Thank you to our parishioners who joined us for the feast of the Assumption Mass on Friday - we were well-supported. We've had some beautiful sunny days over the past week...However... we have also been reminded that it is still winter! It is lovely to think ahead to the upcoming spring.
Thank you for your support in arranging for the children's care and supervision yesterday afternoon during the NZEI Union Meeting. In the end we had around 30 children remain at school, so this was very easy for us to manage with the small number of staff onsite for the afternoon.
Communications Review
In August last year we surveyed you as part of our review into all of our communications. We made some changes to try and make things easier for you as part of that review. It is time to review our systems again so that we can keep improving.
Please would you complete this survey to give us your feedback? This survey will close at the end of August. Thank you for your feedback.
Survey Link:
https://forms.gle/cLt4Q22hGmZdsWdWA
Kāhui Ako Cultural Festival
Last week, our performance Kapahaka group participated in the Kāhui Ako Cultural Festival hosted by St Patrick's College Kilbirnie.The hall was full of enthusiastic performers from across 12 of our 13 Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools in Wellington.
Our students - made up of 40 of the most committed Kapahaka participants from Year 7&8 made Jemma and I very proud with their polished and disciplined performance. Their joy was infectious as they all sang along on the bus home too!
Thank you to Matua Henare and Jemma Brown for preparing these ākonga so well, so that they could feel proud of themselves. Kia ora, e hoa mā.
Values Awards
Last week, we shared our PB4L (Positive Behaviour For Learning) journey with you all. Following are photos of many children who have demonstrated our school values of peace, faithfulness, joy, generosity, patience, kindness, love, self-control, gentleness recently.
Our values are shared by the Apostle St Paul in the Bible (Galatians 5: 22-23) and are called the 'Fruits of the Holy Spirit' because they are ways we can learn to bring a God's Spirit to everything we do in our daily interactions, and bear good 'fruit' through our actions.
These values don't always happen naturally, so must be taught and modelled by adults. We encourage you to introduce the Fruits of the Holy Spirit in your home also, as this will help your child to grow as a positive, contributing member of society. Here are some suggestions for you and your family to try at home:
Talking about how each family member can demonstrate the fruits of the Spirit in their daily lives.
Relating the fruits to specific Bible stories (e.g., the Good Samaritan - for love, Paul and Silas in prison - for joy). Animations are linked below.
Asking questions like, "How can we show love to someone who is struggling today?" or "How can we practice patience when waiting for something?"
Showing forgiveness: Practice forgiveness when family members make mistakes, modeling the unconditional love of Christ.
Practising kindness: Look for opportunities to serve others as a family, like volunteering at a soup kitchen or donating to a charity.
Being joyful: Focus on finding joy in everyday moments and expressing gratitude for blessings.
Having patience: Practice patience in waiting for a turn or a delayed event.
Trying gentleness: Speak kindly to each other and handle situations with a soft approach.
Practising self-control: Talk about making wise choices, like choosing healthy snacks or managing screen time.
Well done to Lilou, Frankie, Victoria and Sophia for earning a Golden Ticket from our House draw on 31 July!
Lily earned the Principal's award at our school hui on 31 July! Lily was our top house points earner for the fortnight. Thank you, Lily for being a great role model..
Aubert was the winning House on 31 July! Thank you to our House leaders from Aubert for supporting us all to follow our school values!
Well done to Olivia, Liam, Magnus and Kora for winning a Golden Ticket in our Values points draw at our school hui on Thursday!
Frank and Victoria shared the Principal's award at our school hui. They had each the most house points during the fortnight for demonstrating our school values. Tino pai korua!
Kora won a Golden Ticket at our school Hui. She chose a prize of being an "Office VIP" - she helped Fran for some of Friday!
Congratulations to Lilly, Harper, Heidi, Remus, Wills, Liam, Saoirse and honor for being presented with a values award by your teachers at our school hui on 31 July.
Well done to Hemantsri, Danni, Rapha, Sylas, Benni, Evalina, Frankie, Dallas - for earning a Values award - thank you for being wonderful examples of Love of God, Love Learning, Love of Life!
Term 3 Learning Conferences
On the 16th and 17th of September we will hold our Term 3 Learning Conferences for you and your whānau from 2.00pm. These conferences are family meetings with each child's teacher(s). Each meeting is 15 minutes long. We ask that you bring your child along to their conference so that they can be part of the conversation. You can also bring other family members if you would like to. Talking about your child's learning - actually helps their learning! We will send more information out about how these meetings work in a week or two.
Bookings for the Learning Conferences are now open on Hero. If you are not able to find a time that suits you, please email your child's teacher so that an alternative time can be arranged. If you have trouble booking on Hero, please pop in to see Fran in the office and she will be able to help you.
Please look out for this so that you do not miss out.
School finishes early at 2.00pm on Tuesday 16th and Wednesday 17th September to allow time for all of the conferences to take place on these two days. Please arrange for an early pick up for your child(ren) on these days. SKIDs will also have childcare available at school if you would like to make a casual booking with them.
Education Minister - Hon. Erica Stanford
We have not yet been introduced to the tools that are talked about in this clip. However we look forward to making the most of everything that is introduced. We will be applying for the resources as they come available to us.
Structured Literacy
All of our teachers are trained in structured literacy from Year 1-8 already. Five teachers also attended professional learning in the 'Better Start Literacy Approach (BSLA) in the past two days. All teachers in Year 1-6 now have BSLA training.
Curriculum Benchmarks Have Changed
While we have not found that our learner progress has dropped in recent years, as we shared at mid-year, the amount of learning content has increased at each year level, and the expectations have been lifted.
Parent Portal to help with understanding the refreshed NZ Curriculum
Earlier this year we shared the new parent portal created by the Ministry of Education to support parent understanding of the refreshed New Zealand Curriculum. Recently I have had parents ask for this type of information again.
The site includes a wealth of information about the progression of skills and concepts your child is being taught at school. There are videos, details of the learning content, and how you can help at home.
The information is broken down into your year groups from Year 0 to Year 8. An example is below - for the first 6 months of school.
Up to Year 6, there is information about both Literacy and Numeracy.
*NB - At Year 7&8, the information only focusses on the Maths curriculum, as the Ministry of Education is still completing the development of the English Curriculum.
Click on the images following, or copy this link: https://www.education.govt.nz/parents-and-caregivers/schools-year-0-13/parent-portal/guide-for-the-new-zealand-curriculum-years-0-to-8
Term 4 Sports
Touch Rugby and futureFERNS Junior Netball are now open on Kindo. Please make sure to complete registration as soon as possible to secure a place on the team!
SFDS PSL Quiz Night - Open now on Kindo! Adults only event! Tickets selling fast!!!!
Friday 12 September, Doors open at 6:30pm | Quiz starts at 7:00pm Island Bay United Football Club.
Tickets: $25 per person (includes a glass of bubbles on arrival) Or grab a table of 10 for just $200!
Tickets are now open on Kindo! Get in quick!!!!! Tickets will sell out fast!!!!
What to expect: Get ready for a night full of laughs, friendly competition, and great company! There’ll be incredible raffles, auctions, and prizes generously donated by our amazing local businesses. Bring your friends and whānau—everyone is welcome!
All proceeds go towards our brand-new school playground! If you or your business can donate a prize or sponsor a table, we’d love to hear from you.
Email psl.sfds@gmail.com for more info.
Can you Help??
Please also check our SFDS Events Calendar
Thursday 21 August
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 22 August
7:50am - 8:30am Flames Netball Practice
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
3pm - 4:30pm Year 5/6 Netball Practice
4:30pm - 5:30pm Year 7/8 Comets Netball Practice
Monday 25 August
9am - 1pm Road Patrol Training
Tangaroa PE Days (Rm 2,5 & 6) Wear PE Gear
1:30pm - 3pm Rm 5 Paekawakawa Reserve trip
Tuesday 26 August
Pohutukawa (Rm 10) PE Day - Wear PE Gear
Wheke (Rm 7) & Parareka (Rm 8) PE Days - Wear PE Gear
Wednesday 27 August
Pohutukawa (Rm 10) PE Day - Wear PE Gear
Ranginui PE Day - Wear PE Gear
7:30pm - 8:30pm Artsplash performance
Thursday 28 August
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 29 August
7:50am - 8:30am Flames Netball Practice
9am - 1pm Road Patrol Training
9:10am - 9:40am Buddy Mass Rm 5 and Rm 14
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
Monday 1 September
Tangaroa PE Days (Rm 2,5 & 6) Wear PE Gear
1:30pm - 3pm Rm 2 Paekawakawa Reserve trip
1:45pm - 2:45pm Rm 6 Island Bay library visit
Tuesday 2 September
Pohutukawa (Rm 10) PE Day - Wear PE Gear
Southern Zone Swimming Sports
Wheke (Rm 7) & Parareka (Rm 8) PE Days - Wear PE Gear
Wednesday 3 September
Pohutukawa (Rm 10) PE Day - Wear PE Gear
Ranginui PE Day - Wear PE Gear
Thursday 4 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 5 September
7:50am - 8:30am Flames Netball Practice
9:10am - 9:40am Buddy Mass Rm 6 and Rm 10
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
Monday 8 September
Tangaroa PE Days (Rm 2,5 & 6) Wear PE Gear
1:30pm - 3pm Rm 6 Paekawakawa Reserve trip
1:45pm - 2:45pm Rm 5 Island Bay library visit
6:30pm - 8:30pm SFDS Board hui
Tuesday 9 September
Pohutukawa (Rm 10) PE Day - Wear PE Gear
Wheke (Rm 7) & Parareka (Rm 8) PE Days - Wear PE Gear
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