Firstly, I would like to acknowledge the passing of tō tātou Kīngi Tūheitia Pōtatau Te Wherowhero VII and of Bishop Denis Browne. We thank them for their leadership and may they rest in peace. Our thoughts and prayers are with those that are left behind. I also want to acknowledge the tragic loss of Zahquiel John Thomas Patrick Taipeti from our local community. Far too young. Again our thoughts and prayers are with the family.
As a school community we had an amazing Tuesday with our creative day and Father's assembly. It was wonderful to view all the ways in which the children expressed their creativity for others to see. I hope you have had the opportunity to look over the photos on Facebook.
The celebration of Fathers in the afternoon was a lovely way to end the day. Seeing our learners step up to share their talents and insights into their Fathers was very special. A heart felt thank you to Whaea Paula for all the hard work in this organisation.
Notes on Enrolments for 2025: As you may be aware our school roll is growing and so is our waiting list. We currently have no spaces available this year and no spaces for years 1-5 next year but a waiting list of over 50 students. If you have a younger sibling turning five at the end of this year or the beginning of next year and want them to be at St Pius X please come and see Maree in the office ASAP. Also if you know that you are moving or changing school in the new year, please come and tell us at the office as soon as you are able. It means we can give some certainty to those who are on the waitlist for the new year and to also give your child a proper farewell.
A quick reminder to please not use the driveway to school in the morning or afternoon. Drop off and pick up is at the Church carpark or the surrounding area. Our Driveway is also our pedestrian access to school and it is not safe having vehicles on the drive at these busy times. There are some people with known exceptions to this rule, if you feel you have a reason to be using the drive please come and discuss this with me in the office. Thank you.
Some thoughts on School Attendance
Pizza Tuesday
Pizza Tuesday will be each Tuesday this term.
Ham, Cheese and Pepperoni -$2 for a slice. Please bring your money in a named envelope and hand it in to your class teacher Tuesday morning.
All funds raised will be used towards camps across the school in term 4.
Your support is greatly appreciated.
Reminder Please look over the important dates later in the newsletter to keep informed on what is coming up over term 3.
Ngā mihi nui Erin Clayton (Principal)
Weekly Sports News for St Pius X
Players of the Day - Kaleb & Wesley-James
Final week of hockey last week - Saints Thunder finished the season off with a 5-0 win over Rhode Street school!
Huge thanks to Mr Fernandes for his amazing coaching this season! Also a huge thanks to all the parents for their ongoing support and making sure the team got to trainings and games!
Saints Hockey Prizegiving Awards held on Saturday 31st August. Mr Fernandes chose the following Saints Thunder Team Awards -
Most Improved Player: Addison Weatherly
Team Spirit Award: Liam Cunningham
Most Valued Player: Hannah Nelson
We would like to mention a special award received by our team umpire Kaitlyn Sonntag (year 9). Kaitlyn received the Jo McCaffery Trophy for her dedication to volunteering her time by umpiring for our team for the season - Kaitlyn's confidence and skills grew remarkably over the season and we really appreciated her coming each week even in the cold/wet weather.
MEET OUR PEOPLE..........
Kia Ora, my name is Mia Wiki-Huia Hughes. Ko Makatiti te maunga Ko Okataina te moana Ko Rakeiao te tupuna Ko Ngapumanawa te marae Ko Ngati Rongomai te iwi I’ve grown up in a family of educators, and the apple didn't fall far from the tree! I completed my postgraduate studies in primary school education through the University of Sunderland and started my first teaching job in an international school in Cape Town, South Africa. From there I moved to Hong Kong, working with grade 3 students. It was also in Hong Kong where I had my daughter, Kaimanawa. However, COVID changed our plans slightly so we decided to move back home to New Zealand in 2021. Since then I’ve been lucky enough to do relief teaching in a number of primary schools in and around Cambridge. But I am so grateful to be part of the St Pius X School family! Beyond my teaching role and love for guiding students to reach their full potential, I have a love of travelling. I’ve been privileged enough to grow up overseas (that's what happens when you’ve got international school teachers for parents!) and visit many different countries. But nowadays, I find great pleasure in travelling around New Zealand and exploring in the ngahere and out on the moana. I’ve also got a love for crossfit - as tough as the workouts can be I always really benefit from it both physically and mentally.
Aibel & Rueben
Friends of the School
Birthday Corner
From everyone at St Pius X a very happy birthday to:
September 4th - Andrea - Karearea & Chele - TaraIti 5th - Liam - Hoiho 6th - Aron - Tui & David - Kea 7th - Noah - Karearea 8th - Annphil - Tara Iti 9th - Anros - Hoiho 10th - Aiden - Ruru A
What's happening on our Board of Trustees
Last month the BOT had their regular monthly meeting. Here is a short summary of the decisions they made on your behalf. - reviewed the Curriculum Policy. - reviewed the Classroom Release Policy. - established a Conflict of Interest Register. - discussed the Health Curriculum Community. consultation for 2024. discussed Term Dates for 2025. Agreed to delay a presentation of the mid-year data till the next meeting because a number of members were absent.
LouLou’s Corner
It was Ava's birthday on Tuesday and she chose to read to the dogs - LouLou and her dog cousin - Kiki from Wellington
Loulou and her brother Alby get to see each other a couple times a week now and love their play time on the St Pius X school field. Such lucky puppies. Loulou will sleep all day afterwards. But Senna and Alby continue the fun at at Mrs Murphy's home, they are both much higher energy dogs. It's all so special!
LouLou & Alby
Thomas was proud to show off his good work and stickers to LouLou!!
The Public Health Nurses will be at school on Monday 04 November to provide dose 2 of the HPV immunisation for the Year 8 students who parents/caregivers consented earlier in the year. If your child is absent there will be a catch up planned within 3 weeks. If parents have any queries or changes contact the Public Health Nurse directly: PHN Name and phone: Miriam Esteves 021 2478972 PHN Email: Miriam.esteves@waikatodhb.health.nz
The NZTD (travellerdeclaration.govt.nz) is an online system that travellers can use to complete a declaration before they travel into New Zealand. The new digital NZTD was launched in August 2023 and not many people know they can now do it online – replacing the paper card you used to fill out on the plane.
My name is Liahona and I am the director and head teacher of ConnectEd Dance Company for children age 2-13. We are located out of Melville hall. Last term we were granted Sport New Zealand's Tu Manawa funding to offer need based scholarships for local tamariki (aged 5+ specifically) to participate in dance. Rather than lowering our regular fees for all as many of our whanau can afford the services we offer, we have sought to target funding at those who need it. However, sometimes those tamariki are harder to find as they may love to dance but their family might not know it is a possibility.
If you have students who would benefit from opportunities to dance we'd love to get them moving.
Attached is a letter with more info. We seek to remove barriers to participation in high quality dance that includes play, skill development, creative dance making, and performance opportunities. Scholarships available would see your students through Term 3 & 4 2024.
There are a couple of ways students could access the scholarship and get involved. If you feel comfortable you are welcome to share the attached letter with your school whanau. They could contact me themselves and apply for a scholarship at around 40% off.
Or, you could have teachers select students who are in need and who are keen to dance, this would make it easier to offer more funding, in other words if the school is aware of those who could really benefit from dance and could support the need based application then more funding could be offered based on referral system.
Do let me know if you would like more information. I'd be happy to pop in to chat about how we can serve your students. :)
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