Week 9 - Term 4 - 2

 

Welcome to Week 9 Term 4

December 12, 2021

Kia ora whānau, 

Congratulations on making it to the final week of what has been a fun and turbulent school year. Thank you all for the time, dedication and effort you have put into your children's learning, particularly during the lockdown period. 

We have been doing all sorts of crafts, technology projects, science and physical activities during our morning rotations, which the kids have thoroughly enjoyed. Check out our budding beekeepers below! 

We sent school reports home on Friday which included a slip with the name of your child's teacher for 2022. All students will be meeting their new teacher and classmates on Monday. 

Coming up this week: 

Monday - Duathlon 

All children will need to bring their togs, towel, hat and sneakers. They can wear their house colours or PE uniform, please ensure all items are named. Unfortunately due to Covid restrictions, there will be no spectators allowed. Tuesday - Prizegiving. Once again, unfortunately, due to Covid restrictions, there will be no spectators allowed.

Thursday - School finishes at 12:00.

Other messages: The school magazine can be bought for $10.

Save Our Babies Annual Christmas School Bag Kaupapa Kahira Olley, the founder of Save Our Babies Charitable Trust, runs an annual Christmas school bag kaupapa. This means that children get a school bag full of gifts.

If any of the St Mary’s community would like to support this she is hoping for some school bags for 12-16 year olds.

You are welcome to donate a bag full or just a bag or just something to go in the bag.

Some ideas are - a dress (to wear Christmas Day)

- a pair of shorts and a t.shirt

- a pack of underwear

- toiletries and nice smellies

- game

- chocolates/lollies/goodies

- Lastly, don’t forget the school bag.

If you would like to see some of the other wonderful work that Kahira does please look at her facebook page.

Any questions please phone Rachel Schuster on -027 446 1351

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO DONATE ITEM/ITEMS PLEASE LEAVE THEM IN THE SCHOOL RECEPTION.

I hope you have an awesome Christmas and a great summer holiday. Thank you for a fantastic year!

Nga mihi,

Mrs. Dinniss

Week 8 - Term 4 - 2021

 

Weekly Notices, Week 8 Term 4

December 5th, 2021

 

Kia Ora,

Christmas music is playing and the decorations are up, Christmas is only 20 days away which also means that our school year is just about complete. 

Thank you to our wonderful parents that volunteered and came on our class trip. Highlights were seeing the cubs, feeding animals, collecting eggs (and making egg salad), water fights, running up and falling down the big hill at Mrs. D's house and of course, all the laughs that were had. 

This is the last full week of school and there are a lot of activities.

Swimming all week for us.

Library books are to come back to school this week if you still have some at home, please.

We are publishing a school magazine again this year, and this will be available during the last week of this term. At this stage there are only to be 100 magazines printed. It will be a great memento of 2021. Orders are being taken now with the cost for the magazine being $10.00.

Kahikateas Big Day In

Monday 6th December is our Kahikatea Big Day In. This is a fun day of celebrations as we approach the end of the year. We have a range of fun-filled activities planned. If it is raining we will still be going ahead with the day.

The children can wear mufti and will need to bring in their computers, togs, a towel, sunhat, sunscreen and a drink bottle of water. Children are allowed to bring labeled water guns for the water fight.  NO WATER Balloons. 

Please ensure all items are named (togs, towels, water guns ect.)

We would like to have hot chips for a morning tea picnic and would appreciate a $2 koha contribution. Children will still need to bring their own lunch.

Unfortunately due to restrictions, we are not permitted to have the usual celebrations of learning with our parents. 

This is the advice from the Ministry:

Schools will retain their existing COVID-19 settings until the end of the 2021 calendar year, although we recommend that schools in red areas encourage mask-wearing for staff and students in year 4 and above. The COVID-19 Protection Framework settings will come into effect for all schools from 1 January 2022.

The wearing of masks for our students and staff, while we are at Red Level, is not mandated until next year. Fingers crossed Rotorua will be in Orange by then and we won’t need to wear masks. We will continue to insist every student sanitises when they enter the school gate/classroom and any other teaching space in the school. All parents coming onsite during school time (8.30am-3pm) MUST report to the School Office and wear a mask please.

Important Dates

Young Vinnies Food Bank Drive - please bring in a can to help support them

FRIDAY 10th DECEMBER: End of Year Mass: Totara students

MONDAY 13th DECEMBER: Tri-atholon 

TUESDAY 14TH DECEMBER: 9.15am Prizegiving for Totara students

TUESDAY 14TH DECEMBER: 12 Noon Prizegiving for Kahikatea students

TUESDAY 14TH DECEMBER: 11.15 am Prizegiving for Kakano students

THURSDAY 16TH DECEMBER: Missioning of our Year 6 students.

𝅵؜

Nga mihi,

Mrs Dinniss and the Kahikatea Team

Week 6 - Term 4 - 2021

 

Weekly Notices, Term 4, Week 6

November 21, 2021

 Kia Ora parents and whānau and welcome to Week 5!

I hope families are enjoying the early summer weather we are getting and making the most of it to enjoy outdoor activities. There are less than four weeks of learning left until the end of the school year. St Mary's will be finishing at midday on Thursday 16th December.

There will be a permission slip go home on Monday regarding around our year-end class on December 2nd.

Just a friendly reminder that all students need to bring their hats to school, we know how harsh our New Zealand sun is. Also, please continue checking that your child is bringing their device to school fully charged. We will be continuing with our learning programme right up to the end of the year. Assessments are now mostly finished and data is being analyzed as teachers finalize the end-of-year report writing.

Kahikatea Middle School will be having a Big Day In on Tuesday, December 6th to celebrate our great year of learning. There will be a range of activities and a fish and chip lunch provided to the children. Due to covid-19 level 2 restrictions, there will be limited opportunities for parents and caregivers to attend this year. Please watch out for further details to come.

With Delta cases now in Rotorua, sanitizing and staying home if unwell is more important than ever. Please do not send your child to school if they are sick. 

It is Middle School's normal swimming week. Please remind your child to bring their togs every day. Swimming instruction is an important part of our learning programme.

Coming up this week:

Monday - Swimming 

Tuesday - Swimming
         
Wednesday - Swimming and Kapa Haka 2pm

Thursday - Swimming and Library 11pm  ( all books need to be returned please, kids were told what books they need to bring)

Friday - Swimming and National Chess Tournament 
               - Golden Time.

               - choir 12pm, Pasifika 11am 

Stay safe and have a lovely Sunday evening, 

Mrs Dinniss

Week 5 - Term 4 - 2021

 

Welcome to Week 5 Term 4

November 14, 2021

 Aloha parents and whānau, welcome to week 5!

I hope you've had a wonderful weekend and managed to find time to relax with your family. We are over halfway through the term and the busyness is well and truly upon us. We had a fantastic day at Athletics on Monday. The kids all did so well and it was awesome to have some parent helpers as well. A huge congratulations to those students who competed in the gymnastics competition, I know you have been practising hard all year. 

Just a friendly reminder that all students need to bring their hats to school, we know how harsh our New Zealand sun is. Also, please continue checking that your child is bringing their device to school fully charged. We will be doing some assessments this week, which students will require their Chromebooks for. 

With Delta cases now in Rotorua, sanitising and staying home if unwell is more important than ever. Please do not send your child to school if they are sick. 

We have some exciting learning ahead this week, including the Making a Difference Swimming Programme (Tuesday - Friday) and a hands-on experience from the Rotorua Museum called The Outreach Taniwha Programme. 

Coming up this week:

Monday - No swimming. 

Tuesday - Swimming
            - Museum programme R12

Wednesday - Swimming

Thursday - Swimming, Library

Friday - Swimming 
                  - Golden Time. 

Stay safe and have a lovely Sunday evening, 

Week 4 - Term 4 - 2021

 - November 07, 2021

Warm and joyful greetings to you all as I write this post admiring the beautiful sunny weather we are having this Sunday morning.

Thank you for all your support with our Healthy Class Zespri, the kids have been striving for points to cross the world checkpoints. We have already walked over halfway across New Zealand. We get bonus points for eating fruit and veggies and drinking water. 

Congratulations to all the kids from room 12 that have been playing sports. It is wonderful to see so many kids giving Touch, Cricket and Futsal a go. Keep it up!

We would like to express our gratitude to all families that helped and supported our school with the working bee yesterday. It was a very successful day with such a great turnout. Plenty of jobs were completed. Thank you once again for your extra helping hands. It is great to see manaakitanga ( kindness) and kotahitanga ( unity) in action at our school.

Swimming this week is cancelled and we will swim again in week 5.

Special Mention: Congratulations to these families:

Thank you everyone for your support in this.

PTA Raffle Results

1st Prize Bye Family

2nd Prize Ruden Castillo

3rd Prize Grace Defensor

This week will be another busy week for our kids.

What's on this week:

Monday: Year 3-6 Athletics Day 8.45 - 2.30pm at the International Stadium Field 2

Please drop off your Y3-6 child/ren at the entrance to the Athletics ground (Field 2) at the International Stadium on Devon Street West between 8.30am and 8.45am. Children will return to the gate ready pick up at 2.30pm. Children must be collected from the ground by 3pm at the latest. The gate will be locked between 9am and 2.30pm this year. Parents can only enter the grounds if they are volunteer helpers assigned a set task.

Thursday:Rm 14 Library

Friday: Teacher only Day. No school

Cross fingers we will have some good weather this week especially for Athletics Day. I wish you all a wonderful week with many joyful blessings.

Term 4 - Week 3 - 2021

 

Weekly Notices. - Week 3, Term 4

October 31, 2021

Kia ora parents and whānau

Welcome to week 3 which is another busy week.  There is no swimming this week or next, and Kahikatea's next turn will be in Week 5.  Team Kahikatea did a great job of leading the school in the Rosary on Thursday.  This was live-streamed from the hall to the rest of the school. This week we will be leading the All Saints and All Souls Liturgy.

      

Reminders

RAFFLES: Thank you for your support with the selling of our PTA’s Raffle Books. The books must be returned immediately, sold or unsold. We cannot draw the raffle until all the tickets are in. Thank you.

EARLY FINISH FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR STAFF: Tuesday 2nd November at 2.30 pm, our staff, along with teachers from St Michael’s Rotorua, St Mary’s Putararu and Bishop Edward Gaines in Tokoroa are involved in Titiro Whakamuri kia haere whakamua Professional Development. We will need to finish school at 2.15 pm on that Tuesday so I ask that you pick your child up at 2.15pm. If you require after-school care you can ring Maryanne Roling from Glenholme Afterschool Care. Mary Anne’s contact number is: 347 0709 or 0211 215599

WORKING BEE. We intend to have a working bee this Saturday 6th November.  A letter has been sent home for you to fill in how you might be able to help. Please return these forms to school. I really appreciate the support we get from you, so thank you in anticipation. Children are welcome and we will have a BBQ lunch. 

ATHLETICS FOR YEAR 3 TO 6s:  Our annual Athletics Day will take place on Monday, November 8th. Please click on the form below to help us organise the event.

Athletics Day Form - must fill out so we know how your child is being picked up and dropped off.

LIbrary - Thursday please remember your books

Friday 12th November. Teacher Only Day. There will be no school on this day.

God bless and have a great week.

Mrs. Dinniss

Week 2 - Term 4 - 2021

 WEEK 2 TERM 4 2021.

Tokelau Language WeekTe vaiaho o te gagana TokelauMālo ni,

This year’s theme for Te vaiaho o te Gagana Tokelau– Tokelau Language Week is Tokelau! Tapui tau gagana ma tau aganuku, i te manaola ma te lautupuola, which means Tokelau! Preserve your language and culture, to enhance spiritual and physical wellbeing.

Swimming- Kahikitea will be swimming for the last 4 days of the week. It is very important that we take part in swimming, a note will be needed from home if the kids aren't swimming. Otherwise, they will be given spare togs. Swimming is part of our P.E. curriculum, the pool is warm and the kids will learn valuable swimming skills. 

Library - Thursdays.

FRIDAY- KIDS WILL DRESS UP IN COSTUME FOR THE AFTERNOON FOR SOME HALLOWEEN FUN.

THE MONTH OF THE ROSARY. This month is the month of the Rosary. Kahikitea is leading the Sorrowful Mysteries on Thursday.

 JPC staff members are here tomorrow to conduct the Entrance Test for those students going to JPC next year. Tables and chairs have been set up in the hall so the hall will be in use until lunchtime.

RAFFLES: Thank you for your support with the selling of our PTA’s Raffle Books. The books must be returned tomorrow Tuesday sold or unsold. Thank you.

EARLY FINISH FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR STAFF:Tuesday 2nd November at 2.30pm, our staff, along with teachers from St Michael’s Rotorua, St Mary’s Putararu and Bishop Edward Gaines in Tokoroa are involved in Titiro Whakamuri kia haere whakamua Professional Development. We will need to finish school at 2.15pm on that Tuesday so I ask that you pick your child up at 2.15pm. If you require after-school



care you can ring Maryanne Roling from Glenholme Afterschool Care. Mary Anne’ s contact number is : 347 0709 or 0211 215599

WORKING BEE. We intend to have a working bee on the third Saturday after the holidays, November 7th. There are a number of jobs that need to be done. I really appreciate the support we get from you, so thank you in anticipation. Children are welcome and we will have a BBQ lunch. I have sent a letter home, if you are able to help please indicate on the sheet what you can help with and return the form to school.

ATHLETICS FOR YEAR 3 TO 6s

The sports coordinator has offered free fries to the class that has all their parents fill out the form below. Please take 5 min to fill it out.

Our annual Athletics Day will take place on Monday, November 8th. Please click on the form below to help us organize the event.

Athletics Day Form

 Reminder

Friday 13th November. Teacher Only Day. There will be no school on this day.

Have a good week.

Mrs. D and the Kahikatea Team

Week 10 - Term 3 - 2021

 

Welcome to Week 10 Term 3

September 26, 2021

Kia ora parents and whānau, congratulations on making it to the last week of term! 

It has been a whirlwind of a term with lockdown and everyone has done a tremendous job getting to the end happily and safely. Thank you again for giving our students supportive and loving homes, the adjustment make to school was made a lot easier thanks to that. 

Thank you to all parents for your support with our babysitting activity. The students had so much fun and lots of tears when their babies didn't make it. We have started a science experiment with the living eggs.

In maths this term, we had a focus on geometry and fractions. Here is some translation art that some of our fantastic tamariki completed. 

Things on this week: 
Monday - Principals Morning Tea. Congratulations to those students who were chosen!

Tuesday - STEAM EXTRAVAGANZA and Library. 

Wednesday - Catholic Schools Day 

Thursday -

•  Library - Students took home the list of outstanding books they have at home. New books will be sent home so they have some during the break.
•  Girls 7's Year 3/4 against St. Micheals at St Marys, No spectators (sorry) 
•  St Vincent De Paul Liturgy 

Friday - Golden Time, holidays start!!

Important messages from Mr Macmillan and Mrs Cato:

Last week all Year 0-5 students should have brought home a letter inviting parents to provide some information for consideration re the 2022 class placement of their child. A copy of the letter and form is here. Please note if you have more than one child at school we want you to complete a form for each child. 

Reminder: The final day for these forms to be returned is Friday 1 October. Due to Covid Level 2 restrictions, we suggest the form is returned to the Class Teacher who will then pass it on to the School Office.

Catholic Schools Day is about celebrating our unique Catholic Character, in faith, excellence and service. It is another opportunity to celebrate the taonga of Catholic Education for which we are kaitiaki. The theme for Catholic Schools Day, 2021 is Tūrangawaewae: Catholic Schools – A Place to Stand

Our annual Athletics Day will take place on Monday, November 8th. Please click on the form below to help us organise the event.

Athletics Day Form

PTA raffle books are being sent home on Friday with students please help the PTA and sell your tickets and return them as soon as possible in Term 4. 

Here is the week 9 virtual assembly. 

Have a lovely Sunday evening and be safe over the holidays. 

Mrs. Dinniss