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Nau mai haere mai – Greetings – Tena Koutou – Kamusta – Malo e Lelei – Talofa Lava – Namaste – Ni Hao – Hallo – Kia Orana – Bula – Fakaalofa Atu
Dear Families
 We celebrated the second week of Advent last Sunday. Advent is the season of waiting and of preparation. At this time of the year we experience a lot of waiting. We wait for warmer weather, we wait for the holidays and special family time together. Waiting takes time and patience. When we wait we prepare ourselves, thinking about what is to come with great anticipation and expectation.
Prayer intention: We pray that during the Advent season we prepare to receive Jesus and share his love with all we meet.
Christmas On the Field
 The Christmas concert on the field on Tuesday evening was just amazing. Every student was fully engaged in their item and the community interaction was FANTASTIC. Thank you so much for attending and supporting your children/grandchildren. A special shout out to the teachers for their creativity and hard work preparing their class item. Thank you Jillian for the polished musical items (the bucket drumming was a hit!) and to Whaea Kali for the excellent performance from our Kapa Haka group.
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Classroom Teachers 2023
Year 5/6 Learning Community
Mrs Maree Flashman - Learning Community Leader
Mrs Charmaine D’lima
Mr Ned Drumm
Miss Jade Fepuleai
Year 3/4 Learning Community
Mrs Vicki Hyland - Learning Community Leader
Mrs Natasha Teviotdale
Mrs Leonie Agnew
Miss Casey Clubley
Miss Alisha Hutton
Year 0/1/2 Learning Community
Mrs Sarah Nelisi - Learning Community Leader
Mrs Dani Worthington
Mrs Emily Heyworth
Mr Shaun Ryan
Miss Jessie Ahearn
Mrs Eugene Kim
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 It has been wonderful to have a full year back at school…..
We wish you all a Holy and Blessed Christmas and restful, relaxing and safe holidays!
“We pray that the time with our families over the Christmas season will be filled with joy and peace.”
School begins for students on Wednesday 1 February 2023
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Wishing you all a safe and blessed fortnight ahead.
Ngā mihi nui
Sue Kubala
Principal
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Key Dates Reminder
*Please note all dates and events are correct at the time of publishing. Please monitor your school eTap emails, Facebook communications or look on our school's Public Calendar for up to date information*
TERM 4 - 2022 Key Dates:
Tuesday 13 December - Leaver's Mass / Prizegiving (SHC - 6.30pm)
Friday 16 December - Last Day of School 12.30pm close
TERM 1 - 2023 Key Dates:
Wednesday 1 February - First day of school (8.45am start)
Monday 6 February - Waitangi day (school closed)
Friday 10 February - First Newsletter of the year
Thursday 16 February - Community in Action Family Picnic
Wednesday 22 February - Ash Wednesday
Thursday 6 April - Last day of Term 1 (normal finish time)
Friday 7 April - Good Friday (school closed)
Monday 24 April - Staff Only Day (school closed)
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Keeping in with the theme of Advent, one of our staff members shared a beautiful prayer last Monday. An excerpt from the prayer is : “While many of those things that we do not need will come to us in packages gleaming and bright, the one gift that will last comes from you alone, gracious God, as we grow in our awareness of your love.”
Listening to this prayer made me reflect on the central theme of Christmas - the birth of Jesus - a promised Saviour who came in to heal the world.
As we begin our summer holidays with the key focus being the celebration of Christmas - a very special time for friends and family to gather together, I pray that all your gatherings be centered around the love of Jesus and may His love stay with you everyday.
A big thank you to Leo’s (Room 12) grandmother who gifted this stunning nativity set to our school (image below).
Have a blessed and holy Christmas !
Ma te Atua tātou e manaaki
God’s blessings
Charmaine D'lima
DRS
Source of prayer quote: The Essential Christmas and Advent Handbook
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Room 16
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in Room 16...
We have worked together to put our Christmas tree up and it looks fabulous. We are learning about the Nativity and have enjoyed using puppets to recreate the story.
We have had Mass with our buddies and have made cool Christmas crowns. We held our "ultimate buddy day" and celebrated the end of the year with a buddy shared lunch!!
Meri Kirihimete everyone, have a safe and happy break
~ Mrs Nelisi
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Room 15
What a term this has been! We are coming to the end of the term and school year and have so much to look back on, be grateful for and be proud of!
These past two weeks Room 15 has been a part of so many wonderful memories it is hard to choose what to share. A stand out moment was our Buddy Mass with Rooms 2, 8 and 12. It warmed my heart to see every family in Room 15 bring an item for the offertory - we had to carry them in three baskets to manage everything! Our readers were Lucia, Samuel, Adrian and George, who all read so beautifully and to add further praise, all but one began the year as almost nonreaders.
We had a beautiful Christmas tree donated to Room 15 by the Nekhil family which we are so grateful for. Our Christmas showpiece “The Twelve Days of Kiwi Christmas” was outstanding. I couldn't be more proud of every single student in Room 15, because they gave it their all! I also want to thank every parent and guardian in Room 15 who went above and beyond with costumes and helping with props, thank you!
We also had the arrival of Mary on the Mantle in Room 15! Each day Mary moves around our classroom as she prepares for her new baby. Mary is busy "nesting" and doing simple, ordinary tasks. When the students find her in the morning, Mary delivers a small act of kindness that they can perform that day.
It has been an honour to teach the students of Room 15 this year, I will miss them very much and I wish them all the very best in 2023! I wish you all a beautiful Christmas and a very happy New Year, God Bless. ~ Miss Ahearn
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Room 14
Room 14 has been doing 'integrative activities' in recent weeks. One that the children loved was 'Flip Over' game. The team who flipped over the two-sided cards as fast as they could within the time limit (to have more cards in their colour) was the winner. This encouraged the children to concentrate, cooperate, and practise counting as well.
It was great to see our tamariki enjoy free play in their own way. Some of our boys created a town just with markers and a recycled box that Mr Drumm had given to our class. I could see who was a designer, a negotiator, a doer or a thinker. Ka pai Room 14!
~ Mrs Kim
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Room 13
The last two weeks have been very busy for Room 13. We enjoyed having cricket coaching and loved the Colour Run. We also did a lot of practising for One Bright Star - The Nativity story we performed to perfection at the concert this week.
What an amazing year we have had in Room 13 and I can’t believe how far the children have come, from the little 5 year olds I welcomed back in February. They have all been a delight to share their learning with and I wish them all the best as they move up to Year 2 next year. I will miss them!!
~ Mrs Bowden
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Room 12
Room 12 has been enjoying a busy end to the year.
We had our buddy mass last week which was extra special as Rooms 14 and 2 joined us too. We worked hard on our singing and dancing for Christmas on the Field on Tuesday night. We look forward to going on our trip to the Santa Clause show on Friday.
What an exciting time it has been!
~ Mr Ryan
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Room 11
Room 11 can not believe we are already at the end of the year, and what a year it has been. We finished off the year with a bang, practising our Footloose moves and enjoying each other's company. We were lucky enough to receive ice blocks from the people who provide our school with sushi. It was definitely much needed after a morning of concert rehearsals!
The kids have done such an incredible job in their learning this year. I am so proud of how far every student in Room 11 has come. Thank you parents for all your continued support, it has been a privilege teaching your children and I wish you all a safe and blessed Christmas season.
~ Miss Hutton
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Room 10
It is the season of Advent. A time where we are all feeling many different emotions as we approach Christmas and the end of the year. We have been learning about the advent candles, what they represent and how we see these reflected in our lives. It has been a lovely time to reflect on the real reason for Christmas, the birth of Jesus.
It is also a magical time of year and we have been very lucky to have had a special little visitor in our classroom. Pudding, an escaped, unlicensed, elf from the North Pole has been up to some very cheeky mischief. There has been a flurry of shrieks each morning as we see all the Year 2 students zooming across the classrooms to see his latest antics.
All of us in Room 10 wish you a very Merry Christmas.
Mikayla - "I loved doing the Christmas concert dance and our elf!"
Deo - "Christmas is special because it's Jesus' birthday"
Tiana - "The elf gave us candy canes! If you touch it it loses it's magic"
Francis - "Advent is when we wait for Jesus"
~ Mrs Heyworth
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Year 0-2 Hui
Congratulations to the wonderful children who received certificates at our Hui this week.
~ Mrs Bowden
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Room 9
In Room 9, we have been integrating RE and Reading. We have been learning about the significance of the different coloured candles on our Christmas Wreath. This week the pink candle signifies peace. We have been brainstorming ways we can show peace to others. We've also read a story about 'The Prince of Peace'. An angel proclaimed that there would be peace on earth to all those who follow in God's way.
~ Mrs Hyland
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Room 8
We have had the most amazing year together in Room 8. The children are all so respectful, kind and caring towards each other. Over the past few weeks we have worked so hard on our concert item and on Tuesday night they gave it 110%. I was so proud of them and more importantly, they were proud of themselves.
I have shared a fun activity that I remembered from my own primary school learning with the class, making God's eyes. The children really enjoyed the process and the results are amazing.
~ Mrs Teviotdale
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Room 7
What an amazing 2022 Room 7 has had! Over the past few days we have been reflecting on the year and celebrating how far we have come, not only as individuals but also as a class.
"This year has been awesome and I've enjoyed so many things" - Delilah C
"I will miss the chapter books that we read each term" - Beckett M
"I've loved being in Room 7 and making new friends" - Issy M
"I will miss everything about Room 7" - Elijah B
We have also been busy making Christmas trees using muffin cups and sticks from outside. Some of the trees look a bit wonky but are all unique in their own way!
It was amazing to see the effort and participation from everyone at the End of Year Concert on Tuesday. Room 7 were very excited to show their singing and dance moves to the song 'A Million Dreams' from The Greatest Showman.
~ Miss van Dillen
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Room 6
Room 6 are getting into the spirit of Christmas and we have started a Christmas tree art project. We started painting some old paper placemats that we chopped into quarters. Very soon we will get to decorate them beautifully! Room 6 have also written and published a poem this week (in-between the Christmas concert craziness). We wrote a “hello, goodbye” poem where we said hello to all the things we will be doing over summer and goodbye to our school routines. Here are some great snippets…
 ~ Miss Clubley
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Room 5
In Rm 5 we've had a fantastic time preparing for the school concert. Our class busted their best moves and sang along to George Ezra's 'Shot Gun' - a great summery song! We even had a special guest appearance with Santa, his elf and reindeer riding shotgun in a sleigh. Many thanks to Diana Malaki-Williams for making us such a great sleigh, too!
~ Mrs Agnew
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Room 4
During Religious Education, Room 4 children have been looking at the people who predicted the coming of the Messiah. There was a task for the children. "If God called you today to be a prophet as he called Isaiah, what would your message to the people in Russia or Ukraine or another conflict area be? Make your message into a rap." They worked with Mrs McRobbie and had lots of fun being creative with their work. Two of the raps are below.
We loved the Christmas Concert! Big ups to Anna who began our item. Those poi certainly flew and the dancers were great too. The next day we had a Christmas Tree challenge. They were all freestanding and the decorations were pretty creative!
It seems incredible that the school year is nearly at a close. I have enjoyed every second being the teacher of the amazing children in Room 4! A big thanks to Mrs McRobbie who has taught every Friday and helped the children on their learning journey. Happy Christmas!
~ Mrs Flashman
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Room 3
Room 3 is getting into the Christmas spirit for the end of the school year! The students had a blast performing at the Christmas Concert and showing the St Mary's families our item.
For art, we have been creating Christmas landscapes and for writing have been making up our own versions of the Christmas carol, 'The Twelve Days of Christmas'.
For Buddy Time, Room 3 had so much fun organising the Ultimate Buddy Day for our Room 16 buddies. The class planned individual activities for them and their little buddy such as icing cakes and biscuits, bottle rockets, obstacle courses and many more. An epic end to a great year!
~ Miss Fepuleai
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Room 2
What a lovely way to finish off 2022!
The children were absolutely brilliant during their Xmas Concert item and made me extremely proud of their hard work and dedication! Their performance was filled with energy and beautiful smiles and they gave it their all!
It was also great to catchup with our Buddy Class and spend some time going over our favourite things - and even getting the chance to teach them how to use Google Slides!
~ Mr Drumm
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Room 1
Role plays from the NZ School Journals have played a big part in increasing confidence, team building and expression in Room 1. Our class has enjoyed reading, understanding and acting out the plays. The Shakespearean language in one of them was quite an eye opener !
With Christmas around the corner, our Nativity Themed Art using Zentangles gave us an opportunity to express ourselves and practice mindfulness after all the energetic and fun times we've had practising for our Christmas concert.
"This year has been fantastic. My classmates have been good and I have enjoyed learning. Mrs. D'lima has been a great teacher !" -Avalon Priest
"When we've done drama in class, I have improved on my expressions." - Shamika
"I've improved in understanding what props are important for the play." - Mia
And so this school year comes to an end! What an exhilarating 2023 we've had in Room 1! For me, as a classroom teacher it gives me great satisfaction to see each child grow in confidence, maturity and certainly, their learning. I wish them all the best as they move forward to new opportunities.
~ Mrs Dlima
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Mary Bowden's Farewell
On Thursday the St Mary's community and Mary's family farewelled Mrs Mary Bowden. Mary has been working at St Mary's Catholic School in various roles for 22 years. For the past 15 years, Mary has taught Year One learners in Room 13, aptly called the Mary Block!
There were lots of wonderful shared memories and quite a few tears. Mary, we all wish you a joyous retirement.
“May love and laughter light your days, and warm your heart and home, may good and faithful friends be yours, wherever you may roam. May peace and plenty bless your world, with joy that long endures, may all life’s passing seasons bring the best to you and yours.” (Irish blessing)
~ Mrs Varoy
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Choir News
Recently St Mary's Voices and Allcomer's Choir had the wonderful privilege of a session with Mr Rowan Johnston, a Dad of one of our choir students and also, until very recently, the Director of Choirs at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Parnell and Choralation, the Westlake Girls and Boys High Schools Choir.
Everyone had loads of fun while learning how to improve their singing tone. They were put through lots of fun exercises and everyone was amazed how their singing tone improved while doing them! The students learnt a new song that is already in their repertoire for next year.
A huge thank you from Mrs Grainger and all the students in the two choirs, Mr Johnston, for giving us your time and expertise to help us improve our choral singing!
Here are a couple of videos of the students working on their singing tone!
~ Mrs Grainger
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Sustainability
We are coming to the end of the term and school year and have so much to look back on, be grateful for and be proud of! First, a huge thank you to our wonderful caretaker, Mr Kipa. He is always ready to lend a helping hand and goes above and beyond. We are very lucky to have him and I am grateful for all of his help this year.
Second, a huge thank you to all the Gardening Club mums who have come along this year, you are very much appreciated. Third, thank you to our wonderful Sustainability Leaders here at St Marys, you have worked very hard this year. I wish you all the best and I know you remain stewards of God's creation.
Last, but not least - thank you to all the students who come along every Wednesday for the Gardening Club. I love your enthusiasm and I look forward to seeing you next year.
I wish you all a wonderful Christmas and very happy New Year, God Bless.
~ Miss Ahearn
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Board News
Ngā mihi o te marama ki a tātou katoa!
Wow, last newsletter of the year!
The Board met last night (Thursday 08 December), the final meeting of the year always has a full agenda. We were joined via Zoom by Ken Ward from Leading Learning. Mr Ward presented the outcome of his appraisal of our tumuaki, Sue Kubala. The appraisal process is robust and ensures that the voices of our school community are represented. Mr. Ward’s report confirmed that Sue meets the professional standards for primary school principals and maintains her current practising certificate. The Board would like to congratulate Sue on an excellent appraisal. Ka rawe to mahi!
Another key task from our Board meeting was the approval of the draft budget for 2023. While the Board are presented with a budget document that contains several pages, the work that has gone into it has taken considerable time and effort. Thank you to all involved in getting the budget to that stage.
Our school community still has a full schedule for the remaining five school days of the term, full speed right to the last day. The Board must acknowledge our wonderful staff for their tireless work as well as the amazing Community In Action. Both these groups are key elements of the unique wairua of our school. I would also like to thank the Board (including those that ended their term during this year) for their ongoing support.
I would like to wish our entire school community a restful holiday season with lots of precious time with loved ones. I look forward to facing 2023 with you all.
Ngā manaakitanga
Si’ata
~ Si’ata Tavite
Presiding Member - St Mary's Board of Trustees
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Community in Action News
Cookie Time Christmas Buckets: For those who didn't manage to collect their cookies today, they are in the school office.
Wine Collection: Thanks to all who bought wine through Marisco Vineyards. We sold 161 cases which means $4830 to the school through the Community in Action - amazing! Don't forget to collect and pay for your wine this Sunday between 2 and 5pm opposite 27 Cheshire St, Parnell. Pay by EFTPOS/Credit.
Second Hand Uniforms: Jo Ward is available to collect and sell any stock through the holidays. Her contacts are chilversjn@yahoo.com, 020 4116 7171.
Family Picnic: We're having a family picnic on the school field on Thursday, 16 February from 5.30. Save the date - more info will follow in the new year.
Round the Bays: Is on Sunday, 5 March, and St Mary’s have booked a hospitality tent for afterwards. Individual entries and family passes are available for a fun, active, day out. Sign up to the St Mary’s Team here and keep an eye out for more information in the new year.
The Community in Action Group have our own newsletter: You can subscribe through the website here. If you'd like to get in touch with us, please email stmaryspta@gmail.com.
And finally, THANK YOU to all the parents and staff for your AMAZING help and contributions this year! We're looking forward to supporting the school in 2023 with lots of great activities, events and fundraisers. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
~ Justine Harvie
Chairperson - St Mary's Community in Action
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Word from the Parish
 Fr George and Fr Thomas would like to wish you and your families the very special blessings that the birth of Jesus Christ brings us on Christmas Day. May God bless you all and keep you safe and well.
The Feast of the Immaculate Conception is celebrated on Sunday 11 December. Mass will be celebrated at 10am followed by a Feast Day lunch in the Parish Hall. Come and join in the fellowship of this special day.
There are Masses being held on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day as per the attached schedule. We look forward to joining together to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.
Advent Reconciliation will be on Wednesday December 14th at 7pm. ~ Len Casey (PPC Chairman)
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Community Notices and Advertisements
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