He waka eke noa is a wonderful whakatauki for both Te Wiki o te Reo Māori and for this time of COVID 19. Together we can achieve ‘Kia Kaha te Reo Māori - Let's make the Māori language strong’ as well as supporting one another during these unsettled times. Te Aroha block has spent a great deal of time developing board games based on learning te Reo which they enjoyed playing with He Atawhai block this afternoon - it is wonderful to hear the growing confidence of all of us with our te Reo. 

This week we have also focused on Social Justice with the wonderful theme of...

Due to being in Lockdown and now at Level 2 we have decided to send the ideas for the Strategic Plan that our tamariki have shared, home to you as a booklet so that you as a whānau can discuss and add your thoughts on the direction for the next 3 years for St Anthony’s. We look forward to gaining everyone’s voice.

I say ka pai tō mahi to all our tamariki for a wonderful week's learning - between the foci of Te Wiki o te Reo Māori and Social Justice, the teamwork, creative response and whanaungatanga (sense of family connection/ relationship) has been very evident. Some amazing learning achieved. 

It was with great excitement that the Camp Hoodies arrived for Te Maunga Class this afternoon.

Definitely, the highlight of the senior years think of us all as we are off to Teapot Valley on Monday morning. Check out our Facebook page and Instagram as we keep you posted on our adventures. 

Hei āpōpō

Denise

Faith News
Social Justice Week 2021 runs from September 12-18 and this year has a focus on the Beatitudes with the theme of encounter and community. As a school, we have been taking time to celebrate the true meaning of love and happiness that Jesus calls us to in the Beatitudes.

People all over the world have their own interpretation of the meaning of love. Below, we read Saint Paul’s interpretation of what it means to love with a pure heart.

“Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, (love) is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing; if tongues, they will cease; if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

Reflection 

Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

As we ponder the fruits of the Beatitudes, the blessings they produce, we can conclude that we deeply desire them. So what are the means to receive them? 

Perhaps you can look at which Beatitude you desire the most, or even more the one that is most difficult for you to want and strive toward. Once you find it, look at the fruit it produces and reflect on that Beatitude within that context. With this in mind, we grow in blessedness.

We are so happy to have four new children join our fantastic Te Ākau class this term.  Ben, Thenmooli, Olivier, and Caleb have been a welcome addition to our class so far and we are very excited to help start them on their learning journey at St Anthony’s. We currently have 12 children in Te Ākau and have a few more joining us later this term and in Term 4. As it stands we have 10 different nationalities represented in our class and have more children starting from different countries. We are learning to say hello and to count in our 10 different languages. How lucky are our young children that they get to grow up and go to school in such a multicultural environment.

Our virtual trip to the Wellington Zoo, on the last Monday of Lockdown, was a real treat for both our tamariki and kaiako, with many of our whānau watching the sessions as well. The children were then tasked to respond creatively as well as some being challenged to explore Maths through the context of the zoo. 

The Maths...

Nikki

Isobel’s drawing of Senja the tiger

"Social justice week is about the Sermon on the Mount. We were learning about the Beatitudes in school. Me and my friend Joseph made a poster about ‘be loving’. It was very colourful.’ Cedric

‘For Social Justice week the school gathered and went with our tuakana teina and did rotations. We went into different classes. There were 4 rotations. Then the whole school did a Kahoot.’ Emily K

‘On Wednesday the whole school did rotations. We all gathered and went with our tuakana teinas and others to different classes. I was in my class Te Awa with Miss Troy first. We did the first 2 Beatitudes. Then we went to Mrs Reid and did two more Beatitudes. By the end of the day we had learned about all 8 of them.’ Bianca

Coincidently Te Moana began their jungle art before Lockdown and this week had great pleasure in completing them. They are amazing - Ka pai to Te Moana!

Nau mai ngā hua

Nau mai ngā pai

Nau mai kia nui

Kia hāwere ai

Welcome all things that have grown

Welcome all things that are good

May they be plentiful and abundant

This year’s theme for Te Wiki o te Reo Māori held on 13 ki 19 Mahuru (13 to 19 September) is Kia Kaha te Reo Māori - Let's make the Māori language strong. 

Welcome to Ray

The Board welcomed an esteemed visitor, Ray Ahipene-Mercer, to our Board meeting this week.

Ray is a former New Zealand politician, who served as a Wellington City Councillor for the Eastern Ward, only the second Māori to be elected to the Wellington City Council and the first Māori to be elected since 1962. He is also a guitar-maker, musician, and well-known environmentalist.

Ray has extensive and in-depth knowledge of our local area.  He regularly speaks to groups, especially schools, about environmental issues, and includes a strong Māori perspective in these talks. 

The Board welcomed and acknowledged with gratitude the offer of assistance from Ray to help us develop and implement our te ao Māori Strategy.  We will be introducing Ray, our kaumātua, to the wider school community in the coming months.

Updated School Policies

This term we reviewed two policies: the Behaviour Management policy and the Concerns and Complaints policy.   Thank you to everyone who provided feedback on these policy reviews.  We have considered this and made some minor amendments to the policies.

In summary, all complaints and/or concerns are to be raised with the classroom teacher first, and then if more support is needed with Mrs. Johnson, our Principal who will follow school policy in dealing with these issues and is responsible for addressing complaints and/or concerns.  By ignoring this policy and speaking directly to children or their parents, we risk harming our wonderful school community relationships.   Please help us to maintain our safe and trusted St Anthony’s school community by speaking to the classroom teacher and/or Mrs. Johnson of your complaints and/or concerns and working together towards a resolution.

Please read the Behaviour Management policy and the Concerns and Complaints policy for details.

Introducing our new Board members

We welcomed with excitement and gratitude our two new Board members at our most recent meeting, Lesi Sene (parents’ rep) and Oliver Meech (proprietor’s rep): 

Lesi Sene

Marvin and Lesi were first introduced to St Anthony’s when their niece Jessie started in 2018. Their youngest daughter Sophia started with the school in 2019 and is now in Year 2.

Lesi works in Information Technology specialising in the delivery of products in the agile framework.

Lesi is looking forward to working with the other members of the Board to enable the best future pathway for all the children at St Anthony’s.

Oliver Meech

Oliver & Simone have 3 children, currently all at St Anthony’s.  Sophia (Yr 8) has been at St Anthony’s from Yr 1 / Kiwi class.  Alina (Yr 6) followed next.  Alexander started in April last year, during the first national lockdown – and is getting stuck in to Yr 2.  Oliver says he and Simone chose St Anthony’s because they want Catholic/Christian values to be the foundation of their children’s education: “And what the school lacks in size it makes up for in vibrant spirit - as a family we very much enjoy all our connections to the St Anthony’s School community.”  

Simone is a primary school teacher and has been a Relief-Teacher at St Anthony’s. She is a familiar face on the Bazaar Cake Stall.  Oliver is a lawyer. He has worked in private practice for a number of years before more recently moving into the public sector.  He currently works at the Commerce Commission.  Oliver says he looks forward to helping out on the Board and wants to support the great work that goes on to make St Anthony’s a special school.

Ngā mihi nui

Thank you to our amazing staff who stepped up at such short notice to make sure our students stayed healthy and safe and continued their learning during this lockdown.  Your behind-the-scenes efforts ensured all students had access to a laptop or iPad and online learning was able to start immediately and seamlessly.  Our tamariki loved the connection with their teacher and classmates through regular Google hangouts.  You followed up with each child to check-in and that individual care and consideration were very much appreciated.

 Thank you to our parents and caregivers for your extra effort during the lockdown and all your support for your child or children and their learning from home.  We recognise that this can be a tough gig as you juggle children, your own work and other responsibilities with the added stresses that a lockdown can bring.  Our hope is that Level 2 has brought some easing of those stresses including the joy of children returning to school last week.

Open invitation reminder

Our next Board meeting is Tuesday 9 November at 6 pm and you are warmly invited to attend.   Please let us know if you are coming by emailing office@stants.school.nz so we can set out more chairs at an appropriate social distance ?.

Heoi anō tāku mō nāianei!

Friday Lunches

This week we are offering Pizza for lunch.  Order forms should have gone home with your child/ren this week.  If not you can find the form under the Friends of St Anthony's section of our website.

Thanks to our parent helpers Sofia & Catherine and their Year 6 helpers for getting this sorted for the students.

FREE Parent Online Summit - 3 days, 3 themes, 24 world-class speakers: 8th -10th October. If you want tips, tools and ideas to parent your child to be resilient, confident and independent - this FREE summit is for you! Register for your FREE tickets here: www.spectrumparentsummit.com

Wellington City Council are currently looking for feedback on the draft plan for the cycle/walk way between Cobham Drive and Greta Point.  They want as much engagement as possible from the public, so if you are interested here’s the link to have your say.

Greta Point to Cobham Drive  |  Evans Bay - WCC Transport Projects

Wellington Harrier Children's Athletics Program