Dear Parents
Today is Ash Wednesday, the start of lent. Jesus retreated into the wilderness and fasted for forty
days to prepare for his ministry. It was for him a time of contemplation,
reflection, and preparation. By observing Lent, most Christians join Jesus on
his retreat. Lent consists of the forty days before Easter. In the
western Church, we skip over the Sundays when we count the days of Lent,
because Sunday is always the joyful celebration of the Resurrection. Therefore,
the first day of Lent in the western Church is always a Wednesday.
Ashes are a sign of
remorse, repentance, and mourning. You can find biblical examples of this in
2 Samuel 13:19, Esther 4:1-3, Job 42:6, and
Jeremiah 6:26. During Lent, ancient Christians mourned their sins and
repented of them, so it was appropriate for them to show their sincerity by
having ashes on their foreheads. The custom has persisted in the church as
secular society has changed around us. It is most
appropriate on Ash Wednesday, when we begin a period of reflection,
self-examination, and spiritual redirection. Traditionally, the ashes for the
Ash Wednesday service come from burning the palm fronds from the previous
year’s Palm Sunday celebration.
Thanks to sponsorship from the Community
Trust of Southland, all pupils are being given a high visibility vest to wear
to and from school. It is recommended that all children wear the vests whether
they are walking, traveling by car or biking to
school.
Road patrols are
operating on
Parent Syndicate Night
On Thursday February 25 we will be holding our annual
Parent / Syndicate night. This is an opportunity to hear how your child's class
and syndicate operate. The evening is staggered to allow parents to visit both
syndicates on the same night.
Junior Syndicate Rms
1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. Meet in Room 6 from 7:00 -7:30pm.
Senior Syndicate Rms 7, 8, 9, 10
and 11. Meet in Room 11 from 7:45 - 8:15pm.
Syndicate News:
Junior:Kia ora from the Junior
Syndicate
- In Religious Education the children
are learning about Lent. We went to
Mass this afternoon and received the ashes for Ash Wednesday. We are also about to start focusing on
the God Strand.
- Thank you for returning sample
folders. Just a few more need to
come back to school, please.
- We have started practicing for ‘Top
Room’ as part of our P.E. and Social Sciences. The children are experiencing fun
activities while working co-operatively in a group or team. You are invited to join us on 19th
March, more information to follow.
Parents and other family members are
welcome to help with upkeep of our vegetable garden, either weeding or
planting vegetables if you wish. A
big thank you to Mrs Day for helping last week and to Mr Hartigan.
Fitness Tip: Make the most of the fine weather, encourage active
play outside, bouncing, kicking, throwing and catching balls, a game of cricket
or perhaps hopscotch.
Class Awards:
Room
1 – Sarah Cordes, Lily Henderson, Dylan Mahon, Tyrone
Watkinson.
Room
2 – Larissa McMillan, Reina Webster, Brayden Carlaw, Patrick Robinson.
Room
3 – Kaiah Sheriff, Eros Bragg.
Room
4 – Jemiour Collins, Anthony Pearce-Mann, Cassidy
Davies, Tessa McNaught.
Room
5 – Hesed Le Mamea, Max
King, Lillie McIntyre.
Room 6 – Jason
Reid, Tayla McCormack
Senior: Kia Ora from the
senior Syndicate.
- Firstly we would like to say a big
thank you to you all for the way in which you have embraced our topic “I
am who I am’. For all the hunting out of photographs and sharing special
moments of your child’s lives with them. We couldn’t do this unit without
your help.
- Touch Rugby starts today, so please
remember to check the window in the office for teams and draws each week
or you can go onto the Touch Southland website and get a draw yourself
(www.touchsouthland.co
- Please make sure that your child’s
uniform is clearly named. Already we have a growing pile of unnamed lost
property. This can be checked in the sick bay.
- Children in year 5 and 6 this week are
being encouraged to apply for positions of responsibility around the
school. This week we are looking for reliable children to be librarians
and Enviro-School members.
On Monday all children in year 6 were
issued with chocolates to sell as a camp fundraiser. Please make sure you
child sells these and returns the money to school. If you wish to sell
more then one box feel free to do so and conversely, if you do not wish
for your child to sell chocolates, please return the box intact to Mr
Goodall.
Next Thursday we are having a parent
syndicate night from 7:45pm following the juniors at 7:00pm. This is a
great chance to come along and hear how things operate in the syndicate.
This is not designed as a chance to discuss individual children though if
you wish to do this please make a time with your child’s teacher. For
parents interested in Year 6 camp we will answer any questions you may
have on this at the end.
·
All
classes are making the most of the great summer weather and are outside in the
afternoons practicing for our upcoming athletics day on Monday the 8th
of March. If you are able to help on the
track please let us know ASAP.
God bless from the
senior Syndicate.
Class awards Room 7: Makensie Waddell and Kyah Ioane Room 8: Manaia Young and Jorge Bumagat
Room 9: Angelina
Nikora-Wilson, Jared Holland, Olivia Brown.
Room 10: Taneko Elkington, Be
Pupil of the week - Bailey
Waters Hayley McCormack
Christian Leadership
Joshua Caroll Jacob
Crooks
Amp Tryathlon Sunday 21st
Feb. Entry forms are
available from the office or Mr Goodall. This starts at Splash palace and
finishes at Rugby Park Stadium.
Relay
for Life
The St Patrick’s
Staff are taking part in the Relay for Life on the 6th and 7th
of March to raise funds to support the Cancer Society. For our part we have
decided to sell ice creams on Friday’s for the next four weeks at school. The
children can come to the school canteen at 12.40 on Friday. The cost will be
$1.00 per scoop up to a maximum of two scoops.
Uniform: A large number of unclaimed items are in the sick bay. Please check if
any of these belong to your child(ren).
The PTA intends to run a sale of unclaimed / unnamed items each term.
Containers
– if you have any empty 2
litre plastic ice-cream containers or 1 litre yoghurt containers could you send
them to the school office.
Piano and keyboard teacher available. Enquiries please phone Jacqui 2161658
May God bless you and your families
Art Supplies Southland Kids
Drawing Class For
8 to 12 year olds. Starts 23 Feb 6 lessons on Tuesdays 3.45pm to 5.15pm. please enquire or
phone 2181222 or Email artsup@hubnet.co.nz
Alan Watts
Important Dates
February 19 School
Assembly @ 9:15am.
24
PTA Easter Raffle cards out to families; BOT meeting
at 7:30pm.
25
Parent Syndicate night
March 2
PTA AGM. All parents are invited to attend and join.
4 Parish / school BBQ
8
Athletics Day
April
1 Last day of the term
19
Term 2 starts