’re feeling — it’s okay. Be kind to others. Be kind to yourself.

It is really important that you have downloaded the Hero App to ensure that you receive our announcements. This app is the upgrade of Linc Ed which is an important communication tool for our school. Check your email for further information about this app. 

Just to let you know that we will be sending student attendance data to the Ministry weekly, from 29 May. The purpose is to:

• report to the National Crisis Monitoring Centre and government on levels of attendance during the COVID-19 period
• inform and support Ministry planning for students and schools returning to normal operation, and
• evaluate and report on the effectiveness of initiatives implemented by the Ministry to respond and manage its response to COVID-19.

Last week was the celebration of Samoan Language week which gave us the opportunity to explore and celebrate the culture and language of Samoa. Te Awa Īta were extremely lucky to have some help with this, provided by Jessie and her Mum. We all practised our Samoan pronunciations and even got to try on some of Jessie's beautiful Samoan dresses! We can't wait to keep using our Samoan words in the classroom.

On Friday May 29, 2020 Joseph’s mother, brother and grandad came to visit the Te Aroha students.  The children were enjoying their last day of Samoan Language Week and Joseph’s grandad, David had come in to share some interesting information about life in Samoa.  

The junior students heard that David first came to New Zealand in 1964, which is many years ago.  Joseph’s grandad (whom his grandchildren call ‘Tama’) showed some intriguing black and white framed photos of himself when he was a child with his mother.  David explained that it is quite hot in Samoa and that often men wear a lavalava tied around their waists and go bare-chested.  

Patrick, Joseph’s younger brother, showed everyone some beautiful Samoan necklaces and these were passed around.  Joseph held up an elegant Samoan tapa pattern which he had brought from home to show everyone.  

The junior students were keen to share what they have learned during Samoan Language Week and David looked impressed with all the work they have been doing.  Miriama, Joseph’s mother, read a story about White Sunday to the students to conclude the visit.  Thank you so much to David, Miriama, Patrick and Joseph for this wonderful visit.  The students absolutely loved it! 

Over lockdown we have been putting teddies out on our windows. The whole of New Zealand did this for the little children to see cute teddy bears in the windows and have some fun in the lockdown spotting teddies. 

The organisers of the NZ Teddy Bear hunt thought that it would be a good idea for schools to hold a teddy bear’s picnic to celebrate getting through lockdown and being back at school.

We held our picnic on the astroturf and there were prizes for the most colourful, cutest and oldest looking teddy bear.  Students brought all sorts of teddy bears.  There were fluffy bears, decorated bears, sequinned bears, bears with huge eyes and colourful bears, like Shaun’s bear.

We brought our lunch to the astroturf as the teachers were looking around for the winners. The winners were Shaun Pink, Emily McGrattan and Petra Bouras.  

By Sophie and Abby

2020 Open Day at St Patrick’s College WELLINGTON

Open Day is a chance for parents of Year 8 students to visit our College and learn about the opportunities and experiences that we offer across Years 9-13.  Due to the 100 person gathering limit we have changed our Open Day format this year from one large gathering to a number of smaller groups who will meet our Rector and receive a tour of the College.  To attend an Open Day 1 hour tour of the College, bookings are essential.  For COVID-19 contract tracing purposes we will require your contact details when you make your booking.

How to Book a College Tour: Please make a booking by phoning the College on 939 3070 and advising which of the six tour options you would prefer:

Tuesday 16 June 11.30am–12.30pm OR 12.30pm–1.30pm

Thursday 18 June 11.30am–12.30pm OR 12.30pm–1.30pm

Friday 19 June 11.30am–12.30pm OR 12.30pm–1.30pm

The latest Scholastic catalogue will be coming home this week.  So that books can arrive in time for the holidays can you please have the orders submitted via the online LOOP ordering system by Friday 19th June.  Thanks heaps.

In light of recent events surrounding Coronavirus and the impact this had on schooling, Wellington City Council would like to know if the school travel behaviour within your whānau has changed since your child/ren have returned to school in Level 2.  This survey should only take 5 minutes to complete. You can find the link to the survey here. Thank you for your participation.

Wellington Football Club 

At Wellington Football Club (Axemen Junior Rugby) we cater for all grades from nursery grade (3 and 4 year olds play for free!), through rippa rugby for children up to 9 years of age and tackle rugby for the older kids. Health and safety is of course paramount and our club has been cleared to train in accordance with Level 2 rules.

To register your child please email robgordon@windowslive.com. We look forward to you joining our whānau.

PRIDE LANDS FUN HOLIDAY ADVENTURES

WINTER HOLIDAYS AT SOUTH WELLINGTON INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL – BERHAMPORE

6th -17^th July 2020 from 7.00am-6pm daily. Interactive Activities and NO TV or Video Games, Kai Cubs Cooking and Life Skills Programme creating healthy Breakfast, Lunch and Afternoon Teas. One-on-one care and shuttle services available. Daily $81/cub per session or $148 for two or more siblings per session; Weekly: $243 per cub/week or $453 for two or more siblings/week. WINZ subsidies are available for eligible families.

Please contact us: 0800 PRIDE 4 U Or Register online: www.pridelands.org.nz or 
Visit our Facebook page: www.Facebook.com/PrideLandsChildcare