Kia ora koutou

Nau mai, Haere mai to Veadpotnin who has joined Te Ākau and her family - please go up and chat to our new members of our whānau so they feel welcomed. 

Last week, our tamariki had a wonderful morning exploring the life and mahi of our patron saint - St Anthony. Working in their tuakana teina (senior buddy with a  junior)  groups they explored Anthony’s life from the perspectives of his life journey, as a Franciscan, as a preacher, and as a miracle worker. They then created ‘I Spy’ art pieces for us to find clues in to show their learning. These are now displayed in the library and we welcome you to come in to test your knowledge about the life of our patron saint. 

We were delighted to have Sheryl McKnight come for the day yesterday to spend time with Te Ākau. This finally allowed her the chance to say farewell to the class and they had great delight in presenting Sheryl with the gift and card that they had created. It was a shame that we had a number of students away but we promise that there will be another opportunity. 

Our tamariki have been exploring and developing their understanding of Matariki and are busy creating displays to share with you on our Matariki Evening. This is now scheduled for July 6 at 5:30 pm. As well as our focus on Matariki we have invited Sheryl to join us for this evening in order to allow everyone the chance to say our farewells as well. We look forward to you all joining us.

Finally as mentioned in the Board News we have our Catholic Education Review team here this coming week so please watch out for the survey so that you can contribute your thoughts and ideas to the team. 

Ngā mihi o Matariki, te tau hou Māori | Happy Matariki 

Denise

Whakanui a Papatuanuku

Respecting Mother Earth
“Me aro ki te ha o papatuanuku”

Matariki is a time to prepare the whenua on which we live. In the middle of winter during Matariki, the land is in its most inactive phase. Certain vegetables are planted to appease the land-based gods Rongo, Uenuku, and Whiro. With spring on its way, Matariki is the perfect time to make plans for the land and for the new spring garden.

Matariki is an important constellation for the provision of kai as the whakatauki states, “Nga kai a Matariki nana i ao ake i runga”-Matariki scoops up the food. It is the start for all things new.

By the time Matariki comes into the sky, you must have finished the preserving of kai. When Matariki comes you plant a ceremonial offering of kai into the whenua, for Whiro and Uenuku, to ensure a good crop for the next season.

Matariki is a time to learn about your whanau, and a time to remember those who have passed on from this world to the next. Whakapapa is an important part of Matariki celebrations.

Tēnā koutou e te whānau

Winter is well and truly upon us, bringing with it a rich tradition of midwinter ceremonies and celebration.  Friday 24 June marks the first time New Zealand has a public holiday for Matariki, the Māori New Year.  We hope you and your whānau and friends are able to come together to reflect on the past 12 months and look toward the year ahead.

Thank you to our Principal, staff, and relief teachers

During this time of colds and bugs (and the ‘Vid), we recognise the huge effort that Mrs. Johnson, the staff, and our relief teachers and teacher aide do to keep our school open so that our tamariki continue to benefit from their quality education and school life.  Thank you with aroha and blessings - we appreciate you. We ask you to keep in your prayers those staff who have been unwell as well as Kirsten Bouras and Francesca von Lanthen who have recently both lost their aunts. We extend our prayers and thoughts to them both during this time. 

Catholic Special Character Review

This coming week we have our Catholic Special Character Review and we warmly welcome the review team of  Zita Smith and Tony Kelly-Smith.  So what is the review about? In the Catholic Education of School-Age Children (2014) the Bishops stated:

“The Catholic Character review process examines what a school does to maintain its Catholic Character.  The process needs to consider the lives of the students if it is to produce a focused picture of the impact of Catholic schooling on the students concerned.  An incisive Catholic Character review will seek to determine whether the students have ‘encountered the living God’, grown in knowledge, and as a result, have formed a deep and lasting relationship with Christ and his Church.”

“Catholic education is above all a question of communicating Christ, of helping to form Christ in the lives of others.”

“First and foremost every Catholic educational institution is a place to encounter the living God who in Jesus Christ reveals his transforming love and truth.”

“Facilitating… a genuine and ongoing encounter with Christ… is an essential function of the Catholic school…  This progression from encounter, to growth in knowledge and to Christian witness is the framework of the disciple’s journey.”

In the review, schools are asked to consider and demonstrate the ways in which they provide for their students:

- an encounter with Christ,

- growth in knowledge, and

- the development of Christian witness.

The review also investigates stewardship, including stewardship of the relationship between the Church and the State.

The review is designed to look at the work our school has done, in its internal evaluation and development, to grow Catholic Character.  It affirms what the school has done and the opportunities for further development the school has discerned. It challenges the school to be more transformational. Reviewers encourage and commend best practice, and work with the school to analyse opportunities to further strengthen and develop the Catholic culture.

We look forward to working with Zita and Tony during this mahi.

Interzone Cross Country congratulations

Ka rawe! What a fantastic effort by our 5 competitors in the Wellington Interzone Cross Country event last week. Congratulations to all and well done on your outstanding results.

Ngā mihi nui

A very big thank you to kaumātua, Ray Ahipene-Mercer, for sharing his knowledge and wisdom with our tamariki.  Ray’s korero was about life in and near the sea and how pollution and bad practices have impacted our local coastline and marine life.  He talked about how taking better care of the environment such as the Moa Pt treatment plant makes such a positive and significant difference.  Our students were fascinated by the penguin - a great talking point!

Matariki

Matariki signals the Māori New Year. It is a time of renewal and celebration in New Zealand that begins with the rising of the Matariki star cluster. Take time to gather with family and friends to reflect on the past, celebrate the present, and plan for the future.

To celebrate Matariki the Māori New Year, Te Wharewaka o Pōneke has gifted a moving karakia to Wellington. The karakia by Ben Ngaia speaks to resilience, generosity, and bringing people together.

He Karakia mō Matariki | Wellington City

Stop that Rubbish!!!

How do we make slime?

Slime is a very fun, gooey kind of liquid. It is very good to experiment with. 

Our first slime failed because we put a lot of water in the slime. It also didn’t work because we didn’t put shaving cream in the slime. So it was just a coloured puddle. 

The second try turned out amazing! THis time we put only glue and shaving cream in the slime. But if you wanted to touch it you had to wash your hands because the slime is sticky and it will go all over your hands!

I think I could have made it more flexible so I could stretch it more. I also think that the slime is kind of liquid and soft so it didn't feel really like slime but I didn’t mind. 

Glossary:

Flexible- easy to bend and stretch

Liquid- something that’s like water. 

-Luna Benigna 

How do we make slime?

Slime is a sticky, fun toy. Also a type of putty. 

My first attempt was a fail. I followed something off the internet and it said to mix glue, warm water, food colouring and borax. The thing that made it not work is that it said to put warm in the glue and mix but it just turned into liquid. 

This is what we did.

1. First we put glue in a tub. 
2. Second we put in the warm water.
3. Third we mixed borax with water and poured in it the tub. 

We decided to try again.

Our second attempt worked. First I put glue in the bowl. This time I did not add warm water but I did use shaving cream. Then I added some food colouring and I mixed with a stick. After that I also mixed water and borax with the slime. It still did not feel like slime so I kept adding more glue and it worked. 

And that is how we made slime!

-Olivia Sharp

For Matariki we made stamps by sketching out shapes on cardboard and cutting them out. William, Jamie, Sam and I made a little factory to make them. Jamie would draw the shapes and Sam and I would cut them out. We had to make a little handle on the back for me to be able to pick them up so our fingers wouldn't get paint on them. William glued the handles on. We all really enjoyed this experience.  

By Kahu

The Rock Acadamy

Holiday Programmes

The Rock Academy will again be running our usual school holiday programmes these coming April 2022 holidays, therefore we would muchly appreciate if you could put a notice in your newsletter and on your Facebook page.

Free Music Lesson Voucher

As a way of showing our appreciation for including the Rock Academy in your newsletters and your Facebook page, we would like to offer your school three (3) free music lesson vouchers for up-and-coming fundraising events or silent auctions. Please let me know if you would like to receive the vouchers offered so I can arrange vouchers with your school name on each voucher.

Music Holiday Programmes

Are you looking for a holiday programme that is suited to creative and musical children? Busking trips to build their confidence, songwriting sessions to unlock their creativity and lots of fun activities. Perfect for singers, guitarists and keyboard players. Beginners to advanced. Contact us today! geoff@therockacademy.co.nz or 021 565 750.

July 2022:

From Monday 11th of July to Thursday the 14th of July. 8:45 am until 3:30 pm. 

Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwP8fNpxsMo

Wonderkind

Wonderkind is a brand-new, magical theatre experience for young children. You can join fledgling friends, Tim and Em, as they set off on a journey leading to the ultimate discovery; that endless possibilities for wonder and joy lie in true friendship.

Wonderkind is a theatre show featuring puppetry, live performance, a stunning scenographic design and a delightful original music score. This is a high-quality and visually striking piece of children’s theatre at Circa Theatre during the July school holidays and is open to bookings from Early Childhood Education Centres during week one of Term Three.

Show Details:
Wonderkind runs 9th – 30th July at Circa Theatre, with shows at 11am and 1pm. Bookings through Circa Theatre's website.

General Admission tickets - $15 each
Family Pass for Four - $50
Under 2’s – Free
School and ECE Groups - $12 each

Relaxed performances: Tuesday 12 July at 11am & Wednesday 20 July at 11am
School and ECE Performances: 26 – 29 July at 11am and 1pm every day