Kia ora te whanau St Anthony's School 

Our school Pōwhiri and Beginning of Year Mass this morning was a very special event welcoming everyone to a new school year as well as our several new students, their families and two staff members to St Anthony's. Thank you to Fr Paul, Mrs Johnson (DP), Miss von Lanthen (DRS), as well as the staff and students, for their part in making the occasion such a success and a wonderful way to start 2019.

On Monday morning, Harold & Charlotte from Life Education Trust will be arriving to work with our students in the mobile classroom for the week. The Junior Syndicate classes will be inquiring into 'What makes a good friend?' with a minor focus on 'What makes me special and unique?'.  Kea Class are inquiring into 'Why is my reputation and identity important?' and Tui Class will be exploring 'What makes a good leader?'

To find out more about what Life Education has to offer your children, please visit: https://www.lifeeducation.org.nz/

Further school events are detailed below to start the school year:

Meet the Teacher Evening - Thursday 7 February 6.30-7.30pm 
We invite the parents in Kiwi, Hoiho & Takahe classes to meet in their child's classroom at 6:30pm and Kea & Tui parents at 7pm in the senior classrooms. This allows for parents who have students in both syndicates to be able to hear from the teachers. If you are not able to make this evening, please contact your child's teacher as there maybe handouts given out on the night. 

School Family Picnic - Wednesday 13 February 5pm @ Scorching Bay Beach

Bring your whānau and picnic dinner and be set for a wonderful evening with our school community. See you there!

School / Parish Bazaar - Sunday 17 February 11-2pm

We are looking forward to the Bazaar next Sunday. Angeline Harrington and her team have been doing a fabulous job preparing for our fun and exciting big day. The Bazaar has literally been 2 years in the planning! Thank you to everyone involved who are doing huge amounts of work to make the day the best it can be. 

Please shoulder tap five families each who don't come to our school and ask them to come to the Bazaar next Sunday.

We will be having a Vigil Mass at 5pm on Saturday 16 February at St Anthony's Church due to no Mass at St Anthony's on Sunday. Please bring your families and friends - it will be a wonderful way to focus on our amazing community and be thankful for everything that the Bazaar brings. 

Just to let you know that I'll be in Vancouver, Canada from Friday 15 February for a week attending my Grandmother's 90th birthday, which is on the weekend of the Bazaar. I will be thinking of you all during the Bazaar - I'm positive it will be an outstanding success!! I look forward to hearing all about it on my return to school on Monday 25 February.

Ngā mihi

Jennifer Ioannou
PRINCIPAL

We have a very exciting, ambitious and focused programme of learning ahead in 2019. This letter sets out the donation amounts requested from parents that we believe will allow us to provide a first-class education at St Anthony’s. Where these are paid, we maximise our students' outcomes. Where there is a shortfall, we need to cut back our programme/s as there are no alternative sources of funding available for these types of expenses.  

We genuinely appreciate that there is a significant amount of financial pressure involved in raising a family from many competing sources – sports, clothing, ex-curricular activities, not to mention the basics of housing, food and health. We sincerely ask you, however, to prioritise the cost of your child/children’s education. 

As a decile 8 school, we receive less funding from the Ministry of Education per child than lower decile schools. As a result, we need to find other ways to fund all the programmes that we want to run for our children. That is why school donations from our parent community are so important. Throughout the year, FOSA (Friends of St Anthony’s) do a significant amount of fundraising to assist the school with purchasing items that provide the children with extra resources. However, if we relied only on our fundraising to cover extra in-class resources and staff professional development, we would then have to cut back on the improvements we have recently used our fundraising for. In other words, we very much rely on this voluntary contribution and we are very grateful to those who are able to pay it. Unfortunately, when funds donated to the school are below what is required, our programmes may have to be curtailed. 

Our children and school benefit greatly from the voluntary contribution donated by families. From the donations received we are able to offer a number of extra resources, activities and programmes to complement our curriculum. 

The amount for the 2019 General School donation has been set at $215 per student (unchanged from 2018). 

The General School donation will be used for:  

• ICT classroom equipment                                                                             
• Teacher Aide support / part-time Librarian                 
• New adaptive furniture that supports a vibrant and flexible learning environment
• Resources to support the Health and Physical Education programme, literacy and numeracy               

Specific Donations
We are committed to providing excellent educational opportunities for our students. Below is the cost of these activities. Payment for these is very much appreciated as it enables us to provide rich learning opportunities for our students.

• Class trips & Activities:                                                              $40.00 ($10.00 per term)
• Dance lessons (Term 1: all year levels)                                   $15.00
• EOTC Week (Term 1 Week 4: all year levels)                          $15.00 
• Swimming (Term 3: all year levels)                                          $50.00
• EOTC (Education Outside the Classroom – Yr 7 & 8)            $80.00
• Technology (Yr 7 & 8)                                                                 $100.00

All donations qualify for a tax rebate. Please see http://www.ird.govt.nz/non-profit/np-donations/school/np-school-tax-credits.html   
If you would like to find out more about claiming donations, please email me principal@stants.school.nz

Payment Options 
There are multiple ways to pay: 

• by automatic payment.  For your convenience, an automatic payment form is available in the office. If you would like to pay this way, please complete the form and send it to your bank. 
• internet banking. Please transfer funds to bank account:  St Anthony's School, 12-3140-0322099-00, with your child’s family name or invoice number as reference.
• cash or cheque payable to “St Anthony’s School Seatoun” handed to a member staff in the office.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss anything further, including any difficulty you may be experiencing with making payment, please do not hesitate to contact me. 


Kind regards 

Jennifer Ioannou 
PRINCIPAL

Bazaar Helpers
The Bazaar teams need HELP on the Bazaar Day Sunday 17 February for 2-4 hours. We need all the help we can get as the funds raised are going towards completing our school playground area and purchasing vital educational resources. 

We also need people to deliver our Bazaar Flyers in our community. 

If you can help, please email Angeline - email@angelineharrington.com 

We look forward to hearing from you.

Please sell as many of your raffle books as possible and return all sold books ASAP.  Please contact or visit the school office if you require more books. 

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT “MORE HANDS MAKE LIGHT WORK."

Kind regards
The Bazaar Team

School Lunches

School lunches will start next Friday 15 February with Pizza. A lunch order form is attached and hard copies will be available in the office. The roster for the term will be completed as soon as confirmed.

We would also like more volunteers to help with school lunches, as well as seeking someone as a support coordinator for school lunches to assist Sarah and to help when Sarah is unavailable. Please contact Yvonne in the office if you have a few hours spare a term. 

Capital Trout Centre Special Childrens Open Day -Sunday 17 February 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 Wellington City Council Southern Landfill, on Landfill Road, Happy Valley, Wellington 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.

ORIES Junior Rugby Registrations

Wed 20 February 5.30-7.00pm, Wed 6 March 5.30-6.30pm, Hurricanes Night Wed 20 March 5.30-7.00pm. $50 per child, $75 for the family.

Welcome Home – Home & Garden Tour on Saturday 16th March 2019.

The Neonatal Trust in conjunction with Showroom, are again running this amazing tour which features beautiful, interesting, stylish, family-focused homes with great character and soul. Attendees will get to soak in great backyards, luscious gardens and fantastic living spaces that will interest and inspire. The visual feast will be complemented by tasters and canapés from local food and drink heroes. 

This is a one-day, self drive, event where a selection of homes & gardens in the Seatoun and Worser Bay area will be open to the public for viewing from 10am - 4pm.  

Proceeds from ticket sales go directly to assist the work of The Neonatal Trust.

This event is not to be missed and will be held rain or shine!  Grab a group of friends and come join us for a day of fun and inspiration. Tickets on sale now at www.neonataltrust.org.nz/2019hometour  (sorry, no children under 12 please)

Music Lessons at School

Dynamite Music offer piano, guitar and drum lessons during the school day.

For more information and to sign up for a free trial visit:

https://enrolmy.com/dynamitemusic/book-now/49-StAnts

DANCING

Dance Classes – Pre School, RAD Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary

Does your child love to dance and is interested in joining a class this year? I'm an ex RNZB dancer, RAD registered teacher and have 10 years of dance teaching experience. I aim to offer quality dance tuition for children living in Miramar and the Eastern Bays. Contact: Hannah on 021 207 6757 E hannah@wellingtonballetstudio.co.nz  https://dancestudio-pro.com/online/wbsenrolment

Irish Dancing – Is for Everyone!

Fun, Friendship, Fitness, Culture, Skill.  Beginners classes now available in Kilbirnie on Tuesdays, Karori on Wednesdays & Tawa on Saturdays.  E:  reeljigirishdancers@gmail.com or P: 022 396 0238

Wellington Dance – Pre School to Adult

Wellington Dance offers ballet and dance classes for all ages. We have range of after-school, daytime and weekend classes at our studios in Thorndon, Basin Reserve and Seatoun. We'd love to help your child enjoy friendship, poise and fitness through dance. Enrol easily for Term 1 online at www.wellingtondance.co.nz or give us a call on 04 2108642

BigAir Gymsports & Cheerleading

Children in Wellington are learning how to Cartwheel, Round-off, Handspring and Flip at BIGAIR Gymnastics classes! Children develop strength, flexibility, balance, proprioception, plus pride and self-confidence as they achieve new skills. BIGAIR’s Gymnastics Tumbling, Free Running & Trampoline classes are great for fun and fitness! We focus on safety, technique, basic skills, through to more advanced skills such as summersaults and twisting. Cheerleading is perfect for children who love to Dance, Stunt and Tumble. We are currently taking new members into our 2019 competitive teams! To find out more, please call Bigair Gym Owhiro Bay on 3838779 or email wgtn@bigairgym.co.nz.