Newsletter Week 1, Term 3

Tēnā koutou kātoa e te whānau,

Welcome to Term 3!

A warm welcome to our new students and their families to our St Michael's community. I am sure your teachers and classmates are making you feel welcome.

It is wonderful to see our children back, happy, and healthy after a wet holiday full of illness. Last term we had many children off sick with winter illnesses, we hope that with the warmer weather, heading into Spring, we will have a less interrupted term of learning.

Term Three is an important time for learning and, traditionally, a time when we put in the hard

yards before we see the pay-off in Term 4. Our mid-year data showed very encouraging results in our core areas of Reading, Writing and Mathematics and it is great to see so much

progress being made so early in the year. Our LSC, Susan Nelson has supported our teachers to develop robust plans for our children who we have identified as needing extra support and these programmes are well underway for this term.

If at any time you feel we could be doing more for your child, please make contact with your child's teacher, and together we can make a plan moving forward.

This term we welcome Nichola Hunia back into her SWiS (Social Worker in Schools) position. We are very happy to have Nichola back with us, and I know she is really excited to be coming back to St Michael's. Nichola's primary role is to work with referred children and their family/whanau to ensure the well-being of children, and strengthen family/whanau to care for and support their children successfully.

Social Workers in Schools support children in Years 1 to 8. Here are some of the ways Nichola can support you, your child and our school.

• social skills, self-esteem and confidence
• family or peer relationships
• behaviour issues
• family violence
• grief and loss
• advocacy
• referrals to other agencies.

If you feel Nichola can help your whanau in any way, please get in contact with your child's teacher and they can support you to make a referral.

Ma te Atua koutou e manaaki,

Rachael McLanachan

Te tumuaki o te kura Hato Mikaere

Sacraments of Initiation

We will have the next programme of Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Eucharist, and Reconciliation beginning 4th August 2022 at 5pm. This programme is for children who are not baptised. I encourage you to talk with your child about participating in the Sacrament of Initiation. You can start registering the names of your Children 8 years and above at the office from July 5th, the Parish Office is open 8am until 2pm Tuesdays through to Fridays.

St Michael's Church Holy Mass Timetable

Holy Mass

Saturday Vigil 5pm

Sunday 8am

Tuesday 5:30pm

Thursday 9am

St Mary's Church Holy Mass Timetable

Holy Mass

Sunday 10am & 5pm

Monday 9am

Wednesday 12:05pm

Friday 9am

Saturday 9am

COMMUNITY MASSES

MIHA MAORI - First Saturday of the month, 5pm Vigil Mass at St Michael’s. All are welcome.

TOKELAUAN COMMUNITY - Third Saturday of the month, 5pm Vigil Mass at St Michael’s. All are welcome.

FILIPINO COMMUNITY - Third Friday of the month, 6pm at St Michael’s. All are welcome. INDIAN COMMUNITY - Fourth Friday of the month, 6pm at St Michael’s. All are welcome

Parish Priest: Fr. Thomas Thanniyanickal cmf

Email: kunjcmf1986@gmail.com Phone: 022 565 9017

Assistant Priest: Fr. Prakash Somu cmf

Email: prakashreddycmf@gmail.com

Secretary: Andrea Tuki

Office Hours: Monday: Closed - Tues. - Friday.: 8am - 2.30pm

Phone: (07) 348 0289 ext. 2

Email: catholicrotorua@xtra.co.nz

Face Book: Saint Mary of the Cross Mackillop, Rotorua

Postal Address: 40-44 Seddon St, Glenholme, Rotorua 3010

A very warm welcome to the following new families. We hope you will enjoy your time with us at St Michael's School.

Kayden Petersen (The Ark) - Sibling of Tamia and Mecah

Karlie Waerea Marsh (The Ark)

Scott Pheasant ( Eden 7)

Jessie Todd participated in the 2022 National Trampolining Championships in Invercargill during the holidays. She worked hard and won a gold medal along with her partner in 11-12 year old girls Synchro routine. Well done Jessie!

Children with colds or flu-like symptoms are not permitted to attend school. Any children displaying these symptoms will be sent home. They must then get a COVID test and return a negative test before returning to school.

Please remember that if someone in your household has tested positive, your child needs to isolate with you. Please do not send your child to school if there is a close contact at home with Covid. We thank you for all doing your part to keep our school community safe.

Mask Wearing in Term 3:

The Ministry of Education strongly recommends that all schools amend their mask policy for the first four weeks of term 3 to require mask wearing in all indoor settings. While mask-wearing has not been mandated by the MOE, at this stage, we are not making it compulsory but we support the recommendation for all children in Galilee and teachers to wear masks while indoors. Although the MOE has suggested that masks be worn by year 4 and above, we support any younger children wishing to wear masks while indoors.
In previous years we have found there is an increase in winter illnesses in schools at the start of Term 3 as students bring back infections after travelling and socialising during the holidays. This year cases of COVID-19 are increasing in most parts of the country, and we are also seeing high numbers of other winter illnesses.
If we have an outbreak of the Flu or Covid - 19 we will be forced to make mask-wearing compulsory for our senior students and staff. We do not want to be in a position whereby we have to close our school due to a lack of staffing.
Thank you for supporting our children to keep safe and healthy during term 3. We are certainly looking forward to warmer, drier weather to come.

Players of the day:

Mini Hockey 2nd July: Eden Tucker

Mini Hockey 9th July: Ethan King & Billie Tucker

Senior Hockey 2nd July: Michaella Benham

Senior Hockey 9th July: Cade Korner

Next board meeting Date: Thursday 11th of August

At each BOT meeting - twice a term - policies are reviewed. If you would like to communicate with the BOT, you are welcome to email our independent e-mail address; botstmichaels@gmail.com or alternatively, send letters to the school in an envelope marked "Board of Trustees."

Board Elections

Triennial Board Elections will be held on 7 September. Our current Board wishes to invite anyone in the community who may be interested in joining our Board to come along to the next few meetings.

Why join a school board?

School board members are active leaders in our schools. They have an important role of supporting strong professional leadership and ensuring effective teaching for all students through informed governance.

Parents/caregivers and people in the wider community can be parent representatives. School boards need to represent the diversity of their school communities to ensure a bright future for all our children.

The school board elections are the opportunity to vote for candidates who will make a positive difference for children’s education. We need more people willing to use their skills and experiences for the benefit of students!

"Board members are entrusted by the community to ensure the success of our schools and a bright future for our children. We need an education system where all children are expected to succeed and one where we all take shared responsibility in ensuring this happens. As a member of a school board you can make things happen - you can make a difference."

- Lorraine Kerr, NZSTA President

You are welcome to attend any meeting, however, if you would like to have speaking rights, you need to request this from the chair using the email address. This email address can be accessed by Alistair Burns (Acting Chair)

7 SEPTEMBER ELECTION TIMELINE

Main Roll Closes 13 July

Nominations Called by 15 July

Supplementary Roll Closes 1 August

Nominations Close 3 August

Invitation to Vote 10 August

Election Day 7 September

Declaration of Result 13 September

New board in place 14 September

• BOT Meeting - Thursday 11th August
• Y5/Y6 Sports Cultural Tournament - Monday 15th August
• Book Fair / Book Week - Monday 29th August- Friday 2nd September
• Book Character Day - Friday 2nd September
• Class & Team Photo Day - Friday 9th September
• BOT Meeting - Thursday 15th September
• St. Michael's Cultural Festival - Friday 23rd September
• St. Michael's Feast Day - Thursday 29th September

If you wish to join our small but amazing group of helpful hands please email pta@stmichaelsrotorua.school.nz

Thanks

PTA Committee

Booklets will have gone home. All orders must be handed into the school office or done online via the loop app or website by Thursday August the 11th.

During Term 3 the children will be able to purchase a BBQ sausage and bread for $2.

All orders will be taken in the classroom at 9am.

To order lunches for Monday or Wednesday, please go online using the link https://www.kapaikairotorua.co.nz/. Lunch orders can be done in advance using Monday or Wednesday calendar days. On the day you want lunch the order must be done by the 8am cut off. No lunch orders can be taken from the school office.

Menu below.

Does your child require further support, over and above what can be offered at school?

Would your child benefit from bespoke and nurturing learning sessions from a highly experienced teacher designed to accelerate learning and boost confidence? We would love to help. We are a team of dedicated teachers, specialising in English and Maths support, for primary, intermediate and college students. Visit www.boostyourlearning.co.nz for more information or contact Jenny 021 223 3349 to book a free consultation.

Email: admin@stmichaelsrotorua.school.nz
Website: https://www.stmichaelsrotorua.school.nz/
Location: Lisa Crescent, Mangakakahi, Rotorua, New Zealand
Phone: 07 348 1362
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/St-Michaels-Catholic-School-Rotorua-104766148002147