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,

Yesterday we welcomed 13 new children into our school community as well as Miss Squires, our new teacher.  We were fortunate with a crisp, dry morning for our Powhiri which allowed us to be outside.  Our Mass of Welcome was lovely; thank you to those of you who were able to attend.  This was the last Powhiri and Mass of Welcome that Fr. Andrew will celebrate with us and we are grateful for the energy he gives to everything he does with us.  We will be formally farewelling him at our School/Parish Mass on Sunday, 1st September and hope you can all be there.

Today we joined the Parish Mass to celebrate the Assumption of Mary.  Assumption Day commemorates the belief that when Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, died, her body was assumed into Heaven to be reunited with her soul, instead of going through the natural process of physical decay upon death.

Our senior students will be participating in their Scripture Reading Competition today in the Church.  The winners of this competition will go on to represent St. Theresa's at the Kapiti Mana Interschool Competition, which we are hosting next Thursday.

Exciting News!!!  The Board met last night and set the date for the 2025 March Madness Fair.  The date will be 29th March, 2025, so lock this into your calendar now!  We will be raising funds for an upgrade to our pool area.  This will include changing rooms, toilets, seating and shade so is a large project that we have been wanting to get started for some time.  Our annual fair is our major fundraiser for the year and also a wonderful occasion for the whole community, so please give some thought to how you can get involved with the planning, etc.  We still need a co-ordinator to get the ball rolling so if you have any interest in this role, please get in touch and I can talk you through what is involved.

Kia pai tō rā whakatā - Have a great weekend.

Donna McDonald - Principal

A parent recently notified us that they witnessed a child very nearly get run over by a car in James Street at pick up time.  The child simply crossed over to their parent/caregiver waiting in a parked car on the opposite side of the road, without checking if it was safe.  Because it's so busy at pick up time, we suggest that all parents walk their child over themselves and take this on board to keep all our children and other drivers safe.   

It’s Aotearoa NZ School Library Week
12-16 August 2024 (Week 4)

It's time to celebrate our school libraries across the motu, showcasing the difference a school library can make to every school community.
LET’S CELEBRATE OUR AMAZING SCHOOL LIBRARIES TOGETHER IN 2024!

Visit the fun interactive dashboard showcasing Aotearoa NZ School Library Week 2024.   Games, videos and lots of weblinks to explore. 

Check out the display in the library featuring awesome NZ books by some very talented NZ authors and illustrators.  Issue and read some today!!

Aotearoa NZ Book Awards for Children and YA 2024
Winners announced here!!

The winners in the 2024 Awards were announced last night.
The Hub Leaders went into the National Library yesterday to meet the
author and illustrator finalists. 

We are always excited to meet and talk with the authors and illustrators. Learning all about writing and illustrating and getting our books signed is always an added bonus too!

An annual highlight on the Learning Hub calendar for the Hub Leaders and a key week in their Y6 leadership levels.

A Hub Leaders' report will be in next week's newsletter.

  All award finalists here and Winners here

Thanks once again to all our families for supporting this initiative.  The total raised was just over $3400 - a really great effort.  A massive thanks to Libby Baker for organising everything.

On Sunday, 1st September at 9.30a.m. we will celebrate our second Whole School/Parish Mass of the year combined with Fr. Andrew's farewell.  There will be a sausage sizzle and a shared morning tea afterwards and we ask that you bring along a plate to contribute to this.  It is an expectation that all children attend, wearing their school uniform.  Children will meet their teacher on the court at 9.15a.m.

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.

It may be worth making a note of the following important dates for this term, however, more may be added or removed so keep a check.  You can also refer to the calendar on our website.

Term 3 .......... so far!

Thursday, 15th August - Feast of the Assumption Mass at 9.30a.m.
Thursday, 15th August - Scripture Reading Competition 1p.m.
Thursday, 22nd August - Kapiti Scripture Competition
Tuesday, 27th August - Year 5 & 6 Parumoana Swimming Competition
Thursday, 29th August - Kapiti Scripture Competition
Friday, 30th August - Uniform fittings - Please call the office to book an appointment
Sunday, 1st September - Whole School/Parish Mass 9.30a.m.
Wednesday, 11th September - Board of Trustees meeting
Thursday, 12th September - Celebration of our 75th Jubilee 9.30 - 11.30a.m.
Friday, 20th September - Children Only Bring and Buy Day
Friday, 20th September - Uniform fittings - Please call the office to book an appointment
Friday, 27th September - End of Term 3

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.

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.

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

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.