Tēnā koutou katoa St Michael’s Catholic School Community, 

I hope you all had a wonderful break from school. In the first week of our break my husband and I took our whole family to Surfers (18 of us). This was a holiday of a lifetime. Spending time with family is so important, especially with our 9 grandchildren. 

We trialled having 10 minute interview slots this term, however feedback from teachers was that this was not long enough. In Term 4 we will return to 15 minute interview slots to discuss Term 3 Progress Reports. 

If you did not have the opportunity to share or discuss any important issues with your child’s teacher, please feel free to reach out to them and make another appointment.

This term at St Michael’s, we are introducing ‘The Code’ spelling programme  school wide. To support the implementation of this programme, we ask that students practise their spelling learning at home each week.

We encourage students to spend 10-15 minutes on their spelling at home, several times a week. Classroom teachers will post weekly on Class Dojo the current spelling sound or pattern being taught in their class. Please keep in mind that many spelling patterns will be taught for more than one week.

A reminder that children cannot participate in any off-site activities unless you have filled in the Travel Consent form. This is available on our school website under the 'Online Forms' tab.

Please ensure that this is completed, to avoid your child missing out on any special opportunities.

Field Trip - Auckland Botanic Gardens (next Monday, Tuesday and Thursday)

Monday 6 May: Rooms 4, 5 and 9

Tuesday 7 May: Rooms 7, 8 and 10

Thursday 9 May: Rooms 1, 3 and 6

As part of this term’s inquiry into Plants, Soil and Maramataka, we will be visiting the Auckland Botanic Gardens and participate in Patch to Plate lessons.

Please make note of which day your child/children will be attending this trip, and ensure that they arrive at school with plenty of time to spare. Children will need to wear their school uniforms with trainers (and ones that you are not concerned with getting muddy!). Please assist them in packing the following items for the day:

The children will be taking their school bags with them to the Gardens, so please help them to empty out any extra items!

A reminder that we also need one clean yoghurt pot (or similar) per child in order for them to participate in the Patch to Plate lesson.

A huge “thank you” to those family members who have volunteered their time to support the children and our staff with this trip. We appreciate all of your effort to “do your bit” - your willingness to help us out really does not go unnoticed.

We are planning forward for 2025, and ask that any families who have a child turning five next year please submit their enrolment forms now. If you have any questions, or need any assistance with this, please feel free to contact Catherine at c.westwood@smcs.school.nz. 

We would like to welcome the following families and students to our school: the Mamo family (Lucinda) who has two older siblings attending SMCS.

 

Monday 6 May, Tuesday 7 May, Thursday 9 May - School Trips (Auckland Botanic Gardens)

Wednesday 8 May - Room 4 and Room 7 Assembly

Monday 13 May - School-wide Dance Curriculum lessons begin

Monday 13 May - BOT Meeting (7.00pm)

Monday 20 May - PTA Meeting (7.00pm)

Thursday 23 May - Dance Curriculum Performance (for parents - time to be confirmed)

Friday 24 May - Grandparents’ Day

Tuesday 28 May - Year 6 Puberty lessons begin

Wednesday 5 June - Room 1, Room 3 and Room 8 Assembly (2.00pm)

Thursday 13 June - Talent Extravaganza (4.00pm)

Wednesday 19 June - Room 6 and Room 9 Assembly (2.00pm)

Thursday 27 June - Matariki Breakfast

Friday 28 June - Public Holiday (Matariki)

Wednesday 3 July - Room 5 and Room 10 Assembly (2.00pm)

Friday 5 July - YCC (Young Catholics Care) fundraiser, end of Term 2 

 

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

Week 1: Prayer - Traditional and Devotional Prayer

Week 2: Liturgical Year - Ascension

Week 3: Liturgical Year - Pentecost

Weeks 4-8: Strand - Holy Spirit

Weeks 9-10: Strand - Church

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 through the new Curriculum from this year. The Term 2 Theme is Te Rongopai - Good News. This theme focuses on Sacred Scripture. Children will learn that the Bible is filled with good news for us all. Learners are given opportunities to explore, grow in understanding, wonder about, reflect on and connect with stories from the Old and New Testaments. 

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

Adoration: Monday - Friday 7.30am-8.30am

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

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

09/05/24 - Feast of the Ascension All welcome; 16/05/24 - Rooms 1, 3 & 8; 

23/05/24 - No Mass; 30/05/24 - Rooms 4 & 7; 06/06/24 - Rooms 6 & 9; 13/06/24 - Senior School (Rooms 7, 8, 9 & 10); 20/06/24 - Rooms 5 & 10; 27/06/24 - Rooms 4 & 7; 04/07/24 - Rooms 1, 3 & 8

Please view our two Profile Candidates below. Voting emails were distributed on 26 April 2024 by CES.

Term 2 is packed with some exciting events!

We created a key dates flyer to make it easier for you to remember! Make sure you add them to your calendar and keep an eye out for more details from us.

We are putting together hampers to raffle on grandparents’ day. If you are able to contribute any new items towards this, we would greatly appreciate it. Ideas for items include any chocolates, wine, preserves, homeware items, kitchenware, beauty products, gardening items etc (remember grandads too). If you have a spare basket or crate that we could use to put things in these would also be welcome. Please drop off any donations to Genevieve at the school office.

All grandparents or significant people in your child’s life are welcome to attend our annual grandparent’s day.
 
Each classroom will be asked to donate some sweet food for morning tea. Your classroom rep will be coordinating this for us, so please sign up if you can.
 
With the event just around the corner we need your help to make it a success!  You can view what help is needed and sign up to help here: volunteersignup.org/R8HEA (no google account needed).
 

Let’s get quizzical! Our very famous quiz night runs again this year. A great way to get to know other parents and have a fun night out. 

Put your teams together (teams of 6-8 people are ideal!) and email us at ptasmcs@gmail.com. 

Monday Lunch Service – Addition of Penne alla Bolognese  

Starting from the first Monday of Term 2, Pasta Express is excited to add to the current Mac and Cheese service, Penne alla Bolognese. 

Penne pasta, combined with a delicious, traditional Bolognese ragu (sauce) which has been slow-cooked for 3 hours, using only premium and natural ingredients. This hearty sauce follows the traditional method and ingredients including; 2 meats (beef and pork), soffritto base (onion, carrot, celery), minimal tomato and a small amount of milk (traditionally added to cut the acidity of the tomato).  

Family Meals – Order by Thursday midday for Friday delivery (via Kindo)  

Starting the first week of Term 2, Pasta Express is excited to offer both Mac and Cheese varieties (with/without bacon) and the ‘new’ Penne alla Bolognese pasta in large family-size portions (feeds 4-5). These family meals will be delivered cold (not frozen), ready to be heated for dinner that evening or stored in the freezer for another day.  A family-sized (1.4kg) portion of Macaroni pasta with a delicious, creamy 3 cheese sauce made from Mainland's Colby, Classic Cheddar and Tasty Cheddar cheeses. Two other varieties on offer.
 
Fundraising - St Michael’s will also receive a fundraising donation on every family meal ordered. Order by Thursday midday and pick-up from the office Friday afternoon, please bring a carry bag. 

Our second-hand uniform shop will open tomorrow Friday 3 May from 2:30 PM to 3:15 PM. Come on down and say hello! 

Thank you to Room 10 for helping with Pizza this week. We really appreciate your help.

Pizza Fridays are run with the support of parents from specific rooms each week and it is a great fundraising for our school – not to say the kids LOVE it. 
 
If we don’t have volunteers we can’t provide this service. Please help us keep this service alive by replying to your class reps and volunteering your time whenever possible. It only takes 40 min, once or twice a term.

Save the date for our PTA meeting in Term 2 - 20 May at 7pm. 

 
Have a great weekend everyone!

Gio and Sam

This year we are excited to announce the return of the St Michael’s Talent Extravaganza. This is an opportunity for the SMCS children to show the community their amazing talents. It will be held in the school hall at 4.00pm on Thursday the 13th of June (Week 7, Term 2).

Some examples of talents: singing, dancing, magic, comedy routines, dramatic skits, juggling, yo‐yo tricks, mime, gymnastics, reciting poetry, playing an instrument… the list goes on!

Auditions will be held at lunchtime on Thursday the 30th and Friday the 31st of May (Week 5, Term 2). The sign up sheet will be available in Room 5.

We are currently on the hunt for a couple of guest judges who would be willing to donate their time to judge the competition, so if you know someone who is ‘NZ famous’ please contact Mrs Carleton.

If you have any further questions, please contact Mrs Lauren Carleton l.carleton@smcs.toschool.nz 

Please save the date in your calendar to come and celebrate St Michael's multi-culturalism. We look forward to seeing you all.

The Catholic Diocese of Auckland are seeking a motivated credit professional to join their Diocesan Finance team, located in St Marys Bay, Auckland. 

 

This is a part time (20 hours per week), fixed term Parental Leave position, responsible for providing credit control and administrative support to the Operations Manager for the collection of Attendance Dues for schools in the Catholic Diocese of Auckland.   

 

This is a varied role, that will be responsible for a variety of tasks within the credit and collections process. The ability to effectively multi-task, strong problem solving and relationship building skills will be essential, as well as a well-developed sense of initiative, and the ability to work independently. 

 

Applicants should have previous credit control experience, or similar transferrable commercial experience. Sound collections skills and relevant legislative knowledge would also be advantageous. The ability to effectively juggle multiple priorities, an organised approach to work, excellent attention to detail, and a high level of numerical literacy will be required. 

 

The Diocesan Finance team is close-knit and high performing, so the successful applicant will need to be optimistic, resilient, and driven to succeed – both in terms of achieving their targets and developing and maintaining excellent relationships. Adaptability, transparency, and a collaborative approach to work will be critical for performance in this role, as well as a strong sense of integrity and dependability. 

 

A strong command of written and spoken English will be essential. The ability to speak Samoan and/or Tongan would be advantageous, but not essential.   

 

The role requires a strong sense of empathy, emotional intelligence, and commitment to upholding the values of the Catholic Church. 

 

Only people with the right to work in New Zealand, need apply. 

 

Please send a cover letter and CV to Leanne Killgour – People & Support Manager – leannek@cda.org.nz.   For more information on the Catholic Diocese of Auckland, please visit their website www.aucklandcatholic.org.nz. 

 

It's not too late to join the team. Ellerslie Under 10 Green team needs you! Currently, we have 6 boys from St Michael's in the team but need 1 or 2 more.

If your son is interested please contact Bryce Zazulak-Baker. Email bzbaker@gmail.com or contact 0274 989 686.