Tēnā koutou katoa St Michael’s Catholic School Community, 

You will no doubt have heard this week of the Government’s plans to make changes to the way in which Mathematics is taught in New Zealand primary schools. Particular attention was drawn to the success of Singaporean-based programmes. St Michael’s implemented one of these programmes, Maths No Problem!, from Years 2-6 in 2022, and extended this to our Year 0 and 1 students this year. We are confident that this programme meets the government’s requirements, and we will be working alongside facilitators to ensure our students continue to be well-prepared for Mathematics in secondary school.

In my previous newsletter, I mentioned that our Junior teachers are currently studying the Better Start Literacy Approach through the University of Canterbury. Philippa and Catherine attended facilitator training in Christchurch last week, and will study alongside our teachers to receive this accreditation. We will reach out to the school community shortly to invite you along to hear more about this new approach to literacy teaching, and the changes that you can expect to see going forward.

Each year the Catholic Caring Foundation invites schools to nominate students who have shown outstanding care and commitment to their community. This year Ellery Balderas and Alexis Ricablanca were nominated to receive certificates at this Mass. Congratulations to the two of them. 

The Year 6 Thanksgiving Mass is one of the most important events in our school calendar, particularly for our graduating students and their families. We acknowledge that this is a difficult time of year for families to commit to an evening Mass, and have therefore made the decision this year to celebrate at 9.15am on Thursday 12 December. All families are warmly invited to join us for this Mass.

As we know that parents may wish to take time off to attend the Mass, the school’s End of Year Prizegiving will also be held on Thursday at 11.30am.

Please note that the Christmas Concert will take place in our usual Wednesday “assembly” time slot, however we will move the start time to 1.30pm. The date for this will be Wednesday 11 December - it isn’t to be missed!

Every year we are involved in cans for Christmas. This is an initiative that started 10 years ago, and supports St Vincent de Paul Society. We will be collecting these cans on Friday 6th September and we ask each child to bring along a can of food to contribute to this wonderful charity.

On Friday 23rd August 2024 (Save date Monday 26th August) we will be celebrating our next full school sports event to be held at Monte Cecilia Park. The event runs from 9 am till 2pm. The children start racing from 10.15am. In order for this event to be a success, we need you to do your bit! Parent helpers are a key to ensure our tamariki can participate in events like this. If you can help in any way please email Miss Bagnall at c.bagnall@smcs.school.nz or pop into Room 3 for some additional information. 

Running club is back on for Term 3! It's a great way to get some running practice in before Cross Country. It will also count towards the kids run-a-thon kilometers. 

We meet Friday mornings, 7:50am outside the office for an 8am start. We will run down Arney Rd and back - roughly the same distance the children will cover at cross country. Runners of all abilities are welcome. Junior kids will need to be accompanied by an adult runner please. Please come dressed in your P.E. gear. 

Please contact Lucy Carter if you want to be added to the Whatsapp group 021 224 2502. 

Sunday 11 August - St Michael’s Parish Council Meeting in the Hall (after the 10am Mass). 

Monday 12 August - School Board Meeting (7.00pm)

Wednesday 14 August - ICAS Exam (English)

Wednesday 14 August - Room 8 and Room 9 Assembly

Thursday 15 August - Mass for the Feast of the Assumption (9.15am)

Monday 19 August - PTA Meeting (7.00pm)

Wednesday 21 August - ICAS Exam (Science)

Friday 23 August - SMCS Cross Country (Monte Cecilia Park)

Saturday 24 August - Sacrament of Reconciliation

Monday 26 August - Save day (if wet on 23 August) SMCS Cross Country

Wednesday 28 August - ICAS Exam (Mathematics)

Wednesday 28 August - Keeping Ourselves Safe Parent Meeting with Constable Gordon (2pm) in the Staffroom

Thursday 29 August - Class and sibling Photos by Photolife (in the Hall)

Friday 30 August - Sports Team photos

Friday 30 August - Daffodil Day

Monday 2 September - Friday 6 September - Tongan Language  Week and Keeping Ourselves Safe Week

Wednesday 4 September - Room 2 and Room 10 Assembly

Wednesday 5 September - SMCS School Tour for new families (10am - 11am) 

Friday 6 September - School Disco (5pm - 7pm)

Sunday 8 September - Parish/School Mass (10am) and Morning Tea afterwards

Monday 9 September - Friday 13 September - Māori Language  Week and Social Justice Week

Tuesday 10 September - Confirmation Service (6pm - 7pm)

Wednesday 11 September - Catholic Cross Country at Monte Cecilia

Monday 16 September to Friday 20 September - Chinese Language Week 

Monday 16 September - School Board Meeting (7pm)

Wednesday 18 September - Cross Country Prizegiving

Saturday 21 September - SMCS  First Holy Communion Mass (6pm)

Sunday 22 September - Parish First Holy Communion (12pm) and at 1pm Parish and SMCS First Holy Communion Celebration in the Hall

Monday 23 September to Friday 27 September - Cultural Week

Wednesday 25 September - Rooms 4 and 5 Assembly

Thursday 26 September - Cultural Mass 

Friday 27 September - End of Term 3

The Catholic Education of School-Age Children This document of the NZ Catholic Bishop’s Conference is to guide those involved in the work of Catholic Education. Each week we will place excerpts of this book. 

“A number of pressures, beginning in the late 1950s, combined to further strain Catholic resources and a large amount of debt was accumulated to keep the schools operating. In the early 1970s it was obvious to the government that the Catholic school system was in danger of collapse.” (p7).

St Michael’s Parish Website – Mass times - Sunday 8am, 10am & 5pm; Monday - Friday 7am & 12noon; Saturday 8am.

PARISH ANNUAL MEETING This will take place this Sunday 11 August in the St Mary MacKillop Hall. The special guest speaker will be Dame Kiri Te Kanawa. Reports will be presented by the parish Pastoral and Finance Councils. There will be an Open Forum where parishioners can raise their comments and questions. The meeting will be followed by the parish Winter Lunch. Register via the  Parish newsletter All welcome.

A Mass will be offered for those who have experienced loss of a child. Spiritual healing is necessary after the loss of a child. The Catholic Sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist help facilitate healing through fully knowing God’s love and mercy. 

Where: St Michael’s Catholic Church, Beatrice Ave, Remuera

When: Saturday 7 th September 5.00pm

Along with the healing process, counselling is often necessary. You may want to address grief at some stage. Father Tony Dunn can refer you to an experienced counsellor if you wish.

Brenda Brightwell

St Michael’s Catholic Parish

027 641 5615

Adoration: Monday - Friday 7.30am-8.30am

Rosary: Monday – Friday 8.30am & 12.30pm; Saturday 8.30am

School Rosary: Fridays at 1:15pm at the reflective area (Church if wet).  

School  Masses - Every Thursday at 9:15am (except Feast days) 

15/08/24 - Feast of the Assumption; 22/08/24 - Rooms 4 & 10; 05/09/24 - Rooms 2 & 7; 

08/09/24 - School and Parish Mass - Sunday at 10am (Compulsory attendance)

26/09/24 - Whole School Cultural Mass

Week 1- 4: Strand - Church 

Week 4-10: Strand - Sacrament 

The themes in our Religious Education Programme are broad categories of knowledge and learning that overlap, weave together and build upon each other.

Over the last 4 years , a new Religious Education Curriculum, To Tātou Whakapono Our Faith, has been developed. Level 1 ( Year 1 & 2) students will be learning from the new Curriculum from this year. The term 3 Theme is -  Ā Tātou Whakapapa Our Story. This theme focuses on the Church. 

Manaaki ki te Atua,

Annual Reports Catholic Diocese of Auckland Annual Reports 2023 CDA Annual Report 2022 CDA Annual Report 2021 CDA Annual Report Auckland Common Fund Ltd (ACFL) Annual Reports 2023 ACFL Annual ... Read More about Annual Report. www.aucklandcatholic.org.nz 

We are looking for a CA qualified Accountant to provide full-time parental leave cover for a fixed term period of one year.  The role will assist the Diocesan Accounting Manager with operational leadership for the financial management of various entities under the Catholic Diocese of Auckland. In this role, you will be responsible for ensuring all financial reporting requirements, imperatives are delivered accurately and add value to the organisation.  You will provide accurate, timely and relevant statutory and management reporting information for entities which ensures the Diocese both fully meets its statutory requirements and to support the Diocese in the achievement of its strategic goals. 

To view the full advert and the position description please go to our website www.aucklandcatholic.org.nz under Diocesan Services and Staff Vacancies.

And the votes for our school disco theme are in and it was close!

With 74 votes, Enchanted Forest is our disco theme this year! Second runner up was Under the Sea with 44 votes and Heroes and Villains was a close third with 43 votes. 

Tickets and tokens are now available for purchase on MyKindo. So start planning your costumes and get ready for some fun! See more details below. 

Our next PTA meeting is at 7pm on Monday 19 August in the staff room or via zoom. Everyone is welcome and we would love to see some new faces. 

There is still time to join our dads for some pool fun! 'Dads Night Out' event is on the 21 August and is a perfect opportunity to unwind, meet other dads and have fun. Arrive at 6:30 for a 7pm start.

Ticket sales via MyKindo or email us at ptasmcs@gmail.com.

The parish is organising a morning tea after our School/Parish Mass on 8 September. 

Please come on down to the hall for a cuppa, a slice and a chat after Mass.  

We are also looking for 18 volunteers to help us on the day. Check what is needed and sign in to help: https://volunteersignup.org/B3W3L 

 

School disco organization has started and tickets are on sale via MyKindo.
 
We also need parent support to make this event happen! As parents are required to stay with the children, why not help us for 30 min (or more)? The more helpers we get, the lighter the work for everyone!
Choose where you want to help and your preferred time by going to: volunteersignup.org/BRLRP

Donations
If you or your business can donate anything for the event, please reach out to us on ptasmcs@gmail.com.
Donations can include chocolates and confectionery, toys, soft toys and books (used but in good condition are accepted), raffle items, etc.

Thank you to Room 5 for helping with Pizza this week. We really appreciate your help. 

 

Have a great weekend everyone!
Gio and Sam