15-feb-newsletter.pdf

7/29/2019 15-feb-newsletter.pdf

1/4

Gospel Values for

Term One:

Love, Forgivenessand Justice

Quotes of the Week

215

t h

Fe b r u a r y2 0 1 3

I S S U E

To forgive is to set a prisonerfree and discover that theprisoner was you.-Lewis B. Smedes

A life spent making mistakes isnot only more honourable, butmore useful than a life spentdoing nothing.-George Bernard Shaw.

Prayer of the WeekBless their labors with abundant fruitandmay the souls to whom they minister betheir joy and consolation here and inheaven their beautiful andeverlasting crown.Amen.-From a prayer for Priests by StTherese of Lisieux

Birthday Wishes

Briarna Gregge 26th

February

Mataurunga Ropata

28th February

Students enjoying an afternoon of fun on the water slide

These photos havebeen taken by ClaireTait a huge thank youto her for capturingthese greatmoments.


2/4

The year is kicking off at StPatricks school with everyonesettling in to their routines

nicely. With the influx of newentrant students this term it isespecially gratifying to see howeveryone opens their arms andwelcomes them all into the foldand accepts them as if they hadalways been here. Thats GodsGrace in action right there. Inother schools you could expectto see new students coweringbehind their teachers or havingto be dragged along to schooleach day by their parents,sometimes for days or evenweeks. Not here. All of our newentrants are loving being here,and that is testament to theprofessional but personalisedcare provided by Miss P in thejunior room and it is evidenceof our Special Character inaction.Even in the senior roomstudents are settling in andgetting used to being big kidsor younger seniors andworking in the big kids room.

All are coping. Some studentsmay express anxiety with thesenew challenges or withworkloads, homework, or eventheir expectations ofthemselves. We know thisbecause we are trained to knowthis and we are experienced andqualified educators. Asa staff we discuss students (inconfidence) and we jointlyproblem-solve. Our priority isto ensure that our students

School News

Subway is Tuesday

26th February.

Sunhats Are

compulsary! Students

must wear a wide

brimmed hat while

outside NO CAPS.

School Assembly

This year we will be

holding these on a

Friday afternoon at

2.30 in our Special

Character room. All

family and friends are

welcome to attend.

Swimming Sports

Tuesday February 19th

from 12.30 at the

Waimate Town Pool. It

would be great to see

parents and families

there to support the

children. Postponement

day will be Wednesday

at 11.00pm.

Overnight Camp

Held on 21st February,

students are to bring a

sleeping bag to sleep in

and something for the

BBQ for tea. Parents

are also welcome to

stay.

FASP AGM Held on

7th March at 7.30pm at

the School. Everyone is

welcome to attend.

Scholastic Book Club

Due back at school by

Friday 8th March.

PrincipalsCommentary:

are safe and engaged inlearning, at a level that they arecapable of.If you have any concerns aboutwhere your child is atacademically, or about anythingto do with their education,make a time to see their teacherand discuss your concerns withthem.This seems like a time ofchange across the wider worldat the moment with theresignation of His HolinessPope Benedict. His decision isbrave and may well beappropriate if the alternativewas to have a papacy led bysomeone with rapidly failinghealth and a lack of the type ofenergy that will be essential toguide the Catholic Churchsuccessfully into an entity thathas relevance for all those who

over time have forsaken theMother church andsimultaneously for all of thosefamilies and peoples that havedevoutly adhered to the ritesand traditions of Catholicismfor generation after generation.A reporter left a message on theanswer machine asking whatimpact this historical event willhave on our school. Whilst Inever replied (my apologies!) Ithink that the answer would

have been: I suspect that theimpact will be negligible in theshort term. Any events in Romewould take a long time to filterdown to this level and would besomewhat diluted by thedistance and time involved.I would hope that the long termeffects on our Parish will bedeep, profound and positive. Iwould hope that the effects onall parishes and Catholicschools will be profound andpositive. Imagine if the new

Pope were to be forwardthinking and realistic as well asdeeply spiritual and kind.Imagine if the new Pope wereto be someone committed to theposition because of theprivilege of how he could serveall Catholics, rather thanbecause he wants the top job.Imagine if the new Pope couldachieve what His HolinessPope Benedict wanted toachieve, by extending the hand

of peace towards all other

Christian religions.As with all changes, includingin the classroom or in the seatof Catholicism all periods ofchange and transition providenew experiences andopportunities. Sometimes theseare not positive and sometimesnew faces have a different

focus and different ways ofdoing things even though thegoal may be the same.It is the same with the departureof Fathers Peter and Job. Whilewe were used to them and weunderstood their approach andappreciated their casual, butdevout manner we were allundoubtedly saddened by theirdeparture. Also many of us maybe apprehensive about thearrival of our new Priests, but Ican assure you that they, (as

were Frs Peter and Job) arehere to serve and teach peopleabout God, provide spiritualguidance and to perform therites and celebrations of theCatholic Church.As we will have to get used tothe new Priests, so they willhave to get used to their newparishioners.The following words from Paulthe Apostle to the Colossiansseems quite appropriate:

Put on, then, garments that suitGod's chosen and belovedpeople: compassion, kindness,humility, gentleness andpatience.Be tolerant with one anotherand forgiving, if any of you hascause for complaint: you mustforgive as the Lord forgaveyou.

Many of our school familiesreceived a letter in the past fewdays regarding attendance dues

and many of you haveexpressed your horror to me atfeeling that it was aimed at you,despite having paid your dues.Firstly, I also received the sameletter, and I have paid myaccount. The letter was notpersonalised to you or anyoneelse in the school community,so was generic and thereforepresumably not intended tocause offence.Secondly, The Parish is well


3/4

Community Notices

Waimate Atheletics

Club Every Tuesday

night at 5.30pm.

Private Maths Tuition

Available for groups

up to 4 or some one-

on-one learning. Also

for all abilities from

Year 1 to Year 13. For

more info contact

Andrea on 689 7794.

Recreational

Gymnastics Held on

Wednesdays at the

WHS Gym from 3.45-

4.45. For more

information contact

Caroline on 689 1174.

Playcentre - Waimate

Playcentre welcomes

pre-schoolers and their

families to come along

and play at 6 Belt

Street Mon/Thur 9-12

noon for more details

turn up and play or

contact Amanda 689

8982 or Pam 6891176.

Junior Cricket

Starts again this

Saturday at the High

School grounds from

9am

Friends at St Patricks School

Thank you to everyone that came to the FASP meeting last week, great to see some new faces. Decisions on fundraisingevents for the year, with some dates yet to be confirmed. We will need help from everyone to have a successful year. Wewill also be raffling firewood soon, tickets $2 and limited to 100 tickets each raffle.

Term 1 Term 2 Term 3 Term 4

Annual Easter Egg Hunt 24th March Tickets onsale soon.

Disco For the Children Dance For the Parents,families and friends.

School Fair

entitled to seek the attendancedues, as they are indeedsomething that all families arecontractually and legallyrequired to pay as part ofenrolment in a Catholic School.Non-payment of those fees canand could lead to the Proprietortaking action against the parentsor even cancelling the enrolmentof the child.Thirdly: This may well be anexample of someone new doingthings in a way (their way) whichcontrasts with how the majorityare used to doing things.There may indeed have been abetter way to have remindedthose with outstanding accountsto pay them, rather than shakingthe tree to see what falls out, anda direct approach to those tardierpayers may have produced lesseffect on the rest.

It is important to note that we areall undoubtedly here to do thebest for our children; all of them,including our non-Catholicstudents and we make nodistinction between them in ourschool. All of our children aretreated with respect and wecelebrate the holiness of them all.AccountsIfany of our school families arehaving any difficulty in payingthe attendance dues, school

activity fees, or any other school-related fees on time, please comeand talk to us so that we maywork out a payment method ortimeframe that suits everyone.School campNext Thursday night 21

st) we are

going to have an overnight campat school starting with a bbq teaat about 5:30 and a game or twobetween parents and students.We are seeking a few parentvolunteers to camp over with thekids. We will do as we did last

year and sleep in the classrooms.We will split the rooms so that

the girls and younger boys will allsleep in the junior room withMiss P and whichever parentvolunteers are keen, and the boyswill sleep in the senior room.The both rooms will be able towatch videos in the evening. Wewill have a shared breakfast onFriday morning before classes.Friday will be a less formal day(mufti ) as many children will betired and will need to chill outwith less challenging tasks thanusual.We will send a notice home onMonday and would like to hearfrom parents then if they are ableor willing to stay over on theThursday night.Hours of officeJess is in the office between9:00am and 12:30, Monday,Tuesday, Wednesday and from 9-3 on Fridays. If you need

anything from the office outsidethese hours, or you wish to makeinquiries about a school accountthere is a very good chance thatthe person helping you willsuggest that you come back at atime when Jess is around. Wewill do our best of course, butJess knows how everything in heroffice works better than the restof us do.If you are making inquiries aboutan enrolment please call at the

office as we do have enrolmentpacks there.Board of trustees

The next BoT meeting will beheld on the 14

thof April at 7

oclock in Room 1. Boardmeetings are public meetings andanyone is welcome to attend.Speaking rights may be granted inadvance, to members of thepublic by the Board chair if arequest is made prior to themeeting.Education Review Office (ERO)

reviewWe have ust received the final

ERO review and I canconfirm that we areexceptionally happy with it asit reiterates what we allknow; that this is a good weeschool and that our studentsare engaged in learning, safeand well catered for by aprofessional and caring staff.The board , principal andteachers are committed todeveloping the child as awhole personStudents learning benefitsfrom small class sizes.Students at this schoolbenefit from a broadcurriculum that is responsiveto their needs.Teachers know theirstudents well as learners andas people. The school is well placed tosustain and improve its

performance.There were some proceduralareas to tighten up on, butnone relating to studentachievement and I amdelighted about the flavour ofthe review. It reflects thathard work that the Board ofTrustees, staff and of coursestudents have put in. Thepositive flavour of the reviewis also indicative of thewonderful school

environment that our studentsgenerate.The reviewers were in nodoubt that this is a goodschool, with a great bunch ofstudents and a real, tangible,caring approach to learning.

Just how I see it folks. Dontbe offended.Naku noa naMe rongo (In peace)Darcy KempActing Principal

St Patricks School


4/4

May the Year of Faithbe a time for allCatholics to renewtheir desire and zealfor the Eucharist and toavail themselvesregularly of theSacrament ofReconciliation andPenance.

During this Year of

Faith, may all Catholicspublically proclaimtheir love for Christ andhis Church.May this Year of Faithremind us of ways toserve those in ourmidst who areoverlooked, ignored orrejected, so that allmay experience thepeace and healing ofChrists love.

May the Holy Spiritguide the Churchduring the Year ofFaith so that allCatholics mayexperience adeepened renewal offaith, hope and love.

May young people beinspired by this Year ofFaith to listenattentively and respondto Gods call topriesthood andreligious life.

CCCCCCCCCCCCaaaaaaaaaaaaffffffffffffoooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnQQQQQQQQQQQQuuuuuuuuuuuueeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeennnnnnnnnnnn

Caf and Wine BarOpen 7 days

25 Queen Street

Ph: (03) 689 6010BreakfastsLunches

Evening Meals

Consult us for all yourspecial occasion catering

St Patrick School would like to thank the following sponsors

Documents

15-feb-newsletter.pdf