ST MARY’S SCHOOL Phone (03)4178585 7 CHAUCER STREET MILTON 9220 Fax (03)4174792 PO Box 36 MILTON email office@saint-marys.school.nz Mission Statement St Mary’s School will provide opportunities within a Christian, Catholic environment, where children receive an education that enables them to develop fully. Friday 24t h October 2014 Dear Parents October is traditionally known in the Catholic Church as the month of the Blessed Virgin Mary, when we celebrate the special place Mary holds within the Church as the Mother of Jesus. With Sympathy Deepest Sympathy to Marceline and Merlin Crowie and their family on the loss of Merlin’s father. May your hearts find peace in the love of your family and friends at this time. Please keep the family in your thoughts and prayers. Labour Day The school will be closed for Labour Day – Monday 27th October. All Saints Day Liturgy We will be having a Liturgy to celebrate All Saints Day at 2.20pm on Friday 31st October. This will replace Assembly. PLEASE come along and support this special occasion with the children and bring grandparents/friends/family with you. Pet Day We will be holding a Pet Day (afternoon) on Thursday 13th November. More details as they come to hand. Values Values are considered to be very important at St Mary’s School. They are the general guides to behaviour and are constantly reinforced through all interaction throughout the time children spend at St Mary’s School. As well as this, Values are specifically taught to the children during class time. Staff, BOT, Parents and Children assisted in developing our School Values and interestingly – many of them were affirmed by parents in the recent Strategic Planning Surveys. The children are learning the following value:  ACCEPTANCE – Embracing the individuality of each child. “God created humankind in His image” – Genesis 13:27 Our School Values will be published in the newsletter over the next 5 weeks. If you see your child fulfilling these – please affirm and encourage them. BOT Meeting There will be a Meeting of the Board of Trustees on Thursday 30th October at 6.30 pm. You are welcome to attend. Cricket Tuition The children enjoyed receiving Cricket tuition again this week from Tama from Sport Clutha. The Gingerbread Man Once upon a time there was an old woman and an old man and they lived on a farm. They wanted a child so they made a gingerbread man. When it was ready, they pulled him out of the oven and he ran as fast as he could. They chased him past the cow and the horse and they chased him past the farmer and the river bank. He got a ride from a fox. He ate him up and that was the end of the gingerbread man. Written by James Anderson – Room 2 Noise The noise was ear shattering as I ran into the forest. When I was in the forest I was looking around at all the trees. They were waving side to side. After a minute I looked behind me and saw two red eyes in a bush then I walked over to it. It was making a noise like it wanted to pounce on me. When I turned back something leaped on my back. When I got up I looked back but nothing was there. The next morning I got up and I was trapped by forest men. They had me tied up in flax. I was trying to break free but they were holding me there. I kicked one of them in the belly and they fell on the ground, then I broke free and killed them all. Then I looked around and around to find my way out. Written by: Jackson Nicol Room 3 The Walk The stalks tickled my hands. I was walking along the track when a sad feeling came over me. I didn’t know what it was but I sat down and thought. I thought as hard as I could. “Aha”. But as I thought about it I felt like ...... like a rain cloud just went on top of me and using its tears as rain. I tried to think of something happier as I walked home. Oh and here’s what I was thinking about .... Gr....Grandad Written By: Isabella Gordon – Glassford Room 3 Cricket First I went to the tennis court, and then we played cricket. Finally we went to class. Written by: Janae Winter Room 1 How Do People Survive In Unusual Places? Surviving in unusual places is tough considering you might have to survive in Antarctica or space. Surviving in space is difficult because you may have to endure several months without human contact and you also have to put up with no gravity which means you float everywhere. To devise a solution to this problem they put straps everywhere and by everywhere I mean in beds on walls and even in the toilet. Antarctica is one of the harshest places on earth. It is a frozen land mass. One of the reasons people live in Antarctica is to study it by taking samples of ice that has been frozen for millions of years. These people live in a base building and these buildings often include games rooms, libraries and gyms. They are all heated to keep people warm in the cold conditions. Submarines are huge buildings that move under the sea. They are often used in wars for armies to sink enemy ships. Submarines usually spend months under water so people who are unable to go in confined spaces cannot work in a submarine. Written by Jake McLean Room 4 Disco There will be a Home and School Fancy Dress "Halloween Disco"on Friday 31st October starting at 6pm till 7.30pm. Admission will be $2.00 The usual goodies will be available. Milton Area Schools’ Touch Competition A Touch Competition for the Milton area is being organised to begin this Wednesday 29th October. The competition will run through to the end of Term 4. This will be held each Wednesday beginning at 3.30pm at Milton Primary School. We have entered 3 teams and depending on numbers, may be able to enter a fourth team. We have coaches for each team! Sports tops will be issued on Tuesday and need to be returned at the end of the competition. The draw will be sent out when collated. Kylie Forrest – Sport Co-ordinator Help Needed! One of the parents in our school is looking for a house to rent. If you know of anywhere and are able to help – PLEASE phone James on 0276388960. Your assistance with this would be very much appreciated. Extravaganza We will be entering the children in the Extravaganza in Balclutha as we have done over the past few years, where they are involved in a range of sporting and team building activities. Rooms 1, 2 & 3 will take part on Tuesday 11th November and Room 4 will take part on Wednesday 12th November. We urgently require parent help for this to go ahead. If you are able to assist – please fill the form in and send it back to school on Monday. More details later. EXTRAVAGANZA I (Name)____________________ am able to assist at the Extravaganza on Tuesday/Wednesday (circle which one). Signed _________________________ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Home and School Attached to this newsletter is a form from Leanne and the Twilight Fair Committee. PLEASE fill this out and send it back to school on Monday. Elegant Junk Stall Thank you to those of you who have already donated some “Elegant Junk”. Take the opportunity to get rid of unwanted items! Please bring items along to school as soon as you are able to! Twilight Fair Raffle A reminder to PLEASE do your best to sell the raffle tickets sent out last week. A reminder too, that they need to be returned to school by Wednesday 5th November. Your support is very much appreciated! Mrs H Overdue Library Books Some children have well overdue library books dating back to the beginning of the year and there are also some outstanding from last year. The titles of these books are attached to this newsletter. Please have a good look at home and send these books back to school as soon as possible. An account will be sent out to the lender if the book is not returned. Your help would be appreciated. Miss Henderson - Librarian E te Atua Manaki mai, E te Atua Awhina mai, E te Atua Aroha mai, Amene May God guide us, May God support us, May God love us, Amen CUPS The following children received cups at Assembly last week. Best worker Kupa Kiri Politeness Preston Foster Neatest work Mya Grant Kindest Pupil Greer Foster  Kind Regards Diane Hayes Diane Hayes PRINCIPAL Parent Help Questionnaire St Marys School Twilight Fair Friday 7th November, 5.30pm Thank you to the 15 families that have already sent back the form. I really appreciate knowing where people are able to help. Please look again at this list and see where you can assist. Note we no longer need bottles for the Trombola. Name: __________________________________________________ Phone home: _________________ Cellphone: _________________ Email: ______________________________ (for fair updates & other Home & School news) Things to do / Donate Baking (cakes, muffins, slices, biscuits, etc) Make sweets Help on a stall Help with set-up Help with clean-up Be a runner at the Fair Plants - for plant stall Drop off bouncy castle in Dunedin on Saturday, 8th November Bake 4 dozen cupcakes (please do not ice them) for the cupcake icing stall. These can be made early and frozen until the day of the fair. Thank you for ensuring this years Twilight Fair is our most successful yet. Leeanne Phillips, Home & School President – ph 417 7451, text 027 824 0528 or email alphillips29@gmail.com