Week 4 SFDS Newsletter 2023

Kia ora e te Whānau

Many from our community have family and friends living in areas that have been ravaged by Cyclone Gabrielle. It is really devastating to see the pain that they are enduring at present. It is also very moving to see ways that the local community is getting behind their neighbours and iwi and trying their best to support one another.

As a school, we would like to rally financial support for the community. Many of our children have family in the areas affected. Some of our families are volunteering support on the ground also.

SFDS Community Fundraising Pledge: Cyclone Gabrielle

We are making plans with the new house leaders to arrange a fundraiser that they can take ownership of. In the meantime - let’s start giving!

We know that there are many organisations and groups raising funds for cyclone victims. We do not want any of our community’s donations to incur automatic admin charges by coming through our online school shop. However - we would love to see how much is donated by our community as a whole as this is a great example for our children.

Let’s see if we can raise more than $1000 from our community. Record your pledge here:

https://forms.gle/zSLwi2vwMjxSq8fS8

Every little bit will help!

For those who lost their houses to flooding or collapse,

May you find yourself somewhere safe and warm with loving company to help and hear your story.

For those without power,

May you feel the dedication of all those who work tirelessly to restore your home to light.

For those stranded and far away from loved ones,

May the strength of your relationships bring hope for the moment you can embrace again.

For those that cannot contact loved ones,

May you be anchored by the love of those who wait alongside you.

For those who are mourning a loss,

May you be surrounded by constant love and enduring peace.

For those who have been injured,

May the care you need of body, mind and soul come quickly and easily.

For those who wait in an unfamiliar place – uncertain if you can return home,

May the deep care of those around you be your safe place.

For the children who are afraid and confused,

May you find many hugs, a listening ear and moments of joy and laughter.

For those who have lost their means of income,

May the people with the knowledge and skill to assist you arrive easily before you on your path.

For those who have witnessed destruction first-hand,

May your mind and body find peace as you wait for the repair of what is damaged.

For those fatigued following the floods,

May you lean on the strength of loved ones to carry you into another day.

For the emergency workers who continue to work tirelessly,

May sleep and rest come easily when the day is done.

For animals lost and injured,

May you find your way to safe and caring hands.

For the anxious and frightened,

May your breath guide you from one moment to the next in the knowledge that this too shall pass.

For those who mourn the loss of friends and family

May you find comfort and strength to face each day from those who surround you in your grief

For those who have died

May they be carried in the arms of the angels to eternal life and rest in peace.

Ngā mihi nui

Mary-Angela Tombs, Tumuaki / Principal

Combined Parish Mass 5 March at 10am

Help us celebrate Children's Day at St Francis de Sales Church on Sunday 5 March.

Mass will start at 10am at St Francis de Sales Church.

Please stay for a cuppa and a chat afterwards. There will be a lolly scramble for the children.

2023 SACRAMENTAL PROGRAMME

Enrolments are now open for the next Sacramental programme. The programme is open to children who are baptised into the Catholic faith and have reached Year 4 or above. For an enrolment form please contact the parish office office@wellingtonsouthcatholic.org

Forms were sent home last year with your child or email the parish office on the above email.

The New Zealand government funds most, but not all, school costs. This funding generally does not cover smaller class sizes and aspects to school life that add value for our learners and help us sustain a caring community. At SFDS we choose to maintain a low ratio of staff to students; we ensure that our staff are capable and well-informed and we provide varied learning experiences for our learners. In 2022 our SFDS income from the government was approximately $756K. However the costs associated with adding value for learners was approximately $833K in 2022. In past years we have received significant income from annual school fairs. The impact of Covid and fewer volunteers means that this source of income has not been available, which puts pressure on our school budget.

We always rely heavily on donations and payments made by our families and our community to make up this shortfall. Below is a list of donation requests, along with payments that we ask you to make in 2023. We understand that families face many costs associated with education, and we thank you for your support through financial contributions. For this reason we also look for other ways to seek funding - such as community grants. Below we have detailed the donation requests and compulsory payments.

Donation Requests

Donations to the school are voluntary and tax deductible. You are requested to give careful consideration to paying all or part of the donations as your circumstances allow.

St Francis de Sales Donation:

$250 for one child, $350 for two children and $400 for three or more children. This donation is used to enhance the delivery of school programmes, keep our ICT equipment upgraded and operating effectively, and to supplement the general costs associated with maintaining a low ratio of adults to children across our school.

Religious Education Digital Resource Donation: We pay for access to Religious Education resources. This year we ask for a donation of $10.00 to cover this cost.

Activity Donation: $100 to cover trips and visits undertaken by students during the year as part of the curriculum such as School Cross Country, Swimming and Athletics, St Johns in Schools, Kelly Sports and other Sports providers, Life Education, Kapahaka, the Learning through Play programme, trips away from school to places like Te Papa, the Home of Compassion, the Art gallery - and to fund visiting performers.

Swimming: Swimming is a compulsory part of our school curriculum. Once costs and arrangements are known parents will be informed and asked to support the programme by donating towards costs. Swimming instruction takes place at the Aquatic Centre in Kilbirnie for one term each year. The donation requested will cover the cost of instruction and bus transport. It will vary from year to year.

Camp: (Year 7 & 8 only) The Senior School Camp takes place in term 1. The final amount to be sought from parents to assist with covering costs will be advised as soon as possible..

Technology: - (Year 7 & 8 only) our students will be attending Technology at St Catherine’s College who charge us for consumable materials used in the technology programme. For 2023, St Catherine’s College Year 7&8 Technology charge will be $64.00 per student. We ask that our parents cover all of this cost through the donation.

Compulsory Payments

Optional activities

Optional activities that students elect to take part in as an addition to the curriculum are invoiced as a compulsory payment. Examples of optional activities are: Out of school sports, zone sports, artsplash, etc.

Registration and payment for these optional activities is made through our ‘School Shop: Kindo’ (our online payment system). As these will be optional activities, if the parent does not agree to pay, the student will not take part in that activity. Payment for optional activities is not tax deductible. In some cases, if a large number of families decide not to participate (and make the payment) these activities may be cancelled.

How to make a donation or school payment

Make a donation or pay your school costs, order lunch and register and pay for sports activities through:

1. Our online school shop – Kindo www.kindo.co.nz and follow the steps to register or login.

2. Eftpos to the school office. (sorry we are no longer able to accept cash or cheques).

3. Directly into our bank account – ASB 12-3141-0233071-00. Please quote your child’s name and the activity or donation you are paying for.

If you have any questions regarding donations and payments please contact Suzanne in the school office on 939 7370 or office@sfds.school.nz

Attendance Dues

Attendance Dues are the compulsory property and insurance fees that you commit to paying when you enrol your child/ren in a catholic school in New Zealand. Attendance dues are compulsory. The dues are used to pay for the costs of new school classrooms, and other buildings, pay off existing mortgages and pay for the insurance on all school property. Families are invoiced by the Archdiocese and payment must be made directly to them. The school does not accept these payments.

If you have any queries about attendance dues please visit the Archdiocese of Wellington’s website: https://www.wn.catholic.org.nz/about/schools-in-the-archdiocese/attendance-dues/. Attendance dues are not tax deductible. (Please see the attached information sheet from the Archdiocese for more information regarding Attendance dues).

Support

If you have any concerns about our donations, payments or attendance dues - please feel free to contact our principal, Mary-Angela Tombs directly (principal@sfds.school.nz). We are very happy to support you where we can - through payment options or applying for rebates for attendance dues.

Some of our community members like to confidentially make an additional donation to cover the costs for another family. Thank you to these families. If you would like to do this, please email office@sfds.school.nz and we will let you know how this can be done.

Thank you for your ongoing support. We look forward to continuing to support you on your catholic education journey.

Ngā mihi nui

Mary-Angela Tombs

principal@sfds.school.nz

TEACHER ONLY DAYS

During 2023, we will be holding three Teacher Only Days:

1. Monday 24 April (for teachers to learn about the refreshed NZ Curriculum)

2. Friday 30 June (for staff to attend the Kāhui Ako Mid-Winter Hui)

3. The third day will be later in the year - and we will let you know the date once we hear from the Ministry of Education.

On these three days, SFDS will be closed, so you will need to make arrangements for childcare.

UNIFORM SHOP

Uniforms are now available to order though our Kindo shop. Here you will find our complete stock list and the sizes available.

Orders are made up once a week on a Friday morning. Once made up these will be delivered to your child before home time Friday afternoon. If your child is away that day we will aim to deliver the items on the next day they are at school.

If you require a uniform fitting, please email the school office with a list of what you need. Your child will then be fitted with the required uniform and the correct sizes to order will be sent home via email for you to order online.

If you would like to be there while they are fitted please let the office know and we will be in touch with a booking time.

CONGRATULATIONS

to the following students who received a certificate at school hui last week for showing the value of love: Emmy T, Brodie J, Gelila E, Lulu M, Lily Mc, Arija J, Summer P, Angus J, Ella W and Cody DT.

RANGINUI CAMP

An email was sent last week with a link to a form that needs to be completed for all students. We would love to have all of these completed by this Friday 24 February please.

HOUSE CAPTAINS

We were really impressed with the number of year 7/8 who put themselves up for one of these roles this year. Congratulations to the following students who will be house captains this year. We still encourage those who aren't a house leader to take on leadership initiatives during the year.

FUN SPORTS DAY

We will be holding this next Friday 3 March at Shorland Park between 10 and 12.30pm. We would love the kids to dress in their house colours, they can be as colourful and as creative as they like!

MOVIN' MARCH

This is a council initiative to encourage walking, scooting, biking...anything but driving...to school. Active transport is the aim! This will start next Wednesday 1 March. The kids received their cards to collect stamps today. Cards will be stamped at the end of the school driveway on Mersey Street. Once they have 10 stamps on their card, they can put it in the box at the office to go in the draw for a spot prize.

WEET-BIX TRYATHLON

We have a school group registered for this event. Please feel free to add your child to it when completing their registration. The early bird price ($49.50) for this event finishes at midnight this Sunday 26th and the price will go up to ($66). This is a really fun, supportive way to give triathlon a go.

For information on how to get to KINDO Click here to view. From there you are able to pay your school donations, (there is an option to make part payments) uniform and any other school charges or sign ups for sports and extra actvities.

The Maranui Swimming Club provides swimming tuition and coaching in a fun and non-competitive environment for children aged 5 to 14. Maranui Swimming Club is looking for new members. Their Club Night is every Friday (excluding school holidays!) from 7pm to 8pm at the Aquadome which is located at the rear of Wellington East Girls College.

The Club operates in the middle ground between school swimming and commercial learn to swim classes. There is a family atmosphere and a low-cost approach ($85 per year, free parking, no weekly entry fees) supported by the great contribution of committed volunteer coaches.

For more detailed information, please refer to website 'www.maranuiswimming.co.nz". Alternatively, email 'maranuiswim@gmail.com' or come along for a free trial on a Friday night (new members / trialists will need to complete a safety/application form before being able to swim).

Email: office@sfds.school.nz
Website: http://www.sfds.school.nz
Location: St Francis De Sales School 11 Mersey Street, Island Bay, Wellington, New Zealand
Phone: 04 939 7370