Embedded Files
Reminder: School closes 2.00pm next Tuesday 16th and Wednesday 17th September for learning conferences. Please arrange for collection at this time. SKIDS is available to help you - please book in with them, if needed. Thank you.
Welcome
Welcome
Thank you very much for your support through submitting your vote in our election for the Board of Trustees. While the final number of votes is still to be accounted for, we have been really pleased with the rate of participation. Voting closes at 4.00pm today, with results announced next week once all of the paper votes have been counted.
We are all looking forward to the famous PSL quiz night happening this Friday - this is a great opportunity to have fun with our school community while also raising valuable funds.
Staff Updates
Karen Pratt is planning to return home to the Hawkes Bay at the end of the term. Karen has been a wonderful addition to our Teacher Aide team for the past couple of terms, quickly getting to know the children she works with, and contributing our school culture. It has been wonderful to have Karen's interest in child psychology supporting her input.
Jo Roberts and her partner are planning to move to the Wairarapa mid way through next term. Jo has been with us at SFDS since mid-2024, initially teaching our Year 6 learners. This year Jo is teaching in Wheke R7 - with our tamariki in Year 4&5. Jo is planning to finish up mid November as she and her partner have recently sold their Island Bay home.
We will miss both of these valuable members of our staff team - but thankful that you will both be with us for just a little longer. We are currently making the necessary arrangements for replacing both Karen and Jo.
Te Arikinui Kuini Nga Wai Hono i Te Po
It was moving to listen to the Māori Queen, Te Arikinui Kuini Nga wai hono i te po, giving her first whaikorero / public address this week. As a school one of our SFDS strategic goals is:
"Te Tiriti o Waitangi: Cultivate an environment where te reo me ōna tikanga Māori can be experienced, valued, learned, shared, read, seen, and heard by everyone in our school community."
It was heartwarming, and reminded us of our own goal, to hear the 28 year old Māori Queen sharing in her korero:
""Taku Māoritanga kei roto i taku kōrero Māori, taku Māoritanga kei roto i taku tiaki i te taiao, taku Māoritanga kei roto i te pānui me te ako i taku hītori, taku Māoritanga hoki, ahakoa iti, kei roto i taku kōwhiri kē i taku ingoa Māori tēnā i taku ingoa Pākehā, he nui ngā momo whakatinanatanga o te Māoritanga, kaua kau noa i ngā wā o te porotū."
(Being Māori is speaking our language. It is taking care of the environment. It is reading and learning about our history. It is the choice to be called by our Māori name. There are many ways to manifest being Māori, not just in times of protest).
Results of Communication Survey
Thank you to those parents who completed our August survey about communication. We had a small response, but the feedback was reassuring, with parents thanking us for the improvements we have made over the past 12 months. Following is a brief summary of the results:
Respondents read this SFDS news regularly, They find Hero community notices platform helpful. All respondents had set up Hero alerts on their devices so that they can keep up to date.
Respondents find the following timeframes for communication helpful, and find that this helps to have plenty of notice so that work commitments, etc can be balanced:
Class/Syndicate Activities Involving Parents (e.g., trips, Celebrations of Learning, Mission Fair, Secret Santa). Notice: At least 3 weeks.
Class/Syndicate Activities Without Parent Involvement (e.g., retreats, dance lessons, offsite). Notice: At least 2 weeks.
Whole School Events (e.g., Days when school is closed, Masses, Dress-up days, Learning Conferences, PSL events). Notice: At least 6 weeks.
Catholic Character
Catholic Character
Religious Education (RE) Theme for term 4: Te Rongopai - Good News
We are putting together a rich plan for learning in RE within this theme, which will focus on these key questions, becoming increasingly complex from our Year 0 students through to Year 8:
Stories About Jesus Who is Jesus?
Stories and Messages of Jesus What did Jesus say and do?
Stories Jesus Knew How do ancient stories show me how to live?
Exploring the Bible What is the Bible?
The common aim across all levels of RE is that our young people will develop an understanding of the Bible as a library of books with a range of origins, authorship, genre, style and purpose. They will be able to retell many of the narratives and concepts, and will develop an understanding of the significance of these texts, as part of God’s revelation, within the Catholic Tradition and for human society today.
Wellbeing: Give, Tukua
Thank you to the many volunteers in our school community who give their time in support of our school and its children. This is also good for your wellbeing, and we want to encourage our ākonga to give of themselves also.
Learning Updates
Learning Updates
Reading: School-Wide Success
Once a year, our students from Year 4-8 complete a Progressive Achievement Test to evaluate their Reading Comprehension abilities and compare them with national norms. This is one assessment - a one-off test, under test conditions - and individual students complete the test online. It is always reassuring that the excellent work by our teachers to progress children's reading capabilities again this year.
In the graph below, the olive green boxes show the range of achievement of our students, with a range to the black lines above and below. The grey boxes are the national average - with the range from the grey lines below and above. You will see that at Year 4, our students sit below the national average - and by the time they reach Year 8, they are sitting above. This is not accidental - it is a reflection of a great deal of effective teaching - at school and at home.
The graph following, is a quick visual that illustrates the distribution of achievement of the students in Year 4-8 at SFDS, from well-below (stanine 1-2) to well-above (Stanine 8-9) expectation in reading comprehension.
Better Start Literacy Approach (BSLA)
Better Start Literacy Approach (BSLA)
All Year 1-3 learners are assessed regularly as part of the BSLA programme at our school. All teachers are fully trained, and we have been teaching this reading programme for three years now.
The graph following shows the progress made within this programme for our children in their first 10 weeks of school in relation to the various aspects of learning to read. It's great to see our tamariki feeling success with their learning as soon as they start school!
Garden to table
Special thanks to Sarah-Fay for the kind donation of a cabbage tree and Kowhai tree! We can't wait to plant these!
Seedling Pots Wanted
Our Garden to Table group is planting tomato and basil seeds on Monday 15th September. If you have any small seedling pots at home, we’d love them! Please drop to the office or Tī Kōuka R11 (Vic). Thanks so much for your support!
Sports
Sports
Southern Zone Swimming Sports
Well done to our team of swimmers who participated at this event last week. The results are below. The first two swimmers and first place relay team will participate in the Inter Zone Swimming Sports on Friday 10 October.
25m Freestyle Year 5 boys: Liam W - 1st Year 7 girls: Lily RR - 2nd Year 7 boys: Noah W - 1st, Jack C - 2nd Year 8 girls: Lily M - 1st, Mara N - 2nd Year 8 boys: George T - 1st, Johnny W - 2nd 25m Breaststroke Year 7 boys: Nunzio U - 1st, Noah W - 2nd Year 8 boys: Johnny W - 1st 25m Backstroke Year 4 girls: Lina GP - 2nd Year 6 boys: Roscoe J - 2nd Year 7 girls: Victoria M - 1st Year 7 boys: Jack C - 1st Year 8 girls: Lily M - 1st Year 8 boys: George T - 1st, Johnny W - 2nd 25m Butterfly Year 5 boys: Liam W - 1st Year 7 girls: Victoria M - 1st Year 7 boys: Nunzio U - 1st Year 8 girls: Mara N - 1st 50m Freestyle Year 4 girls: Lina PG - 3rd Year 5 boys: Liam W - 2nd Year 7 girls: Victoria M - 2nd Year 7 boys: Nunzio U - 1st, Noah W - 2nd Year 8 girls: Lily M - 1st Mara N - 2nd Year 8 boys: George T - 1st Relay Year 7 girls - 1st (Lily R, Sofia P, Miriam P, Victoria M), Year 7 boys - 1st (Noah W, Nunzio U, Jack C, Lucas L)
Term 4 Sport
A friendly reminder to please register on Kindo if your child/ren is/are going to play touch rugby, futsal or junior netball in term 4. All information is on Kindo.
Please also email Sarah asap on sarah.fountain@sfds.school.nz if your child (year 3 - 8 only) is keen to play miniball/basketball in term 4 (see Hero post from 8 September) - we are gathering expressions of interest.
Winter Netball
I had the pleasure of watching our two year 7/8 netball teams play their last game of the season on Saturday. Both teams had closely fought matches, and both finished with wins by one point! Certainly, exciting games to watch! To top it off, by winning on Saturday, both teams won their respective grades.
Well done to the Comets who won the E grade. They worked their way up the grade and ended up unbeaten in term 3.
Congratulations to the Flames who won the B grade. They started in E grade, moved through the grades going unbeaten all season. This is a huge achievement and a testament to their commitment and dedication all season.
We are very proud of both teams.
Our combined year 5/6 team with Owhiro Bay School also had a great season, developing their skills and having fun together.
School Notices and Events
School Notices and Events
Southern Coast Art Trail
We're still looking for volunteers to help supervise our art exhibit this weekend. If you have a couple of hours to spare on Saturday or Sunday, please email Mrs. Stewart with a time that works for you. usha.stewart@sfds.school.nz
Your support in keeping an eye on the featured artwork is greatly appreciated!
Learning Conferences Next Tuesday & Wednesday
We are looking forward to welcoming you all at our learning conferences with all of the teachers next week. Please make sure you arrive a few minutes before your scheduled time, and the teachers will be on a time limit to make sure they can meet with each whānau. Thank you.
Message from the Board of Trustees
Proposed cell phone tower install on Tiber and Mersey St corner
The school was informed on Monday that an 11m cell phone tower is planned to be installed on the footpath outside the school on Tiber Street.
The School Board has contacted the company managing the install, Connexa, firmly objecting to the placement. The Ministry of Education and the Archdiocese have been informed, and our local Councillor Nureddin Abdurahman is also aware.
Should you wish to know more please contact Tommy Ma, Planning and Engagement Manager at Connexa, via
inform@connexa.co.nz
Ref: WLGIBS
Dates to Add to Your Diary
Dates to Add to Your Diary
Please also check our SFDS Events Calendar
Wednesday 10 September
Pohutukawa (Rm 10) PE Day - Wear PE Gear
Ranginui PE Day - Wear PE Gear
Year 5-8 Futsal Festival
3pm - 4pm Netball Prizegiving
Thursday 11 September
Tangaroa PE Days (Rm 2,5 & 6) Wear PE Gear
Tarawera (Rm 2) Pe Day - Wear PE Gear
12:30pm - 2:45pm Technology Ranginui (Yr 7 & 8)
Friday 12 September
7:50am - 8:30am Flames Netball Practice
9:10am - 9:40am Buddy Mass Rm 7 and Rm 12
Ranginui PE Day - Wear PE Gear
Wheke (Rm 7) & Parareka (Rm 8) PE Days - Wear PE Gear
3pm - 4:30pm Year 5/6 Netball Practice
4:30pm - 5:30pm Year 7/8 Comets Netball Practice
7pm - 10pm PSL Quiz Night!
Monday 15 September
Tangaroa PE Days (Rm 2,5 & 6) Wear PE Gear
1:30pm - 3pm Rm 5 Paekawakawa Reserve trip
Tuesday 16 September
Pohutukawa (Rm 10) PE Day - Wear PE Gear
Wheke (Rm 7) & Parareka (Rm 8) PE Days - Wear PE Gear
2pm: Early Finish for Learning Conferences
2:15pm - 7:30pm Learning Conferences
Wednesday 17 September
Pohutukawa (Rm 10) PE Day - Wear PE Gear
Ranginui PE Day - Wear PE Gear
2pm: Early Finish for Learning Conferences
2:15pm - 7:30pm Learning Conferences
Thursday 18 September
Tangaroa PE Days (Rm 2,5 & 6) Wear PE Gear
Tarawera (Rm 2) Pe Day - Wear PE Gear
12:30pm - 2:45pm Technology Ranginui (Yr 7 & 8)
Friday 19 September
Last day of term
9:10am - 9:40am Buddy Mass Rm 2 and Rm 8
Ranginui PE Day - Wear PE Gear
Wheke (Rm 7) & Parareka (Rm 8) PE Days - Wear PE Gear
Monday 6 October
First Day Term 4
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