Next week is Tongan Language Week, which this year embraces the theme: 'E tu'uloa 'a e Lea faka-Tongá 'o ka lea'aki 'i 'api, siasí (lotú), mo e nofo-'a-kāingá – The Tongan Language will be sustainable when used at home, church, and in the wider community. This is a wonderful opportunity for our community to celebrate and promote the rich cultural heritage of Tonga.
Our Tauwharenīkau students recently had an amazing trip to Cape Palliser. It was a day filled with exploration, learning, and fun. Read all about their adventures and the wonderful experiences they had in this newsletter.
A big thank you to everyone who attended our hui about the Better Start Literacy Approach (BSLA), our structured literacy programme. Your participation and support are crucial to the success of our educational initiatives.
Our school Olympics was a fantastic event, filled with energy, enthusiasm, and sportsmanship. We are proud of all our students who participated and made the event memorable.
Thank you for being a part of our school community and for your continued support. Enjoy reading!
Ngā Mihi
Lindsey
Tumuaki/Principal
Our Hands of Christ programme is aimed at encouraging our students to exemplify the values of Christ in our community. Each student receives a challenge sheet filled with tasks to complete throughout the year. Those who complete all tasks will be awarded a special badge at the end of the year.
This term, we are introducing an exciting new initiative to further engage our tamariki in the Hands of Christ challenges. For every completed activity, students will earn a 'special token' worth 10 house points for their House.
Your support is crucial in making this programme a success. We greatly appreciate your involvement. Please review your child's Hands of Christ challenge sheet and help them earn valuable points!
The Feast of the Assumption, celebrated on August 15th, commemorates when the Virgin Mary was assumed body and soul into heaven at the end of her earthly life. This significant event in our Catholic calendar, honours Mary’s purity and her role as the mother of Jesus. Many communities worldwide observe the day with special church services, processions, and festive gatherings, reflecting on Mary’s example of faith and devotion. The Feast of the Assumption is a reminder of the hope of eternal life and the profound reverence for Mary in Christian faith.
Ngawi Trip by Stephanie
Yesterday our class went to Ngawi. We went in two vans. I was with all my friends in the van. My dad came too. When I heard about the trip I felt really excited but also quite scared. I thought I was going to be car sick. But I wasn’t.
When we got there we visited the lighthouse. It was very tiring to climb up all those stairs. I think there were 266 of them. When I got to the top I was very tired and out of breath. It was a beautiful view. Next we went to the seals. The seals were lying on the rocks. Some were in the bushes. One was a baby with HUGE eyes. I wanted to touch them.
Then we went to get rocks from the beach. We were going to do pebble art. We went to the beach in the same vans that we came in. Where we got the rocks was a type of beach. The rock beach had rock pools in it. When we got out of the vans we visited the rock pools next to the water. We found shells in there. We had brought bags, so we could collect rocks for our pebble art.
When we finished collecting rocks, we went to Mrs.Sim's friend's restaurant. We had fish and chips and got to play on the playground there. The playground had swings and a trampoline. It also had seats, a sandpit and a metal tractor we could sit on. We played on the playground for about an hour. Then Mrs Sim said we had to go back to school, so we did. Good Bye NGAWI!
Ngawi Adventure by Neo
Yesterday, Tauwharenīkau, Sadie’s mum, Charlie’s mum, Stephanie’s dad, Mrs Dailly, Tom and Mrs Sim went all the way to Ngawi. We travelled there in two vans. In my group it was Hadly, Elena, me and Livni, our group leaders were Mrs Dailly and Tom. When we arrived at Ngawi we went to this park thing, to eat our morning tea/pit stop. For my morning tea I had a cupcake.
After eating we went to the lighthouse. Luckily it was not far away, only 5 minutes. When we got there we hopped out of the vans and got into our groups. Then we started our journey up the stairs. There were 253 steps. It took a while for me to get up there but the view was worth it. We took some photo;s up there then we went down to look at the seals.
When we got to the sacred pools we had to be very careful of where we stepped. We could have gotten bitten if we stepped on a seal or got near one. The seals were hiding in bushes, on the rocks and in the sun. They were so beautiful, but we couldn’t stay there for long, sadly.
After looking at the seals we went to the rock pools. I collected a lot of rocks, so many that my bag broke. So Mrs Sim gave me a new one. I found paua shells and a lot of pebbles.
After all of that we went to Mrs Sim’s friend's pub. It had a playground with a trampoline. He was really nice and gave all of us fish n chips and hotdogs. After I ate I played on the tramp. Then we left in our vans. I loved that experience and hope we can go again.
By Neo Burns
Our Trip to Ngawi by Jaden
Our trip to Ngawi. First we went to the two vans, one had St Mary's written on it and the other one was just white. It’s a long ride to Ngawi. When we got to Ngawi we went to the lighthouse. It was very high and scary.
Then we went to the sacred pool and it was full of seals. The sacred pool is the bay where the baby seals are born. Then we went to the rock pools. I found a big shell and I turned it into a home for sea snails. Then I collected stones for our pebble art. I saw sea anemones and a lot of fish eggs in the rock pools. Mrs Sim said do not touch the fish eggs or they will die.
Then we went to the restaurant and Mrs Sim showed us two dogs there. Their names were Buster and Betty. It was lunchtime, I ate two bowls of french fries and my classmates ate one bowl of french fries. Then we went to the playground to have turns on the trampoline. There were other animals there too, so I patted the sheep.
Then I went back to the van I was in. It was a long ride back, we parked the van near the school. We went inside the classroom and we also went on the little kids playground.
Last Friday we celebrated our St Teresa's School Olympics. What a fun morning. Despite the weather not playing ball, we quickly went to our wet day plan. We had a mixture of 'competitive' and 'non-competitive' activities and lots of fun and laughter between houses. After some exciting relays, super speedy musical chairs, and some extensive paper, scissors, rock, we added up the points and found.... that we had a points tie between St Martin and St Francis. We decided that we needed to have a single house winner to decide the shield winner for this competition. Paper, scissors, rock best of three was played between the house leaders, and St Francis came out on top! There was a wonderful display of Excellence, Respect, and Friendship, the values of the actual Olympics. Well done to our House Leaders and Deputies, as well as Mrs Lark, for all their efforts and the exciting morning.
Contact Us
Email: office@teresas.school.nz
Website: https://www.teresas.school.nz/
Location: St Teresa's School Bell Street, Featherston, New Zealand
Phone: 06 308 9064
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/St-Teresas-Featherston/100057033717170/