Newsletter Term 3, Week 8

Kia ora koutou, nei ra te mihi, maioha ki a koutou katoa - Hello everyone, special greetings to you all

I know many people would have been saddened to hear about Queen Elizabeth's passing when they woke on Friday morning. It has been quite a surreal weekend watching the events in the UK. The extraordinary tradition and ceremonies to commemorate her life, and at the same time the proclamation of King Charles III and the start of a new reign.

There is a wealth of new learning and experiences for our students as they witness these historic events.

Queen Elizabeth II was the longest reigning British monarch becoming Queen at the young age of 25 following her father's death. She dedicated her life in service to Great Britain and the Commonwealth. Queen Elizabeth II, also made history in 2022 by becoming the first British monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee.

A lovely quote from Queen Elizabeth II

I know of no single formula for success. But over the years I have observed that some attributes of leadership are universal and are often about finding ways of encouraging people to combine their efforts, their talents, their insights, their enthusiasm, and their inspiration to work together.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.

May she rest in peace.

A big thank you to those families who attended the Combined Schools, Family Mass at Christ the King Church on Sunday. There was another fantastic turnout for this Mass with the Church full to overflowing.

This coming Sunday St Patrick's is leading the Mass with readers and prayers of the faithful so we would love to see more of our school families in attendance this weekend.

This is a lovely way for families within the Christchurch North Parish to come together to celebrate Mass. For this special Mass, students do not have to wear their school uniform and are able to sit with their friends or parents and caregivers throughout the Mass.

It is important that we support this new 'Family Mass' concept at Christ the King Church. It is envisioned that this Mass will be more child and family focused and encourage more families to Mass each week.

Things are in full swing for our School Production on Thursday 22nd September.

Our 2022 School Production is of course Lion King Jr. and we know our students are getting very excited about this upcoming event.

• The Lion King Jr.
• Thursday 22nd September at 6:30pm
• Aurora Centre - Burnside High School
• 151 Greers Road, Burnside

Tickets are now on sale for our 2022 School Production - The Lion King Jr. Tickets must be purchased no later than Tuesday 20th September, 10:00am.

Tickets are priced at $10.00 with under 5's free (sitting on knee).

You can purchase and pay for your tickets online or at the office. Eftpos is available.

Please check your Alerts in our App to book.

We are meeting this Wednesday 14th September, please join us as we start to look ahead to our Term 4 upcoming events and fundraisers, we'd love to see you there!

Our monthly meetings provide a great opportunity for new members to learn more about what we do and how you can contribute. Face masks are encouraged.

• 7:30pm
• Wednesday, 14 September
• Staffroom, St Patrick's School

Grab yourself a deal and support the St Patrick’s School PFA!

The PFA has partnered with Sean Hanton, CamelBak brand ambassador and Dad to Pippa in Room 4 and Findlay in Room 6, to bring our St Patrick's School families a fantastic deal on the popular CamelBak Eddy+ and the CamelBak Chute Mag drink bottles.

Both options are made with Tritan™ Renew, a 50%-recycled earth-friendly plastic that is lightweight, durable, easy to clean and free of BPA, BPS and BPF and come with our school logo printed on them.

Order yours today for just $25 each.

We have four great colours to choose from:

• Rose
• Lupine
• True Blue
• Lagoon

These will make excellent birthday or Christmas gifts!

This form must be completed and payment received no later than Monday 26th September to avoid disappointment. Expected delivery early in Term 4.

Please check your Alerts in our App to book.

Congratulations to the Year 5/6 Basketball Team for coming third in their competition at the Bishopdale YMCA.

Those involved with the team have said that the whole team has really connected well and improved so much throughout the season.

A special thanks to James Franken in Year 8 for offering to coach this team. This was a perfect example of James showing many of the Leadership Qualities that we aim to develop as part of our Ambassador Programme in Years 7 and 8.

Our Year 7 and 8 team also gained so much confidence and began to work better as a team during their season. They finished off with a very exciting game on Friday night against Westburn.

Thank you also to Mrs Bond for giving up numerous lunchtimes to coach the team during the week and on many Fridays throughout the season.

Great work team!

One in five young people in New Zealand have been the target of online bullying – it can happen to anyone, and it can be hard for parents to deal with. Netsafe has advice for parents on what to do if you think your child is being bullied online:

Stay calm: Your child needs to be able to talk to you and know that you’ll be level headed, thoughtful and helpful in your response.

Evaluate the situation: It’s important to know exactly what’s going on before you can work out what to do next. Is it a few off hand remarks, or is it something more serious?

Understand how your child is being affected: If your child is upset about a situation, let them know that you understand and it’s OK to be upset, but also that you are really pleased they came to talk to you.

Avoid taking away the technology: Taking away your child’s laptop or mobile phone can alienate them from their most important network – their peers and it will probably mean they will be less likely to talk to you when things don’t go as planned in the future. If you don’t already have a plan in place, work out together what your next steps might be, and it could involve seeking further support.

Block or report content: Teach your child how to use the features available on most social networking sites including blocking and unfriending people and reporting content. You should also show them how to update privacy settings on social media – if you’re not sure how, visit the safety centres of the social media platforms they use. You may want to block phone numbers that are sending bullying or abusive messages. You can find instructions for blocking numbers on your phone by searching online. Use the words “how to block phone numbers” + the model of your phone.

Ask for help: You can contact Netsafe at any time for free help and advice on what you might be able to do to help your child. If the bullying is happening at school, or involves students at the school you can also contact your child’s teacher to talk about the situation and options available to resolve things.

For more information about online bullying visit netsafe.org.nz/parents-bullying/

The St Patrick’s School Ambassador Programme seeks to develop the leadership qualities of; Support, Inspiration, Honesty, Commitment, Passion, Reflection, Creativity, and Problem-Solving.

The Ambassador Programme provides a Student Council Framework over a two-year period which offers students opportunities to take responsibility and to work collaboratively with the whole School Community for the benefit of the School and its students. Students are encouraged, affirmed, given responsibility, and provided with opportunities to experience success in a managed environment.

Each year our Year 7 and 8 students apply for seven ambassador roles that they would like to lead throughout the year.

• Know, Show Pray
• Leadership Outside the Classroom
• Sport and Recreation
• Tech and Me
• Culture Across School
• Paddy's Green Team
• Arts In Action

Throughout the year this involves the students also completing a St Patrick’s School Ambassador Journal, participating in a range of Outdoor Activities, taking part in Community Service Work as well as taking up a Passion Project for the year.

These are then measured to see if they have achieved the recognition of Participation, Merit, or Excellence based on their overall attitude and participation across the three components as well as the effort they have put into their journal entries throughout the year.

On Wednesday 14th September the Year 7 and 8 students will be heading to Velocity Karts to undertake their next Outdoor Activity as part of the St Patrick's School Ambassador Programme.

They will be involved in team building activities, throwing challenges, and will also be learning to 'sail' on land in a blokart. This looks like an extremely fun challenge!

The Outdoor Activities are designed to challenge our students, teach them new skills, and develop the leadership qualities that we focus on.

A number of our Year 7 and 8's have loved being part of Eco Action as part of our Ambassador Programme. Next Sunday 18th September from 10:00am -12:30pm there is another opportunity for them and our wider community to take part in native tree planting at 28 Chimera Crescent, New Brighton.

You are invited (after Mass) to help our students and their community plant 3000 native trees and plants they have grown.

Please bring some drinking water, solid footwear, and your favourite spade if you have one. There will be 450 spades on site, of different sizes so everyone can help. The more the merrier.

This is the third of four plantings that will see 12,000 eco-sourced, student grown, native plants and trees in the ground

The 22 schools growing plants currently are:

Tuahiwi Kura, St Michaels, Rawhiti Primary, SBHS, AGHS, STAC, Linwood College, Rangi Ruru, ChCh South Int, Heaton Int, CGHS, CBHS, Burnside Primary, St Margaret's, Cathedral Grammar, Casebrook Intermediate, Haeata, St Patricks Bryndwr, Riccarton High, Christ's College. Charles Upham, Ryman Rangiora, Medbury, Richmond Community Gardens and Ao Tawhiti Discovery.

• Tuesday 13th September - Gymnastics Year 1 -4
  
• Wednesday 14th September - Year 7 and 8's Velocity Karts
• Wednesday 14th September - PFA Meeting, Staffroom 7:30pm
  
• Friday 16th September - School Assembly Room 2
• Tuesday 20th September - Gymnastics Year 1 -4
• Thursday 22nd September - School Production 6:30pm
• Monday 26th September - Public Holiday, School Closed

• Tuesday 27th September - BOT Meeting, Staffroom 7:00pm
• Friday 30th September - School Assembly Room 1
• Friday 30th September - Last Day of Term 3

Email: office@stpatricks.school.nz
Website: https://www.stpatricks.school.nz/
Location: 57 Plynlimon Road, Bryndwr, Christchurch, New Zealand
Phone: +64 3 351 5590