4. Diary Dates - Week 5, Term 4 2019

NOVEMBER

Friday 15                        -  Celebration assembly at 2.15 pm

Sunday 17                       -  Welcome Mass at 9.30 am

Monday 18                     -  Technology for Yr 7 & 8

Wednesday 20                 -  EOTC for Yr 6

                                        -  Yr 4/5 class excursion *

Thursday 21                    -  EOTC for Yr 6

                                        -  Filipino Pagsama at 6.00 pm in the school staffroom *

Friday 22                         -  EOTC for Yr 6

                                        -  Athletic trophies and certificates presented at assembly *

Monday 25                      -  North Otago Athletics

                                        -  Technology for Yr 7 & 8

Thursday 28                     -  St Kevin’s College Orientation Day for Yr 8 students

                                         -  School Mass at 9.15 am

                                         -  Yr 7 ECB and Young Vinnies

Friday 29                         -  Multicultural Day

Saturday 30                     -  Home & School Racecourse Fundraiser

DECEMBER

Monday 2                      -  Technology for Yr 7 & 8 – last one for the year

Friday 6                         -  Pet Day

                                       -   Junior school disco

Monday 9                       -  Technology for Yr 7 & 8

Tuesday 10                     -  Board of Trustee meeting at 6.00 pm

                                        -  Touch Rugby finishes today

Friday 13                         -  Yr 7 & 8 formal

                                        -  Cricket finishes today

Wednesday 18                 - End of Year Mass at 6.00 pm

Thursday 19                    -  End of Year assembly at 12.00 pm

                                        -  School finishes for the year at 12.30 pm

FEBRUARY 2020

Monday 3                        -   Start date for term 1 – confirmed

1. Principal's News, Week 4, Term 4 2019

Camps 2019
This year the year 7 & 8s went to the same location as base camp - Raincliff in South Canterbury.  The year 8s stayed in tents and the year 7s stayed in dorm rooms.  They had different experiences with the year 7s doing river crossing and safety, exploring weta caves, an eco bushwalk and abseiling.  The year 8s did a high ropes course and a day's rafting.  The camp finished with a campfire and when the year 7s went back to school, the year 8s walked up the Mt Somer's walkway to stay the night at Woolshed Creek Hut.  Our activities were supervised by Peel Forest Outdoors Pursuits Centre and they were awesome.  Everyone had a great time and returned happy and safely.  The big hit this year was the rafting with every participant rating it 10 out of 10.

A big thank you to our wonderful parent helps: Rebecca Heffernan, Chris Hogan, Cranos Chikowore, Rachel Fowler, Courtenay McDowall and Mark Phillips.  Here are some selected photos from the camps and there are more on our Facebook page:



Mrs Asi
We're very sad for ourselves but happy for Ange (Mrs) Asi who will be moving with her family to Christchurch next year.  Her children Elenoa and Halalova are continuing their education in Christchurch and her husband Tevita is already working up there.  It is a great move for Ange's family.  She has been with us for a very long time, starting when she was a student at St Joseph's herself and we will miss her calm approach and deep knowledge of our school.  All the best from us all to Ange and family.

Parish Jubilee Celebrations
Everyone is invited to join the parish this Saturday at 6.30 pm mass to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the building of St Patrick's Basilica.  Please note the 6.30 pm Mass replaces the 5.00 pm Mass. This is followed by food and speeches at the Brydone ($10 a ticket for this part, obtainable from the parish office).

School Athletics
Our school athletics day is at Whitestone stadium next Tuesday (cancellation day Thursday).  Please come if you can to support your children, they have been training hard.  Mrs Brien has sent information home.

God Bless and Aroha
Lorraine Frances-Rees

2. Special Character Week 4 Term 4 2019

Kiaora/Malo e Lelei
Pope Francis Prayer That a spirit of dialogue, encounter, and reconciliation emerge in the Near East, where diverse religious communities share their lives together.

POPE PAUL VI ON OCTOBER 28, 1965 declared;  In our time, when day by day humankind is being drawn closer together, and the ties between different peoples are becoming stronger, the Church examines more closely her relationship to non-Christian religions. In her task of promoting unity and love among people, indeed among nations, she considers above all in this declaration what people have in common and what draws them to fellowship. One is the community of all peoples, one their origin, for God made the whole human race to live over the face of the earth.
Lautado Si: 

CARING FOR  COMMON HOME

Pope Francis comments:“Beginning in the middle of the last century and overcoming many difficulties, there has been a growing conviction that our planet is a homeland and that humanity is one people living in a common home:” (#164) …. “Any technical solution which science claims to offer will be powerless to solve the serious problems of our world if humanity loses its compass, if we lose sight of the great motivations which make it possible for us to live in harmony, to make sacrifices and to treat others well.” (#200) … “The majority of people living on our planet profess to be believers. This should spur religions to dialogue among themselves for the sake of protecting nature, defending the poor, and building networks of respect and fraternity.” (#201).

Spiritual Reading

'It is not enough to pray only with the tongue: we must, according to the Apostle, pray also with the heart if we wish to receive God's graces: "Praying at all times in the spirit."'

St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

St Patrick Church 125th Celebration

St Joseph's and St Kevin's College are celebrating mass on Friday 8th of November to celebrate the 125th anniversary of our church. There will be Mass for our Parishioners on Saturday at 6:30 pm and Sunday at 9:30 am to mark this milestone of our Basilica. You are very welcome to join us celebrating this 125th anniversary of our St Patrick Church. 

St Patrick’s Basilica – a history

The inspiration and effort behind the building of St Patrick’s came from Father John Mackay, who became parish priest in Oamaru in March 1890.

Francis Petre was commissioned to design the building and tenders were called for in April 1893. Mr Petre was known by the nickname “Lord Concrete”, due to his early adoption of the material. While the majority of the church building was made with Oamaru stone, the bottom 2m is concrete – to prevent discolouration and decay from people touching it.

The parish accepted a tender from D.W. Woods of Dunedin to construct the basilica for the dome and the contract to build was signed on April 26, 1893. The foundation stone was laid on Trinity Sunday 1893, by Bishop Moran.

Construction was halted when Edward Weller (41) died from injuries he sustained when he fell from the roof on May 10, 1894. Mr Weller was working on the string course of the cornice. His grave, in the Anglican section of the Oamaru cemetery, reads that he died “falling from the new Catholic Church”.The basilica was opened on November 18, 1894 by Bishop Grimes, of Christchurch. It was finally completed in 1918.

Thank you

God Bless

Tua Misiloi Co DRS

3. School Notices - Week 4, Term 4 2019

QUOTE FOR THE WEEK

Altar Servers
Saturday 9th November at 6.30 pm - Annalise & David Kilgour, Cooper Jones & Lachlan Criddle
Sunday 10th November - Lilly Kelcher, Indeg & Nye Jones-Hogan

Birthday Greetings to
James and Luke Bremner

Assembly
There is no celebration assembly tomorrow due to the 125th anniversary Mass.

Athletics
A reminder that we have our school athletics next Tuesday. An information sheet was given to all children at the beginning of this week explaining what is happening. 

Remember all children are to be dropped off at Centennial Park by 8.45 am as we wish to start promptly at 9.00 am and only the bus children are to come to school where they will be taken by a shuttle bus to the grounds. If your child catches the bus to school in the morning and/or afternoon, please let Mrs Brien know whether they will be catching the bus either way.  Thank you to the parents who have already let her know otherwise we will presume the children will be getting collected by their parents.  We have to let Ritchies know how many students will be on the buses.

Thank you to our lovely parents who have offered to help with the day and to St Kevin's College who have kindly loaned their students out to us for the day. We now have enough helpers :)

Junior children who are aged 5-7 years, please let your teacher know if they will not be getting collected at 1.30 pm when their athletics finish.

A reminder notice will come out on Monday as well.  Good news, there will be a coffee van at the grounds from 12.15 if you wish to purchase a coffee.
If it is wet on the off chance, we will notify you on Facebook and email and everyone is to come to school and we will hold our athletics on the Thursday.


Beeswax Wraps
The Young Vinnies are selling beeswax wraps next Monday from 8.30 to 9.00 am in the office and after assembly next Friday at 3.00 pm.  They cost between $3.00 and $5.00 for either a small, medium or large wrap.  All proceeds go to the Orphanage of Hope in Uganda.  The wraps are an excellent replacement for glad wrap and can be used over and over again.  This will be a great alternative to use for Plastic Free Fridays.  There are approximately 30 wraps for sale on a first in first served basis.

Induction Evening 
Is on next Wednesday at 6.00 pm for the families of any children who started school this year.  Please let Mrs Brien know if you are attending or not.

Lost Property
There is a large amount of lost property on the hooks in the foyer by the hall.  There are jerseys, shorts, shirts, jackets, pinafore, thermals, lunch boxes etc.  If these are not claimed by the end of next week, they will be donated to the clothing shop.

Horseshoe Cafe - Home and School
The Christmas at the Races horse racing meeting on Saturday 30th November still requires volunteers for the following shifts:
9.30 to 11.00 am - 1 person
12.00 to 3.00 pm - 1 person
3.00 to 6.30 pm - 4 people

There is children's entertainment available on the day for a gold coin donation e.g. bouncy castles, inflatable slides, small cars etc.

Cricket Draw
We have two teams playing cricket for St Joseph's this year and one of them is a girls team who will be playing in the Primary grade. This will be the first time in a very long time that we have fielded an all girls team.  Good luck to both teams.  All games start at 4.30 pm.

Intermediate A - St Joseph's Volts v Albion at St Kevin's Artificial 1
Primary - St Joseph's Sparks v Kurow 1 at St Kevin's Artificial 2 (down by Lismore Street end)

School Photos
Yesterday all the children were given a Child's Photo Shoot Keycode card with their own unique keycode to view your child's photos.
This year our school is using the PhotoLife Online Ordering system for purchasing your school photos.  This system means parents can access, view and order your child's photos online.  The online system works off each student's name, giving them an individual Photo Access Key to view and order their photographs.

Go onto the website at www.photolife.co.nz and enter your keycode to view the class, individual and any sibling photos.

PhotoLife gives a 'free delivery' period of approximate 3 weeks and it expires at midnight on Sunday 24th November.  All orders placed before the expiry will be bulk printed and then dispatched to our school for your child to bring home.  If you missed getting your order in before the expiry date, then your order will be dispatched to the address typed in by the person placing the order.  A $6.00 postage and packaging charge is automatically applied.

All orders are to be entered online as the school is not collating them anymore.  Any questions, please contact the office or contact PhotoLife on www.photolife.co.nz or ring 80 501 040.

Start date for 2020
It is confirmed that school will start back on Monday 3rd February 2020.

Subway Lunches
Resume again tomorrow.

Technology Classes
The last class for Technology this year is on Monday 2nd December.

Community Notices

• Highland Dancing Oamaru - is selling juices - 10 per box - 1 box at $10.00.  Mixed flavours in box, wildberry/tropical/orange.  Orders and money to be given to Kelly-Jo Criddle (Mikayla's mum) on 021 231 9181 by Monday 2nd December.
• Nadia Lim Vegful Evening - held at Waitaki Boys High School Auditorium on Thursday 14th November.  Meet and Greet $80 at 6.15 pm start which includes Vegful book, nibbles, meet and greet with Nadia.  General Admission $25.00 starts at 7.00 pm includes complimentary drink, cooking demonstration, supper.  Tickets available from Paper Plus and Pembroke School.
• Little Wonders Early Childhood Centre - invites all parents of children aged 3 months to 5 year olds the opportunity to take a tour, see our beautiful facilities and classrooms and of course to secure your child's space now.

4. Diary Dates - Week 4, Term 4 2019

NOVEMBER

Friday 8                         -  St Patrick’s Church 125 year celebrations

Saturday 9                     -  St Patrick’s Church 125 year celebrations

Monday 11                    -  Technology for Yr 7 & 8

Tuesday 12                    -  School athletics for whole school

Wednesday 13               -  Induction Evening at 6.00 pm

Thursday 14                  -  School athletics postponement date

                                      -  School Mass at 9.15 am

                                      -  Yr 7 ECB and Young Vinnies

Friday 15                       -  Celebration assembly at 2.15 pm *

Sunday 17                     -  Welcome Mass at 9.30 am

Monday 18                    -  Technology for Yr 7 & 8

Wednesday 20               -  EOTC for Yr 6

Thursday 21                  -  EOTC for Yr 6

Friday 22                       -  EOTC for Yr 6

Monday 25                    -  North Otago Athletics

                                      -  Technology for Yr 7 & 8

Thursday 28                  -  St Kevin’s College Orientation Day for Yr 8 students

                                      -  School Mass at 9.15 am *

                                      -  Yr 7 ECB and Young Vinnies *

Friday 29                       -  Multicultural Day

Saturday 30                   -  Home & School Racecourse Fundraiser

DECEMBER

Monday 2                      -  Technology for Yr 7 & 8 – last one for the year *

Friday 6                         -  Pet Day

                                      -   Junior school disco

Monday 9                      -  Technology for Yr 7 & 8

Tuesday 10                    -  Board of Trustee meeting at 6.00 pm

                                      -  Touch Rugby finishes today

Friday 13                      -  Yr 7 & 8 formal

                                      -  Cricket finishes today

Wednesday 18              - End of Year Mass at 6.00 pm

Thursday 19                 -  End of Year assembly at 12.00 pm

                                     -  School finishes for the year at 12.30 pm

FEBRUARY 2020

Monday 3                      -  Start date for term 1 – confirmed *

1. Principal's News Term 4 Week 3

When this goes out I will hopefully be up the hill at Mt Somers.  As I'm not around school this week I won't have too much news but should have some good camp photos to show next week.

Staffing for 2020
Danique McRae will be leaving us at the end of the year and teaching at Papakaio School in 2020.

Congratulations to Jennifer Herbst who is the new Across School Teacher for Whitestone Kahui Ako, our community of learning.

We are employing two new teachers:

Sarah Mae Sollano - Sarah was born in the Philippines and has grown up in New Zealand.  She is bilingual.  She has just finished her teaching degree through the University of Canterbury based in Nelson.  She is a committed Catholic and has had a big part in her local community, volunteering and organising cultural events.  She will teach the year 3/4 class.

Leigh Thomas - Leigh is South African, is married to an airline pilot and has two children aged 15 and 17.  She is teaching at an International School in Hong Kong and has also taught in South Africa and the United Kingdom.  Her family have spent a lot of time in New Zealand and have already bought a house in Oamaru. She is very strong in creative digital technology, inquiry learning and environmental education and will be a very good addition to our team in light of the digital curriculum developments.  Leigh will be class-sharing in the year 7 class while Jennifer attends to her community of learning responsibilities.  Leigh will also work in other parts of the school.

So our staffing for next year looks like this (at the moment)

Junior Hub 1 - New Entrant to year 3 - exact configuration still to be finalised - Mrs Tua Misiloi and Mrs Leanne Brookes

Year 3/4 - Miss Sarah Sollano

Year 4/5 - Mrs Nicola Winders

Year 5/6 - Mrs Jen Streat

Year 7 - Mrs Jennifer Herbst / Mrs Leigh Thomas (also reading recovery release and some other release)

Year 8 - Mrs Sara Jones-Hogan

Part time release teacher - Ann Dooley

Please note that although there are more than one year group in some of our classes, the age range is only about 14 months.  If we chose straight year groups, at some point in the school we would have a class of well over 30 children.  Although I know people like straight year groups, we have the choice of that or smaller classes.  I think smaller classes sizes is a trade-off that most of us would think is for the best.

Communion of Saints

The children are learning about the Communion of Saints at the moment and there is information for parents on our Communion of Saints page.

God Bless and Aroha

Lorraine Frances-Rees