Hello, Kia ora, Talofa lava, Hola, Namaste, Mabuhay, Ciao, Kia Orana, Ahalan,  Konnichiwa, Ni hao, Selam,  Xin chao,  Bonjour,  Bula, Dzien/Dobry, Shalom,  Dia duit, Mauri, Halo, Bom dia, Gidday, Guten Tag, Hej   

Mai i te Kopae ki te Urupa, tatou ako tonu ai - From the cradle to the grave, we are forever learning.

Kia ora koutou e te whānau,

This term has been packed with learning opportunities.  The children have been working on our whole school inquiry topic of 'Journeying', in a variety of ways.  Our Pohutakawha students have been learning about migration and have used the book, The Eels of ANZAC Bridge by Eli Foster.  They also connected this learning to their studies on the waterways with Mountains to Sea.  The Pihinga pod have been studying the moon and their knowledge about the moon and its phases, relationship to other planets and general facts is truly impressive.  Kakano pod studied travel and visited Te Papa; it was great to see how they could see the similarities between modern travel modes like planes, trains and airplanes with passenger ships and waka.  Next term we will continue our inquiry with a focus of journeying through time, as we prepare for our 75th Jubilee.  Our Immersion Day will be fun and educational - watch out for the return of the 'teaching nuns'.      

We are very pleased to welcome  Megan Squires to St Theresa's.  Megan will be working in Kakano pod and will be taking the role growth class for Terms 3 and 4 this year.  Megan is primary trained and also has an Early Childhood background.  She has been getting to know the staff and children this week and we know she will be very well supported and welcomed.  

Thanks once again to Libby Baker for co-ordinating the Mid-winter Christmas Raffle for us and to the whole community for selling the tickets.  The proceeds from this raffle will be used to purchase playground equipment for our new turf, sandpit and play kitchen area.

It is with great sadness that we send our condolences to Katie Arathimos and Eli Smidt in Room 4 and their whanau for the sad passing of Eli's Dad, Dan Smidt.  Our prayers, thoughts and aroha are with them at this very sad time.

Keep warm, stay safe and have a restful break.

Kia pai tō rā whakatā - Have a great weekend.
Donna McDonald - Principal

Indie Candiliotis has joined the students in Room 1.  She's the sister of Lily in Room 3 and the daughter of  Phillip and Sahra.  Being a 'little' sister, we're sure she already knows her way around the school.  We're sure you join us in wishing many blessings on the whole family and we hope that the years ahead are filled with great memories.

Caritas YCC (Your Choice Clothing) Day -  Friday, 5th July - Please bring a donation as we are fundraising for Holy Trinity School in Papua New Guinea who are in desperate need of vital classroom equipment and resources.

Room 3 has had a spectacular term. We have had a science-based inquiry learning about the moon! Room 3 children have enjoyed creating moving moon, earth and sun models, writing about the moon and creating moon artwork. We have been learning about Matariki and the stars. Hiwa-i-te-rangi is the wishing star (the star known for setting goals or resolutions) and all the children set some awesome goals for Matariki! We created some fun firework art using pastel chalk and learning new skills! We have had a lot of fun this term!

All families will have been sent a book of raffle tickets to sell.  If you need any extra books, please call in at the office or email Gina and she will sort them for you!

We will be having a non-uniform day on Friday, 26th July (first Friday of Term 3) and will be asking families to send in items for the raffle instead of the usual gold coin donation.  Closer to the time, we will make suggestions about what could be donated so it makes it easier for you to decide.

All funds raised from this raffle will go towards equipment for our turf/sandpit/play kitchen area.  Many thanks, in anticipation, for your support of this initiative.

We are looking for someone who would like to work one day a week in the Parish office. The role will involve working Wednesdays for five hours and the hours are flexible. The successful candidate must have general office skills, be highly organised, have excellent attention to detail and be comfortable dealing with a range of people. They must be focussed on delivering pastoral care. This person needs to be comfortable working alone and be prepared to run the office when Jocelyn is away.  If you are interested in this opportunity, please submit a resume and cover letter to st.theresas1940@gmail.com

Winter School Holiday Boredom Busters

Winter holidays are here at last. Time to give the winter bugs a break and find some time to rest and recuperate.  We all need to have some fun during this time too so here are some boredom busters to get you started:

• Porirua Library has the “Read around the World”  holiday programme and other activities (Free)

• Wellington City Libraries holiday events for kids (Free). Lots happening!

• School holiday fun in the Wellington Region

•  Wellington event Info here

• Hutt Valley event info here

• Get creative  - lots of ideas online try some of these:

• Creative School Holiday Activities from Kidspot (Free) 

• NZ School holiday crafts Pinterest

• Sign up for a children's library card at one of the Porirua City Libraries and keep those reading miles ticking over ……………………………..

Our school library Dashboard has lots of videos, stories and interactive
games with a Matariki focus. The Dashboard will change in week two, so check in later in the holidays. The new focus will be “Olympics”.

It’s that time of year. Finalists are here and the winners will be announced next term. We have all the titles available in the school Library. 

See our catalogue list here (more being added soon)

Please mark this in your calendar and spread the word!
Thursday, 12th September 9.30 - 11.30a.m.
Archbishop Paul Martin will be celebrating Mass followed by the blessing of our art installation, the sharing of stories of the past and present and light refreshments.  For catering purposes, please click on the link if you know you will be attending.

As part of our Camp 2024 fundraising efforts, here are some great offers to ward off the cold:

Bags of pine cones - between $20 - $30 per bag depending on the size you pick.  We have 3 different size bags and these are being stored in the shed at school.  If you want to purchase some, please let either Mrs. Fitzsimons (trish@stp.school.nz) or Mrs. MacLean (pauline@stp.school.nz) (or the Office)  know that you will be collecting after school and they will get that organised for you.  Please return your bag after use.
Pine firewood (trailer load) - $350 (includes splitting and delivery) Partly dry
Trailer of pine rounds (unsplit) - $50
Bring your own trailer and pick your own wood - Donation to school

PAYMENT:
For pine cones, please use the reference 'Pinecones' and your name.  
For wood, please use the reference 'Wood' and your name.
Payment should be made to our school account 12 3254 0109325 00.

For all other details, please contact Karl Simonlehner on 027-4862871 or email him on simonlehnerkarl@gmail.com and he will tell you how it works.  Well worth finding out more about it and then we're all winners!

Please feel free to spread the word beyond our school community.

For Term 3:  There will be a total of 10 Fridays that pizza will be available for you to order - that is for every Friday of the term.  This term's fundraising is for Camp 2024 and will be administered by parents whose children are attending camp this year.  We will revert to the general fundraising for school in Term 4.

To order pizza and/or ice blocks for your child, please follow ONE of the two processes below:
1. ORDERS FOR THE TERM: Pizza will be available for 10 WEEKS this term. So if ordering for the term, just multiply by 10. If you decide part way through the term, then calculate how many Fridays are left. Send an email to the team, outlining the following information for each child you are ordering for BUT in one email is fine.

Child’s Name:
Room No.:
Number of pizza slices - please specify if gluten free
Number of ice blocks
Cost: $1.50 per pizza slice and $1 per ice block
Multiply the order total by the number of Fridays.

2. WEEKLY ORDERS: These need to be sent to the same email address, with the same order details as in Option 1 and also paid into the same bank account number.
VERY IMPORTANT: The deadline for weekly orders is at 3p.m. on a Thursday. Unfortunately, no late orders can be accepted.

If you would like to pay in advance for a set number of weeks but not all
the weeks in this particular term, please feel free to email these details to
the team.
If your child is new to our school and only starts part way through the term,
simply adjust the number of weeks for the remainder of the term.
kaiorders@stp.school.nz
Payment by internet banking only to 12 3254 0109325 00 using the
reference PIZZA. The team would appreciate a screenshot of your
payment, sent to their email address.

NEWSLETTER APP
Here is the link to download the Schoolzine App.  At the end of set up, you are asked for a passcode and this is 3025. 

An important update for SZapp has been released to accomodate for iPhones which have been intermittently receiving push notifications.

SZapp is available from the App Store now.

Users with automatic updates enabled on their device will recieve this update automatically.

Community Connections

School Calendar

We're still collecting Yummy stickers which earn us points for sports equipment.  A chart is attached for you to use and copies are also available from the Office.

If you would like to order a picket, please complete the attached form and return to the Office.  The cost is $35 per picket.