4. Touch Rugby Teams for Term 1, 2015

Pumas - Yr 7 & 8 Christian Baillie Tyler Rawson Saluni Palaa Jordan Woodhouse Daniel Frances-Rees Tess McAtamney Tannah Rintoul Sivaenga Katoa Laura Mather Maria Wallace	Turbos - Yr 7 & 8 Tegan Souness Antonia Black Seth Sinclair Jacob Fowler Kaleb Cant Taine Cooper Joseph Spillane Jack Cameron Cameron Mather Sebastian Whiston Kaliopeta Katoa
Coach – Marty McAtamney/Lee Woodhouse	Coach – Glynn Cameron
Ferns- Yr 4-5-6 Levi Crowder Indya Cunningham Makayla Bean Cody Marshall Matthew Woodhouse Morgan Baillie Liam Cameron Niamh Jackson Summer Moriarty Kristiana Whiston	Dynamos - Yr 4-5-6 Tessa Souness Elenoa Asi Grace Keno Jada-Rose Keno Max Fatafehi Hotili Asi Toby Lewis Baxter Lewis Sam Keno Sebastian Spillane Campbell Fowler
Coach – Lee Woodhouse	Coach – Mel Lewis

Tigers -Yr 1-2-3 Hamish Fowler Jimmy Jackson Hannah Fowler Alexie Phillips Luse Asi Sam Asi Riley McLaren Lochlan McLaren	Broncos - Yr 1-2-3 Jonathan Paton Riley Tuffley Paddy Spillane Sam McNaught Ashlyn Marshall Charlotte Thornley Eva Keno Neveah-Rose Bird
Coach – Fowler Family	Coach –  Tracey Marshall

 

Touch starts Tuesday 17^th February.  Draw will be put on sports noticeboard when available and on North Otago Junior Touch Facebook page.

Please ensure you let your coach know if you are unable to play.

5. Yr 8 Student Leaders for 2015

Congratulations to the Yr 8 students who were awarded with their leadership badges at assembly last week.


Head Boy and Head Girl
Joel Kunnethedan and Sivaenga Katoa


          Deputy Head Boys and   
          Deputy Head Girls
          Tess McAtamney,  
          Timothy Jorgensen, Nina
          Dickie and Charlie Gilbert

Special Character Leaders
Laura Mather and Ardan Tierney



              House Captains - Lima
              Niveek Wilson and         
              Mannix Fraser





House Captains - Guzman
Maddison Bleach and Daniel Frances-Rees



            House Captains - Siena
            Trish Chikowore and
            Ben Cullimore





Multi Cultural Leaders
Maria Wallace, Utumalama Latavao and Saluni Palaa (absent)


    
     Junior Liaison Leaders
     Cody Haynes, Tannah   
     Rintoul, Samuel
     Bridges, Jordan Woodhouse
     and Alyssa Colina (absent)





Performing Arts Leaders
Mekeisha Hurley and Aarran Aitcheson

                  School Councillors
                  Abigail Jenkinson,
                  Tyler Rawson, Zach
                  Dickie and Christian
                  Baillie

6. Congratulations - Week 2, Term 1 2015

Colgate Games
There were a large number of St Joseph's school children who competed at the South Island Colgate Games in Dunedin in January.  Congratulations to the children who received personal bests and/or medals.  Well done.

7. Diary Dates - Week 2, Term 1 2015

* Means New Entry

FEBRUARY                         

Friday 13                                - Technology for Yr 7 & 8 at St Kevin’s College
                                                -  Kiwi Cricket starts at 4.00 pm at Whitestone Contracting Stadium
                                            -  Scholastic Book Club orders due back *

Monday 16                            -  Swimming lessons for Yr 3-8  

Tuesday 17                            -  Yr 8 Leadership Retreat on site  

                                                -  Junior touch rugby resumes
                                                -  Board of Trustee Meeting  
                                                -  Permission and Pupil Profile sheets due back *
                                                -  Home and School Food Fair meeting at 7.00 pm *

Wednesday 18                     -  Ash Wednesday (Yr 5-8 Mass at 9.15 am and Liturgy Yr 1-4 at 10.15
                                                  am)

                                                -  Swimming lessons for Yr 3-8

Thursday 19                          -  Yr 8 Leadership Retreat off site

Friday 20                               -  Yr 7 & 8 Technology at t Kevin’s College

Tuesday 24                           -  Goal Setting meetings for all the school from 3.30 to 8.00 pm

                                               -  

Wednesday 25                     -  Swimming Lessons for Yr 3-8  

Thursday 26                          -  School Mass with Ruma Manuka

                                                -  Goal Setting meetings from 3.30 to 8.00 pm

Friday 27                                -  Yr 7 & 8 Technology at St Kevin’s College

MARCH
Monday 2                              -  Walking and Wheeling Week
                                                -  Swimming lessons for Yr 3-8

Tuesday 3                              -  Walking and Wheeling Week 

                                                -  Swimming lessons for Yr 3-6  (Please note Yr 7 & 8 do not swim)
                                               -Home & School AGM at 7.00 pm

Wednesday 4                        -  Walking and Wheeling Week

Thursday 5                            -  Walking and Wheeling Week 

                                                -  School Mass with Ruma Kahikatea
                                                -  Swimming lessons for Yr 3-6
                                            -  Early Childhood Buddies and Young Vinnies - Yr 7 *

Friday 6                                  -  Walking and Wheeling Week

                                                -  Yr 7 & 8 Technology at St Kevin’s College
                                                -  Swimming lessons for Yr 3-6
                                            -  No celebration Kotuitui today *

Tuesday 10                            -  Young Vinnie’s visits for Yr 8

Wednesday 11                      -  St Joseph’s School  swimming sports for Yr 4-8 from 9.30 am to
                                                   12.00 pm)

                                                -  Pasifika Fono at 7.00 pm

Thursday 12                           -  School Mass with Ruma Pohutukawa

Sunday 15                               -  St Joseph’s Home & School Food Fair
Wednesday 18                     -  North Otago Swimming Sports *

1. What's new ? Principal Updates Week 1

Welcome back to all of our families. We have begun on a positive note with our highest starting roll for several years with 223 students. We are delighted that all of our senior students have chosen to stay with us for Year 7 and 8. We also have 6 new students in the Senior Learning Hub as well as other new students in the school.
A very warm welcome to Miss Megan Day who is teaching the Yr 3's in the Junior Learning Hub 2.

Engagement in Deep Learning for Success
Our school wide goal to engage our children in deep learning for success has come to life throughout the school in our first week back for this year.
I have spent time in all of the learning hubs this week and have seen our learners fully engaged in learning in our redesigned learning spaces.

Thank you to all of our staff who worked so hard during the holidays to transform the school environment. 
Our Teaching and Learning Site is now live and is the informative link between school, home and the world. You can access our site here. We are fortunate that Mrs Frances Rees developed this for us before she leaves at the end of this term to take up her new principal position at St Joseph's, Pleasant Point. We have all taken ownership of this site now and it will evolve and develop as the need arises. There are already plans to include parent, student and board sections on the site. 

In order to fully support your children for success with their learning, I strongly advise that you attend the Family Learning Huis this year. We will have two each term and they will keep you up to date with teaching and learning at St Joseph's. Every meeting will have a different focus based around you and your children's needs.
We will also hold open mornings this year for you to come in and see the children in action. The first open morning will be on Tuesday 17th March.

Family Learning Hui No 1 Wednesday 11th February 6pm - 7:30pm
These gatherings are a MUST for all families wishing to learn how to best understand and support their children for success.

What do you need to do ?
Come along with some food ( eg. fish and chips, subway, pizza if you haven't got time to beforehand ). Your whole family are welcome or just come on your own. Bring your devices if you want to have a chance to learn how to navigate the Teaching and Learning site or just come along and listen.

What's on the agenda ?

• Meet our staff for 2015
• Teaching and Learning Site
• Learner Licenses
• Digital and Cybersafety
• Teacher Dashboard

Goal Setting Meetings
These take place on Tuesday 24th and Thursday 26th February. You will be able to book for a meeting online and we will provide you with the details to do this next week. These important meetings to set student goals will take place with you and your child's homeroom teacher.



We thank you for your commitment to the excellent education that we provide at our special character Catholic school and look forward to reaching for the stars as lifelong learners in the Catholic faith with you for 2015.

We wish all of you a safe and happy Waitangi Day weekend. ' We recognise the Treaty as an essential element of our identity: In the Treaty of Waitangi, we find the moral basis for our presence in Aotearoa New Zealand and a vision that sets this country apart.' (taken from staff prayers)

2. Special Character News Term 1 Week 1

A Prayer For the Beginning of the School Year

Lord Jesus, we ask for Your help as we begin this new school year. Allow us to experience Your presence in the many blessings You put before us. Open our eyes to the new challenges and exciting opportunities that this new school year brings. Open our heart and mind to new friends, new families, new students, new colleagues, and new teachers. Give us a generous spirit to be enthusiastic with our studies and courage to accept new opportunities. Help us to be attentive to one another and let us experience Your presence in our new friends. Jesus, inspire us to do our best this year! Amen

'(adapted from prayer-resource.blogspot.co.nz)

Welcome to the start of the 2015 school year (see below for prayer resources).  All classes are starting the year learning about aspects of prayer.  Here are two of our traditional prayers that you could pray with your children at home:

From: www.freeallimages.com

Our Father
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be your name, 

Your kingdom come,
Your will be done
On earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread,
Forgive us our sins,
As we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
And deliver us from evil.
Amen

Hail Mary
Hail Mary full of grace,
The Lord is with you,
Blessed are you amongst women,
And blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus
Holy Mary, mother of God
Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.
Amen

The Sign of the Cross
The sign of the cross reminds us of the Holy Trinity.  We say it with our left hand on our breastbone, then we say:
In the name of the Father (moving the right hand to the forehead),
And of the Son (moving the right hand to the left hand to below the breastbone)
And of the Holy (moving the right hand to touch the left shoulder)
Spirit (right hand to right shoulder).
Amen (hands joined in front of the breastbone).

In this way we make the sign of the cross on our bodies.  For anyone who would like to find out more about this sacred tradition check out this site: Catholic sign of the cross

www.wdtprs.com