St Teresa's School Newsletter

As we come to the end of another wonderful year at St Teresa's, we reflect on the many blessings and achievements of 2024. Advent is upon us—a special time of preparation and anticipation as we journey towards the joy of Christmas. It is a season that calls us to pause, reflect, and appreciate the gifts in our lives, particularly the incredible gift of our tamariki. Their energy, enthusiasm, and growth have been an inspiration to us all, reminding us daily of the privilege it is to nurture and guide them.

Our students have been nothing short of fantastic, embracing every opportunity with enthusiasm and resilience. This term, they’ve enjoyed a rich variety of experiences—from exciting trips and special themed days to celebrating their efforts through awards and achievements. Congratulations to all of our award winners—you’ve made us so proud! A heartfelt farewell to our amazing Year 8 students, who leave us with cherished memories and beautifully delivered speeches. We wish you every success and blessing as you embark on the next chapter of your journey.

A huge thank you to our dedicated teachers and support staff for your incredible hard work and commitment this year. Your care and passion make a difference every day. To those moving on to new opportunities, we will miss you greatly and wish you all the very best. We are excited to welcome new staff in 2025 as our school continues to grow. Special congratulations to Liz Lark on her appointment as Deputy Principal—we know you will lead with both passion and care.

We are also deeply grateful to our Board for their unwavering support, to FOSTA for their incredible fundraising efforts, and to our parish for the spiritual guidance and partnership that enriches our school community.

Thank you for your ongoing support, kindness, and partnership throughout the year. May your holiday season be filled with rest, laughter, and love. We look forward to welcoming everyone back in 2025 for another fantastic year of learning, growth, and shared success.

Wishing you a blessed Advent and a Merry Christmas,

Ngā mihi nui,
Lindsey Dailly
Tumuaki

Monday 3rd February

Term begins

Tuesday 4th February

Meet the Teacher Picnic 4pm - 6pm

Wednesday 5th February

Mihi Whakatou 9am

Road Patrol Training

Thursday 6th February

SCHOOL CLOSED

Waitangi Day

Friday 7th February

SCHOOL CLOSED

Curriculum Day

For 2025 Term dates visit our website https://www.teresas.school.nz/information/term-dates

Stationery packs for 2025 are $45 each and will be delivered directly to your child's class, ready for their return to school. We continue to bulk buy stationery items to keep costs as affordable as possible for our school whānau.

Payments can be made to our school bank account 12-3290-0001450-00 and can be spread over the 2025 school year.

As the school year comes to a close, we take a moment to celebrate and farewell our wonderful Year 8 students. This group of young leaders has shown resilience, kindness, and growth during their time at St Teresa’s, embodying our school values and Catholic character in everything they do.

We are proud of the many ways they have contributed to our school community—whether it was through their leadership roles, participation in sports, kapa haka, or their commitment to learning. Their positive energy and unique talents have enriched our school, and we will miss them dearly.

To our Year 8s: as you prepare for the next exciting chapter of your journey, carry with you the lessons, friendships, and faith you have built here. We encourage you to continue striving for excellence and being a light to others in all that you do.

May God bless and guide you always. We look forward to hearing about your achievements in the future!

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." – Jeremiah 29:11

A huge thank you to the junior team for organising such a beautiful Nativity celebration. Our tamariki were absolutely fantastic in their performances, capturing the true meaning of the season. A special mention to our choir, who were superb and added a wonderful touch with their singing. We are so proud of all the students and grateful for the efforts of the junior team in bringing this special event to life.

Congratulations to the following students who received awards at our 2024 prizegiving!

Road Patrol Brandon Oeng

Vollebregt Special Character Tessa Abbott

Van Woerkom Excellence in sport Andrew Cuff

Year 8 Sport Zaan Burns

Year 8 Academic Zaan Burns

Visual Art Yr 7/8 Valentina Rozing

Performing Art Y7/8 Zaan Burns

Father Don Service Award Lachlan Macfie

Fr Don Morrison Memorial Scholarship Faithful Te Moananui-Stone

Worn Collective Award for Soft Materials William Kahui

Pugh family Special Character Award Cooper Lowe

Basketball: Most Valuable Player Lachlan Macfie

Basketball: Most Improved Korban Smith

Miniball: Most Valuable Player Christopher Schipplock

Miniball: Most Improved Ryley Lowe and Elsie Dalton

Wairarapa Mila Higgins

Waiorongomai Stella McManus Sharma

Tauwharenīkau Ariella Herbert

Remutaka Michael Hodder

Tākitimu Anika Burt

Reading Eggs Gold Bella Johnson

Reading Eggs Silver Ida Portales

Reading Eggs Bronze Sabine Ilin

Year 0 Ida Portales

Year 1 Kiana Cooper-Faye

Year 2 Eve Daniell

Year 3 Chloe Matthews

Year 4 Taine Sargent

Year 5 Princess Sanchez

Year 6 Zeke Giles

Year 7 Emily-Jane Edwards

Year 8 Valentina Rozing and James Grindlay

The Juniors enjoyed a fun day out at the Featherston Park, Fell Museum and Library. Thank you to John O'Reilly for a fantastic tour of the museum.

Congratulations to St Francis the green team who had the best attendance in term 4!

Well done to the following students who earned their place in our Hundreds Club (and a slab of chocolate!) with 100% attendance in Term 4;

Livni, Monty, Bella, Connor, Harper, Cheska, Malachi, Zeke, Levya , Cooper and Honey-Rose

A huge well done to Monty who had the best attendance in the whole school in 2024 with only one half day missed! Ka pai!

Attendance will continue to be a big focus for our kura in 2025. We thank you for your support in ensuring your child is a regular school attender - it really does have a big impact!

For one last hoorah, the Year 8s spent a day in Palmerston North as a way to say thank you for all of the hard work they have done around our school over the past 8 years - for all of the games and activities they have organised, to all of the jobs and tasks they have completed on behalf of the staff.

They firstly went to Bowlarama, where Louise and Zaan showed off their bowling prowess, both achieving scores over 100. They then worked up an appetite at the Cloud9 Trampoline Park, then downed some scrumptious food at the Plaza, followed by a spot of Christmas shopping.

A lot of fun was had by all, and some more great memories were made that will follow them past their primary school years.

A huge thank you for all of the wonderful things you have done for our school during your time here. Now is your time to show the world what awesome leaders you are!

On a beautiful Friday the Year 4 and 5s went for a fun day out to Martinborough. This was our treat for working so hard this year. First we went for a swim at the Martinborough Pools, then we got to try the brand new Pump Bike Track (it was amazing). After that it was a play at the playground and some delicious chicken and chips for lunch. We had an incredible time and the students were amazing. A huge thank you to our wonderful team of helpers; Bex, Cheryl, Tracey, Jocelyn, Linda and Amanda. We simply could not go on these exciting trips without your support.

This year, students have been collecting values tokens for demonstrating our school values and gems worth 10 tokens were given for every Hands of Christ task completed. All these gems and tokens have been collected together in our house groups and we have been keeping a keen eye on the count over the year. It was a closely fought battle but St Cecilia (gold team) came out on top with an impressive total of 2031. Well done to all students who participated in our house competition his year.

Thank you to students and whānau who attended the Featherston Christmas Parade, it was so much fun! Special mention goes to Chris and Luke our drivers and Linda and Bridget for decorating the floats.

Due to ongoing building works at the school, our Holiday Hub Club will not be running over the summer break this year. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause to your holiday plans and appreciate your understanding. We’re excited to welcome all students back to an improved school environment once the work is completed. In the meantime, we encourage you to explore alternative holiday activity options available in the community. Thank you for your continued support.

St Teresa's School

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/