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31st January

,e-sletter

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Birthday Wishes
We had plenty of students celebrate their birthdays over the Christmas break, We hope you all had a great day. Willem Haket 30th ecember Hannah Berry !"th #anuary $ummer %arsen &0th #anuary

&rayer of t'e (ee)


- my God and my all, in "hy goodness and mercy, grant that before I die I may regain all the graces which I ha#e lost through my carelessness and folly 'ermit me to attain the degree of merit and perfection to which "hou didst desire to lead me, and which I failed by my unfaithfulness to reach ,ercifully grant also that others regain the graces which they ha#e lost through my fault "his I humbly beg through the merits of the &acred Heart of /esus and Immaculate 0irgin ,ary Amen

Gospel Values for Term One: Love, Forgiveness and Justice

*uote of t'e (ee)


1+ear %ord 'lease put your arm around me today, and your hand o#er my mouth 2

.elcome to our two new teachers starting with us this year ,rs )ellie .aller on the left and ,iss Hannah 3ee#es on the right

+ead #tudents
At the school assembly this afternoon, I had the great pleasure of being able to announce the new Head Boy and Head Girl for 2014 and the names of one of the four senior student leader positions I do need to point out all of the holders of all of these positions were selected at the end of last year by staff !"his was to a#oid any perceptions of a conflict of interest $ Head Girl for 2014 is %aney &tanistreet Head Boy is 'atric( )emp *aitlin *adogan is appointed as +eputy Head &tudent "hat lea#es three #acant student leader positions for students to wor( towards "he %ibrarians are 'atric( )emp, ,organ -udemans, Bla(e "homson and Arlin .i(aira

School News
Sun Hats We are a sunsmart school and sunhats are compulsory this term. If students do not have a hat navy wide on blue) break brimmed (preferably in the

they will have to remain during times. Caps do not meet the requirements. Office Hours available !onday" Wednesday in the and ess is office $riday

&rincipal.s /ommentary:

#uesday"

%am&'pm. (he is not in the office on #hursdays. If you need any account information" uniform or stationary items or you want to make a payment on your account" please do so on one of the days that she is here. Overnight Camp )ur School annual

overnight school camp is scheduled for #hursday the *'th of $ebruary. +lease feel free to bring along a sleeping bag and some kai and spend the evening playing games and running around" and watching videos

then chilling out in the classrooms. ,ll parents welcome. -o grumpiness allowed.

"ena )outou e whanau A #ery warm welcome bac( to all of our school families and staff as we (ic( off the 2014 school year "his first term is a long one too4 12 wee(s, but at least the first two wee(s are only four day wee(s for our school I sincerely hope that all of you had a great brea( and that the festi#e season was e#erything that you wanted it to be, although I suspect that a good dose of summer weather wouldn5t go amiss at some stage 'lease ta(e the opportunity to introduce yourself to our new staff members ,iss 3ee#es in the 6unior room and ,rs .aller in the senior room 7 in the afternoons ,a(e them feel welcome Also feel free to come along this 8riday at 97ish and bring your tea, fish n chips or similar and ha#e a meet and 'espect( greet as you eat your tea -ne thing that I ha#e had reinforced for me o#er the I too( the time to ha#e a brea( *hristmas brea(, is the need to o#er *hristmas and be mindful of others and to treat conse:uently am now feeling e#eryone the same, irrespecti#e li(e I am;we are a little behind of their bac(ground, their the eight ball, particularly current situation, their beliefs, regarding property "he place is their actions or the colour of loo(ing a little bit ragged around their s(in ?#eryone deser#es to the edges, but not for much be treated with respect longer -ur new Groundsman, ?#eryone e#en the %en Browns ,r Barry %ist has started and and *ameron &laters and the new lawn mower has )im *oms of this world deser#e arri#ed, so o#er the coming to be treated with basic human wee(s he will get things loo(ing decency !respect$ 7 as human tip top "he old mower had done beings "reating someone with its dash, hence the reason for the

longish grass down both sides of the dri#eway and at se#eral other locations around the school He will soon whip them into shape and then (eep them that way on a #ery regular basis "he garden areas will e#entually be weed matted and then co#ered in bar(, although that may be a 6ob for a good old7 fashioned wor(ing bee!<$ "he edges of all the grass areas will be trimmed and (ept neat and tidy, and the dead weeds emerging through the courts will be remo#ed, as will the moss, and the lines on the courts will be repainted "he sign will be replaced, where it blew off the entranceway wall, and there are mo#es afoot to ha#e our logo placed strategically on the end of the office building +ead Horse Hill and the trees around the edges of the field will be fenced off and students will e#entually be in#ol#ed in planting that =>one5 with nati#e trees .or( on construction of the obstacle course will resume and may in#ol#e a wor(ing bee as well "hat area will then be surrounded by a low wooden edging to contain the bar( or chip that will need to be spread around the obstacles themsel#es "hese are some of the many tas(s that we ha#e at hand 'lease understand that we are aware of all of these tas(s, but there are only so many things that we can do at once 8eel free to #olunteer to help out, but be aware that we may ta(e you up on the offer

respect is not the same as agreeing with what they ha#e done, nor is it condoning their actions, it is simply being humane, 1being *hristian,2 and showing the #alues Human decency is what separates us from the animal world isn5t it< 'robably the most re#olutionary thing that /esus e#er said was, 1%o#e your enemies2 !,atthew 9@44$ A narrow group solidarity is no #irtue /esus called for an eAperience of solidarity with all human(ind &olidarity is eAtended e#en to those who hate you, harm you, offend you, persecute you or treat you or others badly &olidarity means brea(ing through barriers of race, nationality, class, language and religious affiliation

)roha I am staggered by the amount of people lately that I ha#e tal(ed to that on the surface are 6ust going about their daily li#es, groundhog day after groundhog day, but in the bac(ground chaos, hardship and heartbrea( are wrea(ing ha#oc in their li#es or on the li#es of their families .ithin our school families and the wider school whanau, at any gi#en moment, there are people suffering, in many different ways and unless we ta(e the time to get to (now each other on more than a 1g5day2 or 1see ya later2 le#el we would ne#er (now, nor would we be able to help or share their suffering "hose people that are suffering under the burden of disease, fear, or hardship deser#e our support and aroha ,a(e each greeting meaningful and bear

witness to the gospel #alues when you interact with each other "here is a lot of sadness and pain out there ,other "eresa #alued people for their humanity and because they bear within them the image of God &he did not determine the worth of a person by how successful or producti#e they are ,other "eresa is a witness to the irreducible dignity of each human person Human dignity is totally unearned4 it comes from being a child of God "he gospel #alue is to treat all people the same 1&ee that you ne#er despise any of these little ones 2 ,atthew 1B@10 $ocial Comments .hilst I ha#e ne#er recei#ed one single complaint about it, there are probably some that would disagree with my use of the school newsletter to ma(e social comment, instead of 6ust using it to highlight children5s wor( I agree that we need to do better with displaying children5s wor( in this newsletter, and we will, but I disagree that this is not the place for social comment .hat I specifically try to comment on, are the same topics that my students and I discuss in class as a result of them watching the news media at home or from discussions with their peers "hese senior room students are a lot more aware of the wider world than what we probably were at a comparable age &ocial media and other technologies ha#e ta(en care of that and they (now what happens around the globe pretty :uic(ly, and whilst they may tune out of this incessant information chatter, they do pic( up on issues and they lo#e discussing them and ha#ing their own opinions heard in a forum where others their own age can debate or discuss the topics +uring class news time, they tal( about the latest topics and they offer solutions, or they eApress their disgust, or their agreement, depending on what the topic is In a 21st century classroom, where each person has #irtual access to and from the wider globe, far better that they do so with purpose rather than as

uninterested #iewers with no independent thought I (ind of li(e my students to ha#e strong opinions "hat way it is certain that they will be independently minded critical consumers well7 able to ma(e up their own minds about what is right and what is not &o, on a daily basis, we discuss the latest news and e#ents and whilst I sometimes add my personal opinion into the discussion if as(ed, I usually facilitate discussion between them rather than impose my #iews "hese same issues are the ones that sometimes end up in our newsletters, because they are topical "he discussion in class this past "hursday morning for eAample, re#ol#ed around the 'rime ,inister5s election7year red herring about changing the flag As a result of that discussion, we !the class$ ha#e decided that we wouldn5t mind a change, as long as any proposed flags contain certain things .e are now going to create some draft drawings and send them to the 'rime ,inister, because as citi>ens of Cew Dealand, we can &o from sub6ects as newsworthy !or not$ as )im *om, %en Brown, the crisis in &yria, to interstellar space tra#el and flag changes, we are connected, confident and caring and we are global citi>ens $tate of the *ation "o ma(e things clear and to put the rumour mill to rest !bless them for their ignorance and luAury of ha#ing so much free time$@ "he current role of &t 'atric(5s &chool is E0 students .e ha#e two confirmed pre7 enrolments due to start later this year and two other !1 yrF G 1 yrB$ preference students that the parents ha#e said will be mo#ing here in ,arch "he role is E0 students because at the end of 201E !when we had E9 students$ three students mo#ed on to high school and we had one family change schools "hat situation is no different to what it is at the start of e#ery year -ur numbers drop because we lose our year B students and we always gain more students o#er the course of the year ?#ery year that I ha#e been here !and before that$ we ha#e lost at least one family during the year, as for

reasons that ma(e perfectly good sense to them, they mo#e on "hat5s life It is a reflection on their choices, not on our school "his is not the end of the world "his is 6ust business as usual ?#ery school in the country has this happen, e#ery year *ontrary to the rumours, we do not ha#e a lot of people lining up to lea#e, as lining up is seldom done these days I know that our (ids are all happy and engaged in good :uality learning I belie#e that most of our parents are pretty happy with the education that their children recei#e at &t 'atric(5s, as they should be Howe#er, if anyone isn5t happy with their children5s education I ha#e an open7door policy and anyone is more than welcome to come and discuss any issues with me, or to use our robust complaints procedure which is detailed on the school website -ur school is going from strength to strength I (now that we are streets ahead of other schools locally in how we source, supply and use technology and we are absolutely ahead of the ball in areas such as reading and mathematics and we ha#e disproportionally significant strengths in most sports that the (ids are in#ol#ed in Hou )C-. that your child is doing well, irrespecti#e of where they feature in relation to Cational &tandards and irrespecti#e of what the rumour mill may say "han(fully, most of our parents ha#e their children here because they are serious about their children recei#ing a *atholic education and a :uality education

More School News


Subway continue lunches in our ./*0 We will with

school

(ubway. )ur ne1t date will be on #uesday **th $ebruary. available school classrooms Scholastic Book Club 2ue back at school by the .3th $ebruary ./*0 Swimming - Change to our swimming dates. 2ue to an oversight (by the 4igh (chool and the pool) with scheduling we are rescheduling one of our swimming sessions so that the 4igh (chool can have finals. session
th

$orms from and

are the the

office

their #he on has

swimming swimming

Wednesday the 5

changed to #hursday the *'th. ,s you will all be aware" the dates (and for most swimming

other things) are on the school website calendar. +lease is on note the that .*st our of (chool swimming sports $ebruary between %6'/

/ust my #iews fol(s +on5t be and *..//. We always offended welcome (need) parent Ca(u noa na +arcy )emp 'rincipal &t 'atric(s &chool .aimate
helpers to assist at our swimming sessions" so please offer if you are available. togs too) (7ring your

Donations
,any than(s to all of those people and organisations that ha#e recently made donations that ha#e directly or indirectly benefitted our school "hese recent donations ha#e enabled us to upgrade the data pro6ectors in both classrooms to fully interacti#e, ultra short7 throw mimio pro6ectors, with built7in audio "his allows us to eliminate the mimio bars on the whiteboards and the spea(ers and potentially allows us to use nearly any hard surface as a pro6ection screen "he school has also 6ust purchased se#eral new laptops in the senior classroom to enable us to continue our 1@1 programme !at no cost to parents$ with the latest models "he board are currently considering a draft I*" strategy that would ensure that our students continue to ha#e access to the latest and best technology at all times and still use BH-+ !bring your own devices$ if they so desire Co other school in the district has this +on5t listen to those that would tell you that this is the way of the future, because the future is already here and will :uic(ly become history I than( especially our farming families for their efforts through *,' Also those families that ha#e purchased uniforms at 'ostie 'lus, your donations all helped I now urge you to start supporting the .arehouse in -amaru as often as possible and encourage others to do the same as well, as this &aturday they will (ic( off a F month long fundraiser for us through the cardboard coins programme 'urchases attract a cardboard coin which shoppers can then place in one

#t &atric). #c'ool -ould li)e to t'an) t'e follo-ing sponsors 1 Main North Road Oamaru

The Warehouse 27 Eden Street

of three charity containers at the entrance to the store 8or e#ery cardboard coin collected the .arehouse will pay each charity real money "he .arehouse has (indly gi#en us this opportunity for the following F months "he funds raised will go towards the construction of a &hade sail area o#er top of the 6unior eating area 'lease support the -amaru .arehouse 'lease also ta(e e#ery opportunity to support Gordon Handy machinery in -amaru as they ha#e done our school a significant ser#ice with the supply of our new /ohn +eere lawnmower ,any than(s to Andrew *raig for putting the hard word on the management team o#er that one

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