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- Inspiration
- Principal's Message
- Faith News
- School Board Update
- Learning Through Inquiry in Te Ākau
- Easter Church Services
- Caritas - Love in Action
- FOSA Fundraising News
- The Grand Day Out Total
- Lost Polar Fleece
- 2020 St Catherine’s College NCEA results
- Marist St Pats (MSP) Junior Rugby
- Community Notices
Dear Whānau
We were thrilled to receive the news that the Wellington City Regional Council had nominated our school for the 'On the Go' Awards at the recent 2Walk 2Cycle conference. In their nomination form, the WCRC stated, “ St Anthony’s Seatoun has a strong history of encouraging safe and active travel for children at their school. Each year St Anthony’s School’s walking and wheeling rate has impressed the Movin’March team and was particularly notable in 2020 where COVID-19 caused so much disruption and challenges for schools nationwide. St Anthony’s School in fact was the school with the highest walking and wheeling participation rate out of the 129 schools that participated in Movin’March across the Wellington region".
We were delighted to be nominated but even more so to find out that we won the school runner-up award. So well done to all our whānau and tamariki for your awesome effort with walking and riding to and from school.
To conclude our Movin' March effort on Tuesday, March 30 we invite you to walk with your tamariki for the Whānau Walk or Ride Day. On your arrival at school we will celebrate with hot chocolate/tea/ coffee and Weet-bix (we will even have gluten-free). We look forward to you joining us.
It was great weather for Te Moana yesterday for the Eastern Zones Football Tournament. They had fun and we are hopeful that Te Maunga will be blessed with the same beautiful day next week. Thanks to all those wonderful parents who helped with transport and supervision - we are all very grateful! Feedback from Team Wellington who helped us organise the event was, “It was brilliant to see so many kids playing football & in a positive way. Thank you to everyone that played a part, being organising, refereeing or just supervising the players, this made sure everything ran without issue.” So well done all.
Congratulations to Joseph and Olivia Sharp for the safe arrival of their little brother last night. Their cousins Sam, Ethan, and William are equally proud to have one more member in the clan as no doubt Souvaly and Jonathan are too. We look forward to meeting the newest member of our community.
How quickly Lent has progressed with Palm Sunday, this Sunday marking the beginning of Holy Week. This year because we return to school after Easter (Wednesday, April 7) we have decided that instead of a liturgy for Holy Week about the Passion of Christ, we will focus on the Resurrection. The children are working to create a wonderful liturgy for you so please mark it in your calendars now for April 15, 5:30 pm
Lastly, Te Maunga is fundraising for their camp by selling Hot Cross buns. A notice was sent to you today and we thank those who have already responded but of course would love more orders. Likewise, we hope you can lend a hand for the senior playground working bee on Saturday.
Have a happy and holy Easter and we look forward to seeing everyone safely return for Week 10.
Ngā manaakitanga
Denise
The Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week with Palm Sunday - a time of the triumphant arrival of Jesus into Jerusalem
Step back into the moment of the first Palm Sunday.
You’ve heard that the Messiah has come. You’ve heard of the great miracles he has been performing. Your best friend witnessed one himself! Centuries of prophecy are coming to pass in front of your eyes. The king who is to deliver your people from domination and redeem Israel has finally arrived. The time has come. And this Messiah is now riding into your town on a donkey.
You dash into your backyard to your palm tree and quickly tear off some branches (since these were signs of victory and triumph). You give one to each member of your family as you all begin to run out to the road to meet Him. When you get there you find a huge crowd of people, also with palm branches, waving them in the air and cheering this Messiah. You take your cloak and spread it out on the road ahead of Him. (Demonstrate this for the children and have them lay down their coats and palm branches, too)
Suddenly a song rises up from the crowd: “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” You sing along with great joy as you guide this Messiah all the way into town, waving your palm branches and proclaiming Him your King. (See the song below as a way to reinforce the message as time permits.) That’s Palm Sunday. It’s an adventure. It’s a real event in history. Of course, now, we know that this King’s kingdom was not one of this world but of the next. We cheer for Him eager for His most important triumph of all – His victory over death itself on Easter.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, help us to worship and adore you not only when the crowds do and things are going well, but also in the dark times of our lives. Help us to show others the way towards Jesus by behaving in ways that are pleasing to you.
How quickly things change as then we have:-
Holy Thursday as the beginning of the Easter Triduum, or The Three Days. This is the period of three days that begins with the liturgy on the evening of Holy Thursday (the vigil of Good Friday) and ends with evening prayer on Easter Sunday.
On Holy Thursday night we remember the Last Supper and the witness to service by the washing of the feet.
On Good Friday we take time to reflect on the Crucifixion of Christ…
A time of pain, suffering and death
Easter Saturday gives us the wonderful vigil where we have the Service of Light and Renewal of Baptismal Vows.
Then...
Easter Sunday - Christ is Risen - we have been given eternal life!
Please join our faith community for these very important liturgies - times and churches are to be seen in this newsletter
Kia ora koutou, talofa lava, malo e leilei, hello and greetings from your School Board
Welcome Sheryl and Father Bill
At our meeting on Tuesday 23 March, we welcomed Sheryl McKnight as the new staff representative on the Board. Sheryl is our Year 1 and 2 teacher and brings a wealth of educational experience to our school governance. Over the past 24 years Sheryl with her husband, who now teaches at Scots College, traveled the world teaching in International Schools in Romania, Germany, Qatar, and Singapore. They have four children James, 24, Jack, 22, Lucy 20, and Thomas, 14. For the past three and a half years Sheryl has been teaching New Entrants/Year 1 at Paraparaumu Beach School. She is very passionate about helping our young tamariki on their Learning Journey and feel excited and privileged to be part of the St Anthony's School community.
We were delighted that our Parish Priest, Father Bill Warwick, joined us for our meeting. It is wonderful to be able to share our governance strategies and plans for St Anthony’s with Fr Bill and to have the benefit of his parish and diocese knowledge and advice. We look forward to Fr Bill attending our meetings as often as his busy schedule allows.
Thank you, Helen
We recognise with gratitude and aroha Helen Revill’s contribution as our previous staff representative on the Board. Helen is our year 7 and 8 teacher and has been the staff representative for the last 4 years. Thank you Helen for your knowledge, enthusiasm, and unwavering support of St Anthony’s School staff, children, and families.
Congratulations on winning the school runner up for the On the Go Awards
Well done and congratulations to everyone involved with St Anthony’s winning the school runner-up award for the On the Go Awards which was announced at the recent 2Walk 2Cycle conference.
On the Go Awards recognise outstanding walking and cycling projects. The awards are organised by Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency in partnership with Cycling Action Network and Living Streets Aotearoa. They are an opportunity to acknowledge the dedication and contribution of projects that support a healthier, cleaner and safer transport system.
St Anthony’s entry highlighted our Movin’ March and the portable pump bike track initiatives.
Deborah Hume, Waka Kotahi Establishment Manager Multimodal and Innovation, says, “Our judging team was impressed by the range of innovative projects being undertaken across the country and we’re delighted to have the opportunity to celebrate all of their hard mahi.”
For more about the awards, see the Waka Kotahi NZ Transport website.
St Anthony’s strategic and operating plan 2021
The Board and Staff have confirmed the strategic and operating plan for St Anthony's and this plan is now published on our website. This plan sets out our priorities for the 2021 school year and outlines the philosophy and values underlying those focus areas.
Key priorities include:
- Strengthening our sense of belief (whakapono) and belonging (whakawhanaungatanga) as part of our school, our local community and our connections to Te Motu Kairangi (Miramar peninsula)
- Empowering each student’s sense of belonging and engaging their whānau in sharing the understanding. This will be supported by implementing PB4L Tier Two.
- Note PB4L = Positive Behaviour for Learning - a Ministry of Education initiative to support school communities as they work towards the New Zealand Curriculum’s vision of students who are confident, connected, and actively involved, and who will go on to be lifelong learners. Tier Two directly supports schools to develop and maintain a culture and learning environment that will maximise all students’ opportunities to develop socially and academically.
- All students making progress in their learning and achievement.
- Strengthening the connections with tangata whenua to support the ongoing development of our local curriculum.
To read the 2021 strategic and operating plan, please go use this link.
Senior students’ playground - construction starting Tuesday
Patience is a virtue, our waiting is nearing the end and we are delighted to announce the construction of the senior students’ playground is due to start on Tuesday 30 March.
In preparation for the builders, we need to clear all the bark (remember moving that last year) away from the centre of the play area to the boundaries.
Working bee 9 am Saturday 27 March
This is an invitation to everyone to come and help move some bark chips so that we can start construction on time on Tuesday. Wear some old clothes, bring some gloves, buckets, rakes, and spades, and enjoy the satisfaction of an old-school working bee. Mark Mulhern will be at the school from 9 am: remember the more the merrier.
Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi engari he toa takitini.
Success is due not to the work of one but the work of many.
Board meetings
A reminder to everyone that you are very welcome and encouraged to attend the Board of Trustees meetings each term. If possible, please let the school office (e: office@stants.school.nz) know in advance if you are going to be there so we can organise a bigger room if this is required.
Our next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday 18 May from 6pm.
The children in Te Ākau are encouraged to be curious and creative during our daily Inquiry sessions. Last week Sam wondered if the paper boat he had created “would work”. I said “there was only one way to find out”. We quickly set about filling the water tray to test whether or not his boat would float. Very quickly Sophia and Alexander became curious and joined in. Initially the boat did float but after a while it subsided and started to sink. This led to a discussion about floating and sinking and what things are waterproof. The children decided to experiment with many different materials and tested whether they could float, sink or were waterproof. At the end of the session I asked our ”experts” to share their learning with the rest of the class. We talked about how we were just like real life “Scientists” as we were experimenting with the different materials. During our writing session each of the children wrote about their findings. What a fantastic morning of curiosity and learning we had.
“I was doing a experiment this morning with Alexander and Sam. We put a few stuff in the big container. We put a rock in, it but it sunk. Then we put a leaf in it and it floated and we put some wood in it and it floated like the leaf.” Sophia
“Today I found out paper is not waterproof and rocks cannot float. But paper cannot float after a long time. I did the experiment with Sam and Sophia. It was really fun.” Alexander
“I was doing an experiment with Sophia and Alexander. We put wood and a paper boat and a silver bowl and a plastic teddy in the water.” Sam
When young learners are given the opportunity to be curious, they become scientists and designers and engineers and builders and artists. They learn how to solve problems and create solutions.
Caritas is the second largest aid organisation in the world and it is our organisation. Thank you for your support of the work of Caritas over the years. Due to the current restrictions required to overcome Covid19, we are providing information to our donors and supporters about Lent at a time when many are unable to attend Mass.
During this season of prayer, fasting and almsgiving, we are sharing online our Lent Reflection booklets which include the Gospel readings for each week of Lent. These can be used for reflection and prayer on an in dividual or small group basis in compliance with Covid restrictions. You can find these booklets on our website: https://caritas.org.nz/system/
Caritas is also making available electronic lent envelopes by which you can participate in Lenten giving even if Mass is cancelled under level 2 or 3. Simply click on thid
Entertainment Books
Once again we are promoting the digital entertainment book as a fundraiser for St Anthony's. Buy a membership and St Anthony's receives 20% of the purchase.
Order your membership online today by going to
Or lookout for the posters around the school which have a QR code link to our St Anthony's order page.
We have a missing size 14 polar fleece. It is named so if you have a similar size fleece could you please double-check the name inside.
Many thanks
With open days for colleges on the horizon St Catherine's College would like to share their outstanding 2020 NCEA data with our school families.
Give Rugby a try – it’s a great opportunity for children to have fun, build confidence, make friends and be healthy. Rugby now also includes a non-contact form of the game to widen the appeal (RipRugby). Marist St Pats (MSP) junior rugby club welcomes junior players from 3 years up to 12 years old. Come along and meet us at one of our upcoming registration events or carnival. Season starts 7th May. To find out more go to msprugby.co.nz/juniors/ or email the junior convenor Bevan Brocklehurst (mspjuniorrugby@gmail.com).
Junior Tough Guy and Gal Challenge
Artrageous April Holiday Adventure: 19 – 30 April 2021 » Programme BOOK ARTRAGEOUS APRIL
Aimed at children aged 5-10 years. Our classes provide a space for all children to explore at their own pace; chaotic or careful, gingerly or with gusto, tiptoeing or tromping. Our aim is to draw out their creativity, not stuff things in! Bookings essential. BOOK NOW!
Venue: Poneke Dojo, Prince of Wales Park, Salisbury Tce, Mt Cook, Wellington
8.30am–3:00pm $79 and after care 3:00pm-5.30pm $15
Olderageous April Holiday Adventure: 19 – 30 April 2021 » Programme BOOK OLDERAGEOUS APRIL
Our BIG KIDS programme is aimed at children aged 10-14 years. Providing them with a space, focused adult attention and loads of resources. This programme is tailored to draw out older children’s interest in creating and using their imagination and creativity in a hilariously fun atmosphere. Bookings essential. BOOK NOW!
Venue: Cafe at Wellington High School, Taranaki St, Mt Cook, Wellington
8.30am–3:00pm $79 and after care 3:00pm-5.30pm $15
2021 Wellington Marathon and the Heart Foundation
Ready for a challenge?
The Heart Foundation are relying on big-hearted people, like you, now more than ever before so we can continue to fund our life-saving work. That’s why, this year, show your big heart by taking part in the Gazley Volkswagen Wellington Marathon on Sunday 27 June 2021 and at the same time, make your support go further by raising life-saving funds to fight New Zealand's single biggest killer - heart disease.
Walk, run (or a bit of both) or join with friends…however you decide to take part in the Gazley Volkswagen Wellington Marathon we’d love to have you join us and help make a difference!
It’s quick and easy to get started. Simply register for the event and enter the distance of your choice and then create your fundraising page and spread the word to your friends and family! We’ll be there to support you every step of the way, plus, once your fundraising is underway, you’ll receive a Heart Foundation running t-shirt.
Funds raised in the Gazley Volkswagen Wellington Marathon ensure that world-class research is funded, Kiwi cardiologists can undertake specialist training, and that the 170,000 New Zealanders living with heart disease receive the support, information and resources they need to live full lives.
We would be so thrilled to have the support of the your school this year and hope you are able to join with us to help make a difference!
Can’t compete?
If you’re not planning to run the 2021 Gazley Volkswagen Wellington Marathon this year, how about joining this fun event as a volunteer? You’ll be out enjoying the atmosphere and helping with tasks like registrations and support at the finish line. If this is something you’d be keen to know more about or you’d like to register you can find out more here https://www.heartfoundation.org.nz/get-involved/wellington-marathon-volunteers
School Holiday Activity - Karori Cemetery
Karori Cemetery, at 100 acres, is the second largest cemetery in New Zealand, and is the largest by number of interments. Resting within it are six New Zealand Premiers/Prime Ministers, 2 national monuments, three heritage registered buildings, and of course many of Wellington's prominent citizens, as well as those who met their end tragically by drowning or in various other ways such as falling off trams or electrocuting themselves.
The Friends of Karori Cemetery is offering a special tour of some highlights of Karori Cemetery for 5+ year olds during the school holidays. The tour will include the statue of Mrs Chippy, the cat who accompanied the Shackleton expedition of 194-1917; the plot of Phyllis Symons for whom we toot in the Hataitai tunnel to ensure she knows we care; a national memorial to those who died in the Tangiwai disaster on Christmas Eve 1953; William Ward who was gored by a bull at the railway station, and many other heritage features and stories which appeal to youngsters.
The tours will be available on Wednesday 21 and 28 April, starting at 10.30am, and will take about 1.5 hours. Children must of course be accompanied by a carer, and the Friends will ensure there are at least two volunteers to assist with management and safety. The tour will be on walking tracks as well as sealed roadways, so appropriate footwear is essential.
Bookings for these tours are required - by email to friendsofkaroricemeterytours@gmail.com
Information about meeting place, cancellation arrangements etc. will be provided to those who book.
The Friends are keen to assist young learners to know more about Wellington's heritage and history, so the only charge for these tours will be gold coin donations to the Friends.
Information about these tours will be posted to the Facebook page for the Friends, and in local papers.
Barbara Mulligan, Vice Chair, Friends of Karori Cemetery
FROM MON 29TH MARCH: BOOKINGS OPEN FOR TERM 2 CLASSES & THE APRIL HOLIDAY PROGRAMME AT BIGAIR GYM! Classes fill up fast, so don’t miss out!
Children LOVE learning how to Cartwheel, Round-off, Handspring and Flip at BIGAIR GYMs Classes! Children develop strength, flexibility, balance, proprioception, plus determination and self-confidence as they achieve new skills! BIGAIR’s GYMNASTICS, TUMBLING, FREE RUNNING & TRAMPOLINE classes are excellent for fun and fitness! We focus on safety, technique, fundamental skills, right through to more advanced skills, such as summersaults and twisting. Bigair Gym is a pristine, exciting, kid friendly, state of the art gym facility! Our experienced coaches run structured & fun gym classes.
Keep your kids active these holidays, with our full or half day Holiday Programme sessions, while they also practice and learn new gym skills!
To Book online: www.bigairgym.co.nz Contact: Bigair Owhiro Bay - phone 383 8779 or email wgtn@bigairgym.co.nz or Bigair Tawa - phone 232 3508 or email office@bigairgym.co.nz