Tēnā koutou katoa St Michael’s Catholic School Community,
“Mā te Atua me te wāhi ngaro tātou e otaki e manaaki”May God and the origins of which all things come from, bless and keep us
I hope you and your families had a good break. It is wonderful to have all our students back. We have such a busy term so please ensure you put relevant events in your calendar.
Feedback Stars For Teachers and BOT
Your children would have brought home a green and yellow star which we would like you to write on and return back to school. The Yellow Star is for you to write a Goal for your child’s education while they are at our school. The Green Star is for you to write a Goal for the school: Something you want to see. Please return these stars at parent Interviews or by Friday 20 October.
Summer Uniform
In Term 4 we change into the summer uniform however with the cold spell the expectation will be that all students will be in full summer uniform after labour weekend. Please ensure your child has the correct school uniform including Black sandals and SMCS Green sunhat.
Principal’s Awards and ICAS Certificates
Week Two’s Principal’s Awards and the Science and English ICAS certificates will be given out after Meditation on Monday 16th October. We are doing this as there is no assembly in Week 2 (with Parent Interviews). We are awaiting the arrival of the ICAS Mathematics certificates which will be presented at a later date.
Teacher Only Day - Monday 20th November 2023
All schools were told by the Ministry to hold their Teacher Only days between Monday 13 and Friday 24 November 2023, to help them understand and prepare for the upcoming changes to curriculum and assessment. We have chosen Monday 20th November to align with other Catholic schools.
Supervision on Wednesday 18 October From 2pm to 2:55pm
With Parent Interviews taking place students will be supervised in the Hall after lunch. This is for Rooms 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, & 10. Rooms 1, 2, 3 and 6 will remain in class for the full school day.
If you wish to pick your child up earlier you may collect them from the Hall. Their belongings can be collected from their bag hooks.
Parent Teacher Interviews
Parent Teacher Interviews will be held on Wednesday 18 October (1.30 - 7.30pm) and Thursday 19 October (3.30 - 5.30pm). Please note that due to class sizes, bookings for Rooms 1, 2, 3 and 6 will only be available from 3.15pm on Wednesday.
Book your Interview on the Skool loop App.
To download the Skool loop APP: To make your Parent/Teacher booking:
Click on your “Interviews” tile
Select “Select Interview”
Select your child’s teacher
Select what day/date preference
Select your time preference
Click “Select”
Enter students details and sign at the bottom
Select “Book Interview”
A confirmationemail will be sent to you with your bookings details.
Athletics Day - Helpers needed on Friday 10 November (Rain Date: 13/11/23)
Our Athletics Day will be held at Glover Park again this year. In order for this to run smoothly, John Hazel and Jo Petrie are looking for parent helpers to fill a range of roles. One of the key values of our school is to “do your bit” and we would love your support in ensuring the success of this event. If you are available to help on the day, please email Johnj.hazel@smcs.school.nz and Jo j.petrie@smcs.school.nz
Parent help required for Year 6 Graduation Dinner
Year 5 Parents: Friday 1st December 2023 One of the key values of our school is to “do your bit” and we would love your support in ensuring the success of this event. Thank you to the 4 volunteers we have so far. We require many more helpers to help make the Year 6 Graduation Dinner a special event. We need Year 5 parents to help at the following times: 4pm - 5:30pm; 5:30pm - 7pm; 7pm - 8:30pm and 8:30pm - 9:30pm
Term 1 - 01/02/24 - 12/04/24 (Waitangi Day 06/02/24; Easter 29/03/24-02/04/24) Term 2 - 29/04/24 - 05/07/24 (King’s Birthday 03/06/24; Matariki 28/06/24) Term 3 - 22/07/24 - 27/09/24 Term 4 - 14/10/24 - 17/12/24 (Labour Day 28/10/24)
Teacher Only Days - 2024
There will be two teacher only days during the term. One is on Wednesday 3rd April 2024 and the other is yet to be decided. We are attempting to align with Sacred Heart and Baradene to simplify arrangements for families.
Sunday 15 October: St Michael’s 90th Jubilee
Monday 16 October: PTA Meeting (7.00pm)
Wednesday 18 and Thursday 19 October: Parent Teacher Interviews
Monday 23 October: Labour Day (Public Holiday)
Friday 27 October: PTA Mums’ Night Out (7.00pm)
Monday 30 October: Board of Trustees Meeting (7.00pm)
Wednesday 1 November: Mass for All Saints Day (9.15am)
Wednesday 1 November: Room 7 and Room 10 Assembly (2.00pm)
Monday 6 - Thursday 9 November: Life Education Caravan on-site
Friday 15 December: Last day of Term 4 (School closes at 12.30pm)
Excerpt from ‘The Catholic Education of School-Age Children’ (NZ Bishops, 2014)
“The schools have access to young Catholics for a large part of each day, approximately 192 days of the year, for up to thirteen years. This is far more access than a parish has, and in secondary school years may represent even more time than a young person spends with his or her family. With this level of access during formative years, the Catholic school is better placed to counter the influences which dilute faith than any other part of the Church.” (Page 9, 37)
Rosary Group Meet Every Friday at 1:15pm to 1:30pm at the Reflective Area (Church if raining)
St Michael’s Parish Website – Mass times - Sunday 8am, 10am & 5pm; Monday - Friday 7am & 12noon; Saturday 8am.
Our Mums’ night out will be on Friday 27 October at 7pm! Ticket sales closes Monday 16 October. Please letptasmcs@gmail.comknow of any dietary requirements so we can cater for you.
This will be a lovely opportunity to connect and meet St Michael’s School mums and have a great time, all while enjoying some delicious finger foods and drinks!
Tickets are $30 and include a selection of yummy finger foods. Drinks can be purchased on the night.
Numbers are limited, so reserve your spot today via myKindo.
Calendar Art
Thanks to all of our lovely teachers who have helped the children make some great art to be turned into calendars, diaries, cards and mouse mats.
Please bear with us, we are about to open orders, but are waiting for the art to be scanned in and the company to give us the go ahead that it is live for you to be able access their website.
We will be sending flyers home with the children with all the details that you will need to access your child/ren’s art and hope to have those with you possibly by the end of this week or early next week.
Pizza Fridays
Please remember to order your pizzas by 9am on Friday mornings to avoid your child having no pizza for lunch.
Thank you to Room 3 for helping this Friday.
Term 4 dates below:
13th Oct Room 3
20th Oct Room 2
27th Oct Room 1
3rd Nov Room 10
10th Nov Room 9
17th Nov Room 8
24th Nov Room 7
1st Dec Room 6
8th Dec Room 5
15th Dec Room 4
Second-hand Uniform Shop
The second-hand Uniform Shop will be open on Friday 13 October from 2:30pm to 3.15pm. As well as Friday 3 November and Friday 1 December 2:30pm to 3.15pm.
2023 Yummy Sticker Collection
Wow, 2290 stickers! That's a whole lot of yummy fruit and a whole lot of love from you all. Just wanted to send a big, juicy THANK YOU to all the parents and kiddos who've been working so hard collecting stickers from The Yummy Fruit Co. You guys are the apple of our eye!
Remember, every time you enjoy one of their delicious fruits - whether it's a crunchy apple, a sweet hunny peach, or any other tasty fruits - be sure to save those stickers. They're not just fun to collect, they're also helping us to collect more sports gears for our school.
So, let's keep up the great work! Let's see if we can top our record in 2024.
You can keep collecting stickers or cutouts from the yummy fruit bags for next year! Print your collection sheet or collect one from the school office (shelf besides the window). Have a lovely weekend
Sam and Gio
SPORTS NEWS
SMCS Touch Rugby (Term 4)
Touch Rugby Season
Thank you to all the students that signed up to play for our school. This week is the first game of the season. Wishing you all the very best! Have lots of fun, show your awesome and outstanding sportsmanship.
A very massive and special thankyou to all the parents who have given themselves freely to Coach or Manage our teams. We would not have been able to put all the teams together without your generosity of time. Your contribution to our school community is greatly appreciated. Thank you again and enjoy your season.
Community Notices
MUSIC LESSONS AT SCHOOL & IN EPSOM WITH LEWIS EADY
Term 4 music lessons at your school start from week commencing 9 October.
We offer group or individual tuition on a range of musical instruments. If you haven’t yet enrolled, complete our online enrolment form today at https://bit.ly/LEMSMusicLessons.
Lessons also take place at our music studios on 75 Great South Road, Epsom on weekdays after school and all day on Saturdays.
We look forward to making music with your whānau soon!