Newsletter Week 3 Term 1

St Joseph's School Waipukurau 17th February 2023

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PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE

Mā te Atua me te wāhi ngaro tātou e tiaki e manaaki

May God and the origins of which all things come from, bless and keep you

“Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose hope is the Lord”

(Jeremiah 17:7)

Kia Ora whānau,

As I reflect on last weekend, it seems like a distant memory, but a memory that will be cherished and celebrated none the less.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our whānau who joined us for our first whole school mass last Sunday. It was a wonderful opportunity to affirm the God given gifts and talents of our teaching team in the blessing bestowed upon us by our Board of Trustees Proprietors Rep: Mrs. Sue Cullen and Father Paul. (This is called the ‘Commissioning’ of staff). The important message being that God is guiding us all to continue developing our ‘home’ and ‘school’ partnerships in order to support each other to nurture our tamariki to grow in faith, hope and love, through what they say, hear and do.

This ‘love for one another’ was an extension of Father’s Homily where he talked about the love we have for one another, the sacrifices parents make for their children and our blessed faith journey in the Lord.

Kia noho haumaru/Keep safe

As I reflect on this past week, I am reminded of just how blessed we are to have the love we have for one another and the sacrifices our parents have made to protect and support your/our tamariki during this recent Cyclone.

I would like to acknowledge and thank our:

parents for supporting our decision to close this week
all our school community members who continue to support others in need.
emergency service teams who are working tirelessly to restore power, water and to open roads.
our board members and staff for your continued communication and ‘light relief comments’ in this time of such seriousness.

I know you have probably already done this, but a reminder to please spend some time talking to your children about the disaster and it’s impact on peoples lives. Let them know it is okay to ask questions and to share their worries and reactions. It is also good to let your children know, without overwhelming them with information, what is happening in your whānau. Reassure them that our emergency services are working hard to restore our living and working conditions back to normal as fast as they realistically can. Let them know school is remains a safe place and that their teachers are looking forward to seeing them on Monday.

We are looking forward to seeing you all next week, I will update you on Sunday regarding our plan for opening on Monday 20th February. Our staff will be in communication with you via Seesaw also.

You can look forward to seeing photos of our students who have achieved acknowledgement and certification for their efforts in: Class Work, Walking in the footsteps of Jesus, Never seeing a need without doing something about it, and who the lucky winners of our CBG lucky dip sponsored by Narelle McCormick - Sotheby's.

Thank you to our whānau who have already supported the growth of our library by sending in Birthday Books.

Kia pai tō mutunga wiki - Have a good weekend

Mā te Atua e manaaki

Betty Brown

Tumuaki