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Principal Blurb-Week 4 Term 1
Kia ora Koutou
Thanks to all the families who attended parent interviews last week. It was pleasing to see connections being made so the year ahead progresses positively. I have also been impressed with our tamariki putting into practice one of our school values- ‘the love of work’, reflected through the quality work being produced in class.
Thanks to our dedicated staff who have been working hard to implement the Ministry of Education’s directive to teach 1 hour of maths, reading and writing a day with a clear focus on the teaching of structured literacy and maths. I look forward to seeing the progress being made through our mid-year assessments next term.
I was heartened to see most of our year 5 girls participate in the Westen Zone cricket festival at Karori Park. St Teresa’s School have kindly offered for any of our children to join their teams for Western Zone team events this year. We look forward to joining their teams for the football festival later this term. A big thank you to Lenka who transported and assisted with supervision at the cricket festival.
From next week, scooters (no bikes) can be ridden at lunch time. We will put cones out on the netball courts at the front of the school. Please make sure children bring their helmets to wear.
If you have any questions, please contact me.
Kerry de Graaff
Acting Principal
principal@cardinalmckeefry.school.nz
Catholic Character Blurb-Week 4 Term 1
Wednesday 5 March -Ash Wednesday Liturgy 11:30am
On Wednesday, 5th March to signify the beginning of Lent, Father Joy will lead a short liturgy at 11:30am in the school hall.
On Ash Wednesday, Catholics receive a cross marked with ashes on their foreheads, symbolizing repentance and a reminder of their mortality, with the traditional phrase "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return" spoken during the application of the ashes; this practice marks the beginning of Lent and signifies a time for reflection and turning away from sin.
In Room 1 we have been extremely busy over the last two weeks and have even managed to fit in a visit to Te Papa to listen to the sounds of different NZ native birds. One of the highlights has been welcoming Kora back to school and getting our Minecraft logins. Everyone has written a little bit about something that has gone on since our last newsletter.
Minecraft – Ropati
In R1 we have been playing Minecraft. We have challenges like building houses. It is really fun playing with all my friends on my favourite game. We will be playing Minecraft on a Monday or Thursday. The sad thing is we are still having trouble connecting to other player’s worlds.
Make Room – Alistair
Some of us went to MakeRoom last week. We get to make and do creative things like using VR animation and building a light up tree. I got to create an animation that was about a giant crab and humans who went to war. My favourite part was seeing the final product. I got put on the VR headset and be inside our world.
NZ Bird research – Naomi
We are learning about NZ birds. I choose to write about a kea because I find them interesting. They are beautiful and I was shocked to find out that farmers used to shoot them. It is now illegal to harm keas. I really enjoyed going to Te Papa because there were lots of cool birds.
Maths mate – Penny
Daily ten is how we start maths each day and learn different strategies. We have been doing addition, subtraction and adding to make 100. After we are done, we tick our answers. I think I am getting at faster at answering the questions. We have also started Maths Mate and I am looking forward to doing it each week.
Cricket tournament - Elisabeth
Penny, Naomi, Frances and I went to the Cricket Tournament on Tuesday. We joined St Teresa’s team. It was the first time going for everyone. It was very fun when I was bowling. I loved it when it was lunchtime because we could relax. The wind was very strong so paper and hats were flying around. I loved the cricket and would love to go again.
Science : Floating and sinking - Frances
For science we did floating and sinking. First Ms Wylie gave us objects and asked us to predict whether the item would sink or float. We managed to predict everything accurately. Then we tried flinking (so it floats in the middle of the water ). Naomi and I managed to make our creation flink.
Kora
When I came back from my holidays, and I learned lots of things and it is only the third day. I feel very smart and I love to go to school. It is one of my favourite things to do.
Elijah
I have really enjoyed playing football at lunchtime. I scored a hattrick with a header. We won. Something else I have enjoyed is learning about floating and sinking in science.
Miss Wylie
It is awesome that everyone in R1 now has a Maths Mate book and we will be marking them together every Thursday. I am looking forward to hearing all the different strategies people are using to solve their problems.
Room 2 Blurb Week 4 Term 1
Over the past few weeks, room 2 have been busy demonstrating their ‘love of work’ by consistently completing tasks to the best of their abilities. We have also enjoyed completing our self-portraits with the help of Ms Bryce. For science we joined room 1 to investigate how boats hold weight and stay buoyant. For reading, we have been completing our thematic article a day through ‘Read works’-this week’s focus has been on different types of houses from around the world. For maths, we have been recalling family of facts especially to help with division. Over the coming weeks we will develop number skills through ‘Prime’-our new maths programme. Our writing focus has been on a recounts and using past tense verbs correctly, and over the next few weeks, we will turn our attention to writing an information report on our favourite food. It has been pleasing to see tamariki share their own experiences related to the school value of ‘love of work’ during prayer time.
Room 4 Newsletter Term 1 – Week 4
Imaginative writing- Room 4 tamariki have been writing imaginative stories. These stories inspire confidence in expressing their ideas. Have a read of our stories where each child chose an animal(s) and wrote about their birthday party.
Felix- Cat and Goldfish had a birthday party. The party was at my home. It was great that both the cat and goldfish had their party on the same day, some cats came and jumped into my cat’s foam mattress. My goldfish had a tunnel to another tank, and all the fish played and jumped around.
Harriet- I had two bunnies, and it was their birthday party. They had a tiny piñata that was hung up on a tiny hook. They whacked it with a carrot and all the bunnies picked up the fruit and sprinkled it on themselves. Then all the other bunnies were jealous because my bunny got the most sprinkles. Then they stomped to the ground. Then they had a bunny war.
Otis- Once upon a time, chicken had a birthday, and lots and lots of people came. They had a rocket that they could go on. They had so much fun. The chickens went on the rocket, and they had a booster. They went into space, and all their feathers fell off.
Shabad- The cat went to a birthday party with a tiger, and they played fights with cupcakes. One of them threw a big cake in their face. The tiger laughed and roared. One person threw a cake at the tiger, and the tiger threw the cake back at him.
Violeta- The cat had his birthday party, and everyone threw fish in the pool. The cats climbed a pretend tree, and they smelled the fish.
Basic facts- Room 4 Tamariki continues to learn basic facts that help them develop their knowledge and strategies. We have been working on mastering the basic facts and recording the number of correct responses and the time taken to complete them. I am so pleased that Felix is smashing the basic facts and has made so much progress regarding time and correct responses.
We’ve been having some delightful library sessions this term reflecting on the summer holiday and the changes happening around us.
My time in the library will also be changing as of next week, where I will be at the school for just two days on Mondays and Tuesdays. I have some eager librarians keen to help for the remainder of the week. Today, Elijah, Ropati and Alistair began their librarian training. The other room one students will also be taking up roles as librarians to help keep the library vibrant and accessible. Jo
St. Teresa's Netball and Basketball Club warmly invites any Cardinal McKeefry School students who would like to join and play netball, basketball, or miniball, to register for this year.
Mini Ball and Basketball
It's time to start getting miniball and basketball teams together for Term 2! Registrations close on Friday 21 March, please sign up before then.
Miniball (Years 4-6, a full court with lowered hoops) is run on Tuesdays 3:30pm-6pm (could go later depending on how many teams that register)
Basketball (Years 7/8) is run on Fridays 3:30pm-7:30pm (could go later depending on how many teams that register)
Subs are $60 per player (Subs to be paid to St Teresa's Sports A/C: 38-9000-0918699-01) by second week of term 2.
The teams are run by parents and helpers. If you are able to assist and help look after a team, please email Tuila Waterhouse (tuila_waterhouse@hotmail.com
2025 NETBALL REGISTRATIONS OPEN
Welcome to new and existing players. For new players interested in playing netball this season, you can register on-line now at https://www.sporty.co.nz/stteresaskarori/Registration-1
Registrations close: Friday 14th March 2025.
Registration fees: Year 1-2 $20; Year 3-4 $70; Year 5-8 $90 (sibling discount of $10).(EXAMPLE 3 siblings in year 2, 4 and ; 7 playing netball, total fees due $160 ($180 less 2 x sibling discount $10) )
Fees are due by Friday 15 April 2025. Please deposit into St Teresa’s Netball bank account 38-9000-0918699-00.
Manaaki te Atua
Pip Cook
Tumuaki / Principal
St Teresa’s School
299 Karori Road, Karori
www.stteresas.ac.nz/
Telephone: 04 939 1725
Facebook: St Teresas School Karori