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Talofa,
What a special time of prayer we had at the Rosary last week. I always feel so privileged for ones so young to lead us in this short time of prayer, especially when a number of our tamariki were able to lead us in their first language. The languages included Te Reo, German, French, Dutch, Samoan, Arabic, Gaelic, Greek, and Italian. It certainly shows how the diversity of culture has developed with our school community and the enrolments for next year indicate that this will continue to grow which is a blessing for us all.
It was a wonderful occasion last Friday afternoon when our first ever truly initiated and student-led activity in the form of the Talent Show was held. We congratulate Nadia for her wonderful idea which she then worked on with our Senior Leaders - Glen and Elise to plan and organise the event. I was sad to miss it but staff feedback was how impressed they were with the myriad of talents and activities that many of our tamariki shared with us. They are very keen to see this sharing become a regular part of our calendar. Congratulations to all of the children that presented their talents - they were incredible to see!
As we are drawing closer to the end of the year, preparations for next year are well underway. Part of the preparation is the placement of staff and classes, and next Tuesday I will be sending a plan outlining both the classes and staffing. We can confirm that our Year 7 & 8s will be attending Mt Cook Technology Centre next year which will also allow us to resume our education in the city each week. This is a unique programme for St Anthony's that enriches the learning opportunities for our senior students.
Over the last few weeks, all the staff has completed First Aid training which has been an excellent opportunity for us to upskill and review our procedures. Yesterday, Lucy and I attended the Tier 2 training for Positive Behaviour 4 Learning (PB4L). Again it was a good time of reflection and review, as we gained further insights into how to support our learners more effectively.
Tomorrow, Friday is a busy day. At 11:25 am we will be leaving the school to complete the R.E.A.L Run. We thank all the whānau who have volunteered their time to help supervise this event and we know the students are looking forward to running! Thanks to Ronan for all the time and effort he has put into organising this event.
Then at 7 pm at the Bowling Club, we will have our Quiz Night. We are looking forward to seeing everyone and be assured we still have tickets so do come along.
See you tomorrow
Denise
Key Dates:
December 4: Oral Presentation Cup Final - everyone is invited at 1:40 pm
December 8: Leavers Dinner 6pm
December 10: Thank You Celebration - whole school function at 5:30 pm
December 15: End of Year Assembly and Prizegiving at 5:30 pm
December 16: Final School Mass at 9 am
School ends at 1 pm
2021
February 1: Teachers Only Day
February 2 & 3: 3 Way Conferences - tamariki come along with their whānau at set booking times
February 4: Whole School attends school
Please promote our Learning in Action next Thursday to anyone who may wish to join our wonderful school. If you would like a copy of the poster to put up just let Denise know.
The first communion is on Saturday the 14th of November at 5:30 pm. We look forward to seeing Tom, Mia, Jacob, Harry, Sophie, Blythe, Joseph, Thomas, Alice, Cobie, and Rueben take this next step in their faith journey. Please remember them in your prayers and we would love to see you come along in support.
This week the classes have been learning about All Saints and All Souls Day. Catholics have always had the tradition of praying for people who have died as a way of continuing their relationship with them and helping them on their way to heaven. All Souls Day is the day in the Liturgical Year which the Church sets aside for the community to remember and pray for all those who have died especially members of their own family and whānau. Catholics believe that the prayer and good deeds of the living help those to achieve the holiness they need to enter into the glory of God in heaven. All Souls Day reminds us to pray for our loved ones who have died.
The Talent Show was a huge success! I worked with Elise and Glen to make it . We first went around the classes to see who wanted to sign up and then organised the order of the acts, then decided on small things like the prizes and what each of us was going to say. I was worried right up to the last minute! We did a draw at the end to see who would get the big prizes which were packets of colored pencils. Everyone did so well we gave them a crunchie bar as well. I was the one who came up with the idea, and it felt really nice to have a principal who listened to me and took my idea on board.
Nadia Monahan
We viewed some amazing art...
We watched some clever moves...
I chose flipping for the Talent Show because I think I am good at flipping and I enjoyed filming the video and it was really fun. I also think I did good because everyone said that they liked it.
Tommy Smith
I decided to show my talent with golf for the show so I videoed myself putting at the Miramar Golf Course. I have been learning golf for a while now and I wanted to show everyone how good I am at putting the ball away. Everyone has told me they really enjoyed my video.
Ethan Tye
On Friday October 30, 2020 Tom Dunn from the fire service visited the Te Aroha students. Tom shared lots of helpful information with the children on fire safety. He told them that in a fire situation you need to get down, get low and get out fast. Tom said that every home should have a smoke alarm which detects when there is a fire in our homes. He told everyone it was important to have an agreed meeting place in the event of a fire. A good place is by your letterbox. Tom passed around some smoke alarms for the students to look at. He explained that you can't smell smoke when you are asleep. Tom put on the smoke alarm at one point and it was really loud! Everyone evacuated the classroom and headed out to the court. The Te Aroha students have been doing lots of learning about fire safety and were able to share their wonderful ideas with the firefighter who seemed really impressed. Thank you, Tom for visiting our school and well done everyone for your fantastic work on fire safety!
St Anthony's Bazaar Saturday 20 February 2021
Planning is in full swing with plenty of prizes already coming in from our local sponsors. We are also starting to collect goods and now is the perfect time to have a spring clean in preparation for Christmas! You can either donate your goods by dropping them off at the church porch during school hours, or at one of our main collection days, the first of which will be on 29 November. Obviously don't drop a massive item like a bunkbed on the church porch and do a runner, contact us in advance to make arrangements. Goods that we would like are:
- Gently used clothing
- Tools
- Furniture
- Vintage dishes, glassware and casseroles
- Garden tools
- Costume jewellery
- Games toys and bicycles
- Books
- Appliances
- Sports and camping gear
- Exercise equipment
Many hands make light work, so make a note of the collection day of 29 November so that you can come down to help with the sorting, it's a great chance to catch up with everyone whilst helping raise money for the community. We'll send more details about the collection date nearer the time.
A decision has been made as to where the funds raised from the bazaar will be targeted. The school portion will be spent on Technology including robotics, devices, food technology and more. The Parish portion will be channelled towards their pastoral work particularly through the St Vincent de Paul Society (St Vinnies) who have been at the forefront of helping people in our community deal with the financial and emotional effects of Covid 19, helping families struggling financially with food and clothing. St Vinnies intend to target the funds to ensure that school children who need it the most will receive support to maximise the benefits of their education (this might, for example, include stationary, technological support, uniforms etc). What fantastic projects to support!
Do you recognise this wonderful piece of art? We have found it near the school and would like to return it to its owner as it looks like part of an art portfolio. It is dated 04/1/2007. Please see Kirsten in the office if you may know who it belongs to.
Inspire Photography will be at school next Tuesday 10th November to take our school photos.
They are happy to offer photos with siblings who are not at school (preschool children, babies, college students) at the beginning of the day at about 8.30 am. Please let Kirsten know at the office if you are interested in this.
Proofs will be available online approximately two weeks after the date of the photoshoot via an online password, you will then have two weeks to place an order which will be delivered to the school.
The Rock Academy Music School Holiday Programmes
Fun and educational for musical kids. Located in Kilbirnie and suitable for ages 5 to 15. Great for singers, guitarists and keyboardists. Song writing, busking trip’s, learning modern pop/rock songs and lots more.
December dates 2020
Monday 21st to Wednesday 23rd.
January dates 2021
Tuesday the 19th to Friday the 22nd.
Cinderella - The Pantomime
A new pair of shoes really can change your life!
From the writers of last year’s acclaimed Pantomime, Alice in Wonderland, comes their brand new look at the much loved, magical fairy tale of Cinderella. Simon Leary and Gavin Rutherford have collaborated to bring you yet another fabulous family show. It’s jammed packed with singing, dancing, up-to-the minute jokes for the adults, and a sizeable dose of magic and slapstick for the kids.
Cinderella lives on Mt Victoria and nearby are her rich, evil and unkind step siblings. Things are rough - but with Cinderella's can-do attitude, an encounter with someone who may turn out to be a Prince, and a fairy godmother with magical powers, could things possibly end happily?
Circa Theatre 14 NOV -20 DEC & 2-16 JAN
circa.co.nz
Free Art Event - Petone