1. Principal's News Term 1, Week 4, 2017

Principal's News Week 4, Term 1, 2017

Relationship
Our first value focus this year is relationship.  Relationship means to be connected to.

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Through the school and parish we are connected as a family community.  There are many different parts to our community and we all bring different gifts and talents.

Please keep Sunday 26 March free to join us in a Welcome Mass for new families to our school and parish.  The Home and School will formally present prayer books to the children who have started at St Joseph's since term 3 of 2016.  All families are warmly encouraged to join in the celebration and stay for a cup of tea afterwards.

We are running an induction evening for all new enrolments from the end of term 3 2016 through to term 2 2017 on Thursday 2nd March at 7pm in the staffroom.

Helping Each Other
A big thank you to the families throughout the school who donate food to the parish freezer.  This food goes to any members of our school or parish who are struggling or needing comfort.  Please let us know of anyone who needs a little boost.

Also thank you to the St Vincent de Paul society who help our community in so many ways, for instance by purchasing uniform and stationery where it is needed.  Let us know of any member of our community who is in financial need.

Our year 7 & 8s will soon be re-starting their Young Vinnies group.

Swimming
Our swimming lessons are well underway.  The children have been grouped according to their swimming needs with a swimming instructor for each group. The children are making remarkable progress and enjoying their lessons immensely.

Learning about Jesus
We have been learning about Jesus.

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When your children leave St Joseph's there are some key things we would like them to know and understand about Jesus which are:

1. Jesus was a human being - he lived around 2,000 years ago in Palestine which is now Israel.
2. Jesus came to show us how to live and there are lots of stories and examples in the Bible of how he showed this.  He came to save us through his death and resurrection and through healing us of sin.
3. Jesus is God.

There are some short videos and resources on the Jesus for Parents page of our DRS blog which you can use at home to start conversations and to reinforce your child's learning.

Each class has their own particular focus:

JESUS AS HUMAN IN TIME AND PLACE
Year 1 – Jesus my Friend 1.     Jesus’ life as a human child in Palestine 2.     Jesus is human – our tuakana – and the Son of God 3.     Jesus’ invitation to be his friend	Year 5 – What I know about the life of Jesus 1.     The structure of the New Testament. 2.     The context in which Jesus lived his life. 3.     Jesus’ life story. 4.     Jesus – fully human, fully divine
LOVE
Year 2 – Jesus showed his love in different ways 1.     The different ways Jesus showed love and respect. 2.    How to follow Jesus’ example of loving and respecting 3.     Learning about Jesus in the Bible	Year 6 – Jesus the Fullness of God’s Revelation 1.     Jesus is the Son of God who revealed God as Abba – Loving Father. 2.     Through the Holy Spirit Jesus invites people to repent and live a life of faith, hope and love in worship and action. 3.   Jesus lived his life in love for God and people.
SAVIOUR
Year 3 – Jesus gives himself in the Eucharist 1.     Jesus’ gift of himself as a Meal that helps people grow in holiness. 2.     How Christ is present in the celebration of the Eucharist. 3.  The celebration of the Eucharist – giving thanks to God	Year 7 – Jesus Saviour and Liberator 1.     Jesus saves people from sin and death through his life death and resurrection. 2.     Scriptural titles of Jesus.
HOW TO LIVE
Year 4 – Jesus came to show people how to live and lead them to God 1.  Jesus invites people to grow in holiness through His grace. 2.  Sharing in Jesus’ mission of worshipping God and bringing about God’s reign. 3.     How Jesus exercised tika, pono and aroha. 4.  Jesus was sent to reveal God’s love and reconcile people to God.	Year 8 – Jesus’ values and the role of the Disciples today The Beatitudes and their place in the lives of Christ’s disciples 1.     Original, personal and communal sin, the struggle against sin and Christ’s message of forgiveness. 2.     Working for justice and peace as a follower of Jesus, advocate for the poor. 3.     Jesus as Risen Lord.

God Bless,

Lorraine Frances-Rees

Principal

2. Special Character - Week 5 Term 1 2017

Faith Fact this week:- February 22nd

Chair of St Peter

“Celebrating the "Chair" of Peter, therefore, as we are doing today, means attributing a strong spiritual significance to it and recognising it as a privileged sign of the love of God, the eternal Good Shepherd, who wanted to gather the whole Church and lead her on the path of salvation.”This feast is a bit like last weeks. Remember The very word "cathedral" in Latin or Greek, means "chair." This feast celebrates the mission of teacher and pastor given by Christ to Peter, and continued in an unbroken line down to the present Pope, of course now Pope Francis. The physical Chair of St Peter is at St Peter’s at the Vatican. We celebrate the unity of the Church, founded upon the Apostle Peter. So it celebrates church unity and the leadership and guidance of the Pope passed down from St Peter.

Next week we celebrate the beginning of Lent with a Mass next week for Ash Wednesday March 1 at 9.15 am. Parents are most welcome to join us. This Mass will be instead of the the school Mass on Thursday morning.

3. School Notices - Week 4, Term 1 2017

QUOTE FOR THE WEEK

Altar Servers
Saturday 25th February - Indya Cunningham and Bronson Bartlett
Sunday 26th February - Jonathan Jorgensen, Seth Bartley and Morgan Baillie

Birthday Greetings to:
William Moore and Jack O'Neill

Ash Wednesday Mass and Liturgy
Next Wednesday, children from Yrs 5-8 will be celebrating Ash Wednesday Mass at 9.15 am at the Basilica and there will be a Liturgy for the Yr 1-4 children in the hall after the Mass.  All parents are welcome.

Busy Bumbles After School Care and Holiday Programme
Sadly, Busy Bumbles is unable to continue offering After School and Holiday Care as it is not economically viable.  We have a few lovely children who are looking for after school home care, approximately a couple of hours a day.  Payment would be made.  Please contact Jocelyn Marsh at school if you would like more details.

Congratulations - Swimmers
Well done to our swimmers who went to the NZ Junior Swimming Festival last weekend. They all swam well and achieved personal best times and enjoyed the experience of the championships. Oamaru Swim Club which is one of the smaller swim clubs in the South Island was the top swim club on overall points.  Excellent work.  Congratulations to Elenoa Asi who got 5 gold, 5 silver and 2 bronze medals and Morgan Baillie who got 2 gold, 1 silver and a bronze.

Goal Setting Meetings & Winter Sports Registration
Thanks to everyone who attended last night's meetings and it was wonderful to see a good turnout of parents. The next lot of meetings is on tonight with Miss Pope being there to register your child for winter sports. If you cannot make the parent meeting, please register your child's winter sport to the office by emailing office@stjoseph.school.nz
This year we have staff and parent/community liaisons for each sport code with the Sports Coordinator overseeing it.  The Sports Committee will be meeting in a couple of weeks to look at numbers and coaches for our teams.

Code	Teacher Liaison	Parent/Community Coordinator
Football (soccer)	Mrs Frances-Rees	Ralph Davies
Netball	Miss Tangney	Paula Brien
Rugby	Mrs Jones-Hogan	Justin Fowler
Hockey	Miss Mulholland	Jo Cant
Basketball	Miss Day	Rachel Fowler
Miniball	Miss Gray	Katrina Miller
Cricket	Mrs Jones-Hogan	Justin Fowler, Glynn Cameron
Touch	Miss Pope (sports coordinator)	Miss Pope

Lost
Kristiana Whiston has lost her named orange adidas swimming bag which contains her togs, towels and goggles at the pool yesterday.  Please check your child's swim bags, thank you.

Netball
Some of the Southern Steel netball team is coming to school next Monday and all girls who are wanting to play netball from years 5-8 are to bring their PE gear to school.

Sent By Christ Invitation
We are running the Sent By Christ programme as part of our Lenten journey towards Easter and would like to invite the school whanau to join us.  It will follow a format of four weekly meetings, each approximately an hour long and around four themes:
- Called - Loved - Forgiven - Sent
The meetings will be hosted in parishioners homes.  For further information, please see the display by the community notices in the school entrance or contact Jan Plieger on 437 0077 or Jocelyn Marsh on 434 8073. A flyer is attached to the email.

Summer Sports Draw
Cricket - Saturday 25th February - please check with your coach
Touch Rugby - Tuesday 28th February - please check the notice board or the North Otago Junior Touch Facebook page.

Swimming Sports 
At this stage we only have 2 adults who have volunteered to help with the senior swimming sports next Friday.  If we do not get our quota of time keepers, we will have to postpone our sports because all races have to be timed as we are required to send timed results away for the North Otago Swimming sports and also for our own championship trophy winners.  If you are able to help in any way please email Miss Pope at sport@stjoseph.school.nz  A copy of the swimming letter is included on another page in the blog.

Uniform Shop
They sell football and rugby socks for $15 each.

Welcome
We welcome Miss Olivia Pope as our new Sports Coordinator.

Yr 8 Vaccination Forms
These forms are to be returned to the office asap as the vaccinations start on March 21st.

Winter Coaching Courses
Netball
First coaching course is 'Selecting' from 6.00 to 8.00 pm this Friday 24th February upstairs at the North Otago netball courts.  It is a great course to attend if you about to take part in trials for the season.  Need a minimum of 5 coaches to attend for this to go ahead.   Other courses coming up are 'Attacking, Defending, Shooting and Back to Basics workshops.   Please register online at the following link.http://www.sporty.co.nz/netballsouth/Coach-Development-1/Community-Coach-Workshop-Registration

Community Notices

• Friendly Bay Family Fun Day - to be held this Sunday 26th February at Friendly Bay (weather permitting) from 12.00 am to 5.00 pm.  There will be a sandcastle competition, beach dig, beach flag races and a birdman competition.  There will be land and water inflatables as well as food stalls and live music.
• Galleon Family Complex Children's Day - held at the Galleon on Sunday 5th March from 11.00 am.  There will be a sausage sizzle, face painting, kids fizzies and great bowling rates all day.

4. Senior Swimming Sports

ST JOSEPH’S SCHOOL SENIOR SWIMMING SPORTS 2017 Year 4 - 8

Friday ^3rd March at the Waitaki Aquatic Centre

Dear Parents

Our first race will be at 9:30 am and will be finished by 12.00 pm. Children need to be at school in their full PE uniform before 8.50 am as we will be walking the children down in classes as close to 9.00 am as possible.  Please ensure that your child has plenty of food and a water bottle as they get quite hungry at the pool.

This year we hope to have at least three timekeepers per swimming lane, for our six lanes.  If you are interested in timekeeping, please see me at school or email sport@stjoseph.school.nz  (You will be shown how to time keep beforehand at the pool)

The children are encouraged to wear their house colours once they arrive at the pool.  Face paint and vivid markers are not allowed.

The order of events is: 4 lengths Medley and then the non-competitive and competitive events in each event. There will be no finals run, only heats as they will be timed.

We have entered the children in races they are confident in and the swimming instructors and teachers have both been looking at them. If you want to ensure that your children are in the races you feel they should be, please contact your child’s teacher.

Ages are taken as of the 15th March for the age groups for the swimming sports.

Places will be determined on times recorded. Each swimmer will earn a house point for entering, 3^rd place will earn two, 2^nd place will earn 3 and 1^st place will earn 4. There will be no width events.

The starting procedure is, a whistle for quiet, ‘on your marks’, followed by a bang. Please be quiet when the swimmers are under starter’s orders.

The various swimming events will be put on a whiteboard, which will go past.  Each teacher will have a copy of the order of events as well. Please listen carefully for the marshalling calls.

We will have house relays to end the sports with time permitting.

Please do not approach the recorders for results, as they will be extremely busy making sure the times are recorded correctly.

Parents please sit on the opposite side of the pool to the children as there are more swimmers this year.  Children will be required to stay in the stands as we won’t have time to find them if they miss their races.

North Otago and Otago Swimming Sports

The swimmers qualifying for the North Otago championship will be required to perform the stroke correctly. We will have someone checking on technique at the sports and the children will be disqualified if they are using an incorrect technique.

Entry for North Otago swimming sports is taken on times not places, hence our recording of times on the day.  The North Otago swimming sports are on 15^th of March. The children who qualify for the North Otago swimming sports will be notified.

Otago Primary School’s swimming takes place on Saturday 2th of March at Moana Pool in Dunedin.  The first race is at 9.00 am and the entry fee is $5.00 per race entered ($6 entry fee for a relay).  If you wish for your child to take part in this, please let me know ASAP. Entries close on Friday the 10^th of March with no late entries being accepted.

Olivia Pope

Sports Coordinator

5. Diary Dates - Week 4, Term 1 2017

FEBRUARY

Thursday 23              -  Goal Setting Parent Interviews from 3.15 to 8.00 pm

Friday 24                    -  Technology for Yr 7 & 8

Tuesday 28                -  Activator Sport for Yrs 4-8

MARCH

Wednesday 1             -  Ash Wednesday Mass for Yrs 5-8 at 9.15 am *

Thursday 2                -  Rippa Rugby for Yrs 1-3

                                      -  Terrific Thursdays start for 4 yr olds from 2.00 to 3.00 pm

                                      -  Induction Meeting for new families starting at 7.00 pm

Friday 3                      -  Senior school swimming sports from 9.00 to 12.00

                                      -  Rippa Rugby for Yrs 1-3

Tuesday 7                  -  Activator Sport for Yrs 4-8

                                      -  Home & School meeting at 7.00 pm – all welcome *

Thursday 9                -  School Mass at 9.15 am

                                      -  Yr 7 ECB and Young Vinnies

Friday 10                   -  Technology for Yr 7 & 8

Tuesday 14                -  Activator Sport for Yrs 4-8

Wednesday 15          -  North Otago Swimming Sports from 9.00 am to 12.00 pm

Thursday 16              -  School Mass at 9.15 am

Monday 20                 -  Otago Anniversary Day – holiday no school *

Tuesday 21                -  HPV Vaccinations for Yr 8 *

Wednesday 22          -  Home & School meeting *

Thursday 23              -  School Mass at 9.15 am

                                       -  Yr 7 ECB and Young Vinnies

                                       -  Activator Sport for Yrs 1-3

Sunday 26                  -  Welcome Mass for everyone at 9.30 am *

Tuesday 28                -  BOT meeting *

Thursday 30              -  School Mass at 9.15 am

                                      -  Activator Sport for Yrs 1-3

APRIL

Thursday 13              -  Holy Thursday – school finishes

Friday 14                    -  Good Friday

Saturday 15               -  Holy Saturday

Sunday 16                  -  Easter Sunday

Monday 17                 -  Easter Monday

MAY

Monday 1                   -  School resumes for term 2 in winter uniform 

1. Principal's News Term 1, Week 3 2017

Family Learning Hui – Meet the Teacher

We enjoyed meeting the families who turned up for the hui last night.  We had a short gathering in the hall to talk about general homework before separating off into the hub areas where teachers and families were able to have a more informal gathering and discuss classroom routines and expectations.

Please book your session for the goal setting interviews next week - more information in the news part of the blog

Library

Thank you to Jan Plieger, Jill McCartie, and Adrienne Spillane who have set up our library in its new location.  

Homework

The research tells us the best thing you can do for your child’s learning is to have a positive attitude towards learning and initiate learning conversations with your children.  We share our weekly learning intentions with you so that you can have this conversation.  Each time the child is reminded about the learning, it creates a new pathway in the brain and if the learning is reinforced enough it becomes a permanent pathway and remains with the learner – and that is what we want!

Depending on age and stage there will be some learning reinforcement at home e.g. reading, learning basic facts, and basic spelling words as well as the conversations you are having.  The intermediate department are also having more formal homework to learn how to manage their time and get into good habits in preparation for high school.

Having a Learning Conversation

Look at the weekly learning intentions on the Teaching and Learning site and ask something like; “You’ve been learning to form questions (or whatever their learning intention is for the week).  What does that mean?  Can you give me an example?”

Sometimes the class blog will have an example of a child showing the learning intention in action - another good opportunity to have a conversation e.g.

“Look Anna did_________, I saw it on the blog.  What did you do?”

Every time you have that conversation you make a new link in your child’s brain and take a further step to making the learning permanent.  

It takes about 98 repetitions of a new learning for it to form a permanent and quick pathway in the brain.   Cortisol is the hormone people release when under any form of stress, such as arguing about homework, ad cortisol destroys newly formed neural pathways - so stress destroys learning.

Keep it happy… and calm!

God Bless,

Lorraine Frances-Rees

2. Special Character - Week 3, Term 1 2017

Faith fact this week-

14th Dedication of The Dunedin Cathedral 1886

The Diocese of Dunedin was created on 26 November 1869, and the first Bishop, the Right Revd Patrick Moran, DD arrived on 18 February 1871.

The Dedication of the Cathedral means that it is a place set aside which, for a special and sacred purpose. Church’s and chapels are blessed, consecrated and dedicated all in recognition of this purpose. It does not deny that God is everywhere and can be in any space but this offers a special or reserved place for those who wish to commune with God. A Cathedral is the center of the life of the local Church. That is Otago and Southland. The very word "cathedral" in Latin or Greek, means "chair." From the cathedra, the chair or the seat, the Bishop teaches, and guides the people of God, the church. From the cathedral, the church with the bishop's chair, the Bishop oversees and safeguards the life of the Catholic people of a particular diocese. This feast celebrates us as a Diocese and that we have a place set aside under the leadership of our Bishop in which we can celebrate our unity in our relationship with God.

19th Sunday Gospel

Matthew 5:38-48

Concerning Retaliation

In connection with this week's gospel reading Pope Francis in a homily is quoted:-
“Wonderful Counselor. The Gospels tell us how many people came up to Jesus to ask: “Master, what must we do?”  The first thing that Jesus does in response is to propose, to encourage, to motivate.  He keeps telling his disciples to go, to go out.  He urges them to go out and meet others where they really are, not where we think they should be.  Go out, again and again, go out without fear, without hesitation.  Go out and proclaim this joy which is for all the people.”

Homily of Pope Francis Mass at Madison Square Garden, New York Friday 25 September 2015

3. School Notices - Week 3, Term 1 2017

QUOTE FOR THE WEEK

Altar Servers
Saturday 18th February - Elenoa Asi, Molly Whittaker and Max Fatafehi
Sunday 19th February - Molly-May Mestrom, Hana & Zara Davies and Arthur Cartlidge

Birthday Greetings to:
Morgan Williams and Johannes Roos

Commissioning Mass
Last Friday, St Joseph's and St Kevin's celebrated the Commissioning Mass for all teachers of both schools at St Kevin's.  The Mass commissions the teachers to spread the good news of the gospel throughout the year to their students.

Goal Setting Interviews & Winter Sports Registration
Goal Setting Meetings - These will be held next Wednesday and Thursday from 3.15 to 8.00 pm in the school hall.  To make a booking go to www.schoolinterviews.co.nz to book a time for you and your child.  The code is bab6y.  Please contact the office if you would like us to arrange an interview time for you.

Winter Sports Registration - Miss Pope (Sports Coordinator) will be available to discuss and register your children for winter sports during these meetings. If anyone is interested in coaching a team this year, please contact Miss Pope on sport@stjoseph.school.nz asap so that coaches and practices can be sorted before the Goal Setting meetings.  This applies to all codes.

Good Luck
This weekend we have 5 swimmers who are competing in the NZ Junior Swimming Festival - Makos Zone (South Island) in Timaru.  They are swimming Friday, Saturday and Sunday and are competing against the best of the South Island swimmers from U10 to 12 years which you had to qualify for. Simultaneously there are 3 zones in the North Island racing at the same time and the swimmers times will be measured against their North Island counterparts.  Good luck to Elenoa Asi, Molly Whittaker, Corbin Fraser, Taine Dyson and Morgan Baillie who are swimming between 6 and 13 races each with some swimming in relays.

Lost Clothing
Please check your child's clothing to see if they have picked up anyone else's jackets, pe gear or jerseys as the Bartley family are missing these items.  Please hand them into the office if you have any of them.

Netball Players - Southern Steel Netball Players are in Town
There is a training for any Yr 1-8 netball players at the Waitaki Rec Centre on Sunday 26th February from 1.00 to 3.00 pm with registrations at 12.50 pm and a coaches workshop which is open to any coach from 1.00 to 3.00 pm. The Southern Steel are having a team training at the Rec Centre on Saturday 25th February from 1.00 to 3.00 pm for anyone wishing to see them train and on Sunday 26th February from 10.00 am to 12.00 pm the Steel play against the Beko Team.

Oamaru Public Library
Is closing temporarily from 1st March to 26th March and opening on Monday 27th March.

Reminders
Home & School - have their AGM next Tuesday at 7.00 in the staff room. Would love to see you there.
Scholastic Book Club - orders in by Wednesday 22nd February

Senior School Swimming Sports
Our senior school swimming sports for Yrs 4-8 will be held on Friday 3rd March in the morning at the Waitaki Aquatic Centre.  If you are available to help with timekeeping, please let Miss Pope know by emailing her at sport@stjoseph.school.nz  A swimming letter regarding these sports will be in next weeks blog.

Summer Sports Draw
Cricket - the draw was unavailable at the time the newsletter went to print.  Please check with your coach to see where you play.
Touch Rugby - the draw was unavailable at the time the newsletter went to print.  Please check the school notice board for the draw or click the  North Otago Junior Touch Facebook Page

Tug of War - Intermediate Reward
There was lots of yelling, slipping and sliding out on the grass today as the Intermediate hub had games of Tug-of-War against each other.  Fair play was the winner today.

Community Notices

• Waitaki Newcomers Network - Have you moved here from another part of NZ or from overseas?  If so, you may like to connect with the Waitaki Newcomers Network.  They will assist you with your settlement and help you meet other people who are also new to town.   Contact Christine on 027 242 8643 or 434 7544.  Friendly assistance is only a phone call away.
• Weston School Out of Hours Music and Art Classes - this is open to all North Otago children aged 8-12 years hosted by Weston School.  They offer saxophone, clarinet, guitar, drums, trumpet and art classes.  For further information and enrolments, email jkitchin@weston.school.nz or phone the Weston School office on 434 5445.