Well, it has been a busy couple of weeks with Life Education & I am Hope foci followed by Samoan Language Week but congratulations to all our tamariki for embracing the rich learning opportunities. As always Harold was a great hit and we hope all of you have been able to find out about the learning that your children had. 

Malo lava to all those incredibly generous agia who helped our Samoan tamaiti to lead the learning about the Samoan language, culture, and traditions. The tamaiti had great fun and learned a great deal. In particular, thanks to Lesi and Sega and their agia for preparing all the food and judging our sand saucer creations - Fa'afetai. Some of the children have expressed how they felt about the learning below so do enjoy reading those.

A very special acknowledgment to Marimatina, our Year 8 leader who excelled at teaching the whole school the sasa, being our language expert as well as performing dance for us. Matua lelei faia Marimatina - you are a super star!

For the 'sand saucer' challenge we were delighted with the range of home creations and the imagination that our tamaiti showed when creating their version of a Samoan scene.

First place for the home creation went to Suki for her amazing creative response and use of materials - we were all very impressed with the time, effort and creative thinking that Suki took to create this. 

The in-class effort first place went to Joseph, who displayed meticulous attention to detail and wonderful effort in order to create his landscape. Congratulations to you both. 

Faith News

On Sunday it is St Anthony’s Feast Day, we will be celebrating this at school on Tuesday. We will begin our day with Mass at 9:30 am and then in Tuakana Teina groups we will do activities based around our school crest. 

Faith Reflection

Eloquent preacher. Insightful teacher. Powerful miracle-worker. St. Anthony of Padua is many things to many people, but of all his varied roles, none leaves us with a more powerful example to follow than that of his humble response to the call of God. Throughout his life, God asked Anthony to do things that drew him out of his comfort zone and pushed him past the bounds of his imagination into the realm of the miraculous. But this was only possible through Anthony’s sincere and profound trust in God. Even when asked to do seemingly ludicrous things, such as preach to an audience of fish, Anthony didn’t question God. He didn’t insist that such a feat would be a waste of his time, or counter with his own suggestion as to how to win over his human listeners. He simply followed the divine command entrusted to him, leaving the results up to God, and the event is now upheld as one of the greatest miracles he ever performed!

Last week was Samoan Language week. We did many interesting and cool things. My favourite was the sasa dance. This is a traditional Samoan floor dance. When the person standing up the front says mele mele mele you rub your hands together. On patia you clap once on the lower pati you clap twice. For this action you reply ho after the person up front says “hey hey.” So it sounds like “hey hey, ho! Hey hey ho!” Next thing was side clap side clap ground clap ground clap so this works by the person says “side clap side clap ground clap ground clap” first right side then left side repeat on ground. That is most of what I remember so I am ending it here. I had fun learning the sasa. - Tom

Talofa lava,oa mai oe? In Term 2 Week 5 it was Samoan language week! On Friday we celebrated it and Marimatina showed us the dance the women would do with a nifo oti (cane knife). A nifo oti makes everybody see that Samoan women are strong and that they love their culture. It looks amazing when it's being used by the women of Samoa! - Alice

About 3 - 2 days ago, Tina’s parents and herself made some Samoan food to share with us. There was raw fish, some noodles (which to me tasted like a delicious lump of noodle), and lastly, my favourite, this small Samoan food called oka. It lived in a tiny container (which me and my family used for trapping flies). The delicious oka was filled with this fresh coconut sauce that had a similar consistency with yogurt. Maybe it was coconut yogurt. The coconut sauce was mixed with vegetables like cucumber and also with delightfully refreshing bits and pieces of raw fish. When I ate the seaweed-shaped noodles, it was delicious… but not as yummy as the unbeatable oka food. Yum. Did you know that when I was on my sixth oka, all the seaweed noodles disappeared?!!!  I only ate that noodle seaweed once. It must have been very popular. Did you know that in the combination of home and school, I ate 8 or 9 oka altogether? Yep, it was truly delicious. I loved it.

- Nikki

Samoan language week was great…especially the sand saucers!!! People bought them from home and we made them at school. We used sand, shells, sticks and other outside materials. We also used leaves, paper and plastic. Then it was judging time. Suki and Joseph won!!! - Thomas

During Samoan language week Tina and her mum came in to give us some Samoan food to taste. The food we tasted was called Chop Suey, raw fish, taro and rice. Chop Suey is a kind of rice noodle, they’re long brown noodles and they have a really good taste to them. I could eat them every day, they especially taste good with the rice. The raw fish came in a little container. It was like a mixture of raw fish, some white dressing and bits of other stuff. Last but not least the taro, taro looks a bit like bread when you first see it but it’s not, you can’t really taste it at first it doesn’t taste like anything but when you get the flavour into your mouth it tastes really nice. All of these were quite filling but they were REALLY GOOD! When I first tried it I realized how good it was. A lot of people tried it and went back for seconds and even thirds. My favourite was Chop Suey. We are all very grateful for the food. We all loved it. - Hazel

Ngā mihi nui ki a koe Anne Dowden!

The Board, on behalf of our school, says thank you to Anne Dowden, our long-serving Board member who retired from the Board at the end of term one.  Anne started as a parent representative on the Board in 2013 when her children Maddie, Burn and Devlin were at St Anthony’s.  For the last 8 years, she has served on the Board as a proprietor’s representative and her children are now in their last years of college and university.  We are very grateful to have benefited from Anne’s knowledge of the educational sector and Board experience and acknowledge the many many voluntary hours she has worked on Board matters.  We wish you all the very best for your free time and new adventures Anne.  Ngā mihi nui ki a koe Anne.

Board vacancy

There is a vacant parent representative position on our School Board.  The Board resolved under section 105 of the Education Act 1989 to fill the vacancy by ‘selection’ rather than hold a by-election. This means that we are required to formally notify all voters on the school’s electoral role and give them the opportunity to request the Board to hold a by-election rather than use the selection process. In essence, if you disagree with the Board’s decision, you have the legal right to ask for a by-election. Therefore, if you are an eligible voter you have until the 8th July to write to the Board Chair and request a by-election. The official notice is below. 

Red Slide and Surrounding Area Proposal

Now that the senior playground is up and running, it’s time to turn our attention to the red slide and surroundings.  The proposal is to sand the slide and repaint it.  The surrounding areas would be planted with soft flax at a reasonable height that children could play in.  Small stepping rounds would be arranged in this area like stepping stones.  We would love to hear your feedback on this proposal

(email bot@stants.org.nz).

We invite you to review our current policy on Reporting to Parents on Student Progress and Achievement - as you will see the last review was in 2018 so some of the details have changed but we welcome your feedback. 

Instructions for reviewers

1. Follow the link to the policy 
2. Read the policy.
3. Click the red Policy Review icon at the right-hand top corner of the page. A new screen will appear.
4. Select your role (board member, staff member, or parent/caregiver) from the drop-down list.
5. Enter your name (optional).
6. Submit your ratings and comments

The Board and staff have also been reviewing our Visitors Policy and it is a timely reminder for us all that our policy states that all visitors, (parents and caregivers included) must report to the school office to sign in. This is to ensure that in the event of an emergency we know who is on the premises and to also ensure that there is no disruption to the teaching and learning. So while we love having you pop in, please go to the office first.

Thanks to everyone who supported Sophia from Te Ākau class yesterday with the cupcake sale for her Pink Ribbon fundraiser.  You all helped Sophia raise $146 toward this great cause.  And of course well done to Sophia and her Mum Lesi for providing the delicious cupcakes.  It is amazing to see someone so young working so hard for the needs of others - we are all very proud of you Sophia!

If you would like to help Sophia in her fundraising efforts here is the link to her official page. 

Sophia's Pink Ribbon Fundraiser

Friday Lunches

This Friday we have Subway as our lunch option.  Order envelopes should have come home this week but if not there are extra available in the office.  Thanks to Jacinta Handscomb and her Year 6 helpers for getting this organised for the students this week.

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 

www.entbook.co.nz/1042q81

Or look out for the posters around the school which have a QR code link to our St Anthony's order page.

Get amazing deals on the brands you love storewide

The Noel Leeming Friends and Family offer from 14-27 June 2021 is available to staff, students, families and friends associated with Catholic Schools.

Print and present this flyer or show it on your device in store.

*Noel Leeming Friends & Family offer is available in store only and for the dates detailed on the flyer or while stocks last. Terms & conditions apply and the flyer must be presented at the time of purchase.

A musical evening with Fr Chris Skinner

Supported by St Catherine’s College students, at 7pm on Sunday 27 June at St Joseph’s Church, Ellice St, Mt Victoria. $20 cash at door or go on line to TryBooking  www.trybooking.co.nz/HKO  Booking fee is 30 cents. Fr Chris’s cds will be available to purchase www.chrisskinner.org.nz

Music School Holiday Programmes

Lots of fun, modern 'cool' songs and activities with personable inspiring teachers. Perfect for building confidence in creative children who would like to explore music or take their playing to a new level. Ideal for budding singers, guitarists, pianists and bassists. Contact us today to book or for more information.

July 2021 Dates

From Monday the 19th until Thursday 22nd July, 2021. 8:45 am until 3:30 pm.

Holiday Programme

Artrageous July Holiday Adventure: 12 – 23 July 2021    » Programme    BOOK ARTRAGEOUS JULY 

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 July Creative Exploration: 12 – 23 July 2021    » Programme    BOOK OLDERAGEOUS JULY

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: Art rooms, Block D, Wellington High School, Taranaki St, Mt Cook, Wellington 
8.30am–3:00pm $79 and after care 3:00pm-5.30pm $15