Newsletter - 6 June 2024

Tēnā koutou katoa St Michael’s Catholic School Community,

"Mā te ngākau aroha koe e ārahi’
Let a loving heart guide your decisions

Last Sunday was the Feast of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi) and I was privileged to watch six students from St Francis School, Thames receive their Confirmation and Holy Communion. Bishop Steve celebrated the Mass with the Parish Priest. During the ceremony Bishop Steve asked the children, “What is the most important piece of furniture in your house?” He then said the dining table is the most important piece of furniture because this is where as a family we all gather together to eat and talk about our day together. He said that a number of families have their meals on their laps in front of the TV.

School Parish Mass - Sunday 9 June (10.00am) - Compulsory Attendance

We only have three Masses a year that are compulsory: one each in Terms 1, 2 and 3. Please join us for this term’s School/Parish Mass on Sunday 9 June. Children need to wear their full school uniform and meet their classroom teacher at 9.40am in the Parish Centre. Please continue to donate non-perishable food items to Monte Cecilia - these can be placed in the baskets outside the office.

*Students participating in the Becoming Church sessions are asked to wear their school uniform to the session. Mrs Capon will lead the children up to Church to join their class at the conclusion of the lesson.

Catholic Character Internal Review Family/Whanau survey

As part of our annual Catholic Special Character Review, we would like to gather information about how the school as an authentic Catholic Community promotes and supports active Catholic witness and practice in the school and in the parish, of which the school is an integral part.

Why are we doing this? This survey is to provide us with an understanding of how the school can best support you and your children in your faith-journey and having a deeper understanding of the faith. Our hope is to continue to grow a strong local Catholic community, involving both the school and the Parish. We appreciate your time and effort to complete this survey.

Please click here to complete.

ICAS

The following information is for Year 4-6 families interested in registering students for the online International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS) testing scheduled to be sat during school time in Term 3. This year students can register for exams in English, Mathematics and Science.

ICAS exams are run through a private company based in New South Wales, and are “user pays”.

These exams assess higher order thinking and problem solving to extend students beyond their expected achievement level for their age. We have found in the past that some students find the examinations, and receiving their results, extremely stressful. It is important that if you enrol your child for these exams, that you take the time to prepare them for this. There are example test papers available on the ICAS website to purchase.

The school does not receive feedback regarding each student’s performance in these exams. The results do not inform or guide teaching and learning at our school.

Our school has signed up for the ICAS Assessments parent payment system (PPS) and registrations are now open. Please use the below details to register and pay directly online, no later than Wednesday 3 July 2024.

Please take care to register your child for the appropriate tests depending on their year level.

Access details:

School access code: OOA123

Parent page link: https://shop.icasassessments.com/pages/pps

Pricing for New Zealand: NZD$20.70 (incl. GST) per test.

ICAS English – Year 4, 5, 6 – Wednesday 14 August
ICAS Science – Year 4, 5, 6 – Wednesday 21 August
ICAS Mathematics – Year 4, 5, 6 – Wednesday 28 August

SMCS Policies – all our policies are on SchoolDocs, please follow the next four steps:

Go to www.schooldocs.co.nz
Click Search for your school
Start typing the school name and then select from the dropdown list
Enter the community username and password: Username: smcs Password: mackillop

This term we are reviewing

Appointment Procedure (Board); Equal Employment Opportunities; Teacher Relief Cover;

Safety Checking (Board); Police Vetting and Classroom Release Time

Please click on “Current Review” and then click on and read the policies. Next you click on “Under Review” and complete the survey. Your feedback would be appreciated.

Matariki Breakfast - Thursday 27th June

During Term 2, St Michael's children will be learning about, and celebrating Matariki.

Matariki is about sharing food with your friends and community, and after the success of last year's breakfast we are going to host a Matariki breakfast again in 2024.

Our Matariki breakfast will be on Thursday 27th June. It will be held in the School Hall from 7:30am - 8:30am. This is a great opportunity to come together as a community, and parents are expected to stay with their children in the hall until usual school drop off time.

We invite you to please bring a plate of food to share for breakfast. This could be small finger food items. The children will all be sent home with an allergy sheet closer to the time for you to attach to the plate so we are easily able to identify any ingredients that may trigger allergies, e.g. eggs, nuts, soy or gluten, to ensure the safety of all children.

Younger and older siblings, grandparents etc are more than welcome to join us for this Matariki celebration. There will be tea, coffee and milo provided. Please come along with your child and celebrate Matariki with our community.

We look forward to seeing you on the 27th to celebrate Matariki together.

Health Notice From Ministry of Education

Winter illnesses are taking hold across the motu, with ‘flu season’ arriving earlier than normal. Aotearoa is also at a high risk of a measles outbreak with immunisation rates dropping off since COVID-19. Please follow Te Whatu Ora advice, particularly that the best protection against an outbreak of measles is the MMR vaccine. Measles – Te Whatu Ora

We would like to welcome the following families and students to our school: the Amundson Family (Theo), the Calkin Family (Lucy), the Lee Family (Jake), and the McGillivray Family (Iris), all of whom have an older sibling already attending SMCS.

Sunday 09 June - Parish/School Mass (10.00am)

Wednesday 12 June - Talent Extravaganza (4.00pm)

Wednesday 19 June - Room 6 and Room 9 Assembly (2.00pm)

Thursday 27 June - Matariki Breakfast

Friday 28 June - Public Holiday (Matariki)

Wednesday 3 July - Room 5 and Room 10 Assembly (2.00pm)

Friday 5 July - YCC (Young Catholics Care) Mufti fundraiser, last day of Term 2

The Catholic Education of School-Age Children This document of the NZ Catholic Bishop’s Conference is to guide those involved in the work of Catholic Education. Each week we will place excerpts of this book.

“The encounter with Christ and a growing knowledge and understanding of his teaching naturally lead to a “new life characterised by all that is beautiful, good, and true; a life of Christian witness nurtured and strengthened within the community of our Lord’s disciples, the Church” . This progression from encounter, to growth in knowledge and to Christian witness is the framework of the disciple’s journey." (p5)

Religious Education Term 2 Overview

For Years 3-6

Weeks 4-8: Strand - Holy Spirit

Weeks 9-10: Strand - Church

The themes in our Religious Education Programme are broad categories of knowledge and learning that overlap, weave together and build upon each other.

For Years 1 & 2

Over the last 4 years, a new Religious Education Curriculum, To Tātou Whakapono Our Faith, has been developed. Level 1 (Year 1 & 2) students will be learning through the new Curriculum from this year. The Term 2 Theme is Te Rongopai - Good News. This theme focuses on Sacred Scripture. Children will learn that the Bible is filled with good news for us all. Learners are given opportunities to explore, grow in understanding, wonder about, reflect on and connect with stories from the Old and New Testaments.

St Michael’s Parish Website – Mass times - Sunday 8am, 10am & 5pm; Monday - Friday 7am & 12noon; Saturday 8am.

Adoration: Monday - Friday 7.30am-8.30am

Rosary: Monday – Friday 8.30am & 12.30pm; Saturday 8.30am

School Masses - Every Thursday at 9:15am (except Feast days)

09/06/24 - School/Parish Mass at 10am; 13/06/24 - Senior School (Rooms 7, 8, 9 & 10); 20/06/24 - Rooms 5 & 10; 27/06/24 - No Mass; 04/07/24 - Rooms 1, 3 & 8