Dear OLSOS families

Welcome back to another exciting term. We hope you have had lovely holidays with your darlings. As we embark on this term together, we are excited about the opportunities and experiences that lie ahead for our community. Our big Lip Sync fundraiser is fast approaching and preparations are well underway! Mary Louw and I had a practice run over the holidays. An ex parent had a Lipsync themed 50th party. Mary and I put together an Abba medley with some friends. Many other ex OLSOS parents did acts proving that their Lipsync days were not over!

I am very much looking forward to teaching in St Francis classroom on a regular Friday as well as relieving in other classes if needed this term. 

This term, we will continue to prioritise academic excellence while also focusing on holistic development. Our teaching team are committed to providing engaging and enriching learning experiences that foster critical thinking, collaboration, and innovation. At the end of the term teachers will complete many assessments and then report to you with detailed progress written reports.

We have two public holidays this term: King's Birthday and Matariki. Please note there is a Teacher Only Day on May 31st which will make the King's birthday weekend an extra long one for the students. 

Assemblies 

Serenity, Tika (fairness), Aroha and Respect are the cornerstones of our community and we endeavour to uphold these values in all interactions. This term we will have whole school Values Assemblies where all classes will have a chance to share learning highlights with whānau, staff and their peers. We would love as many parents and grandparents to come along to these assemblies to support the children. This term our Senior media term will be running and organising assemblies. They had lots of practice in Term 1 with our values assemblies. Our Term 2 Assemblies will be whole school and will recognise children that are exemplifying our School Values by rewarding them with certificates. In these Assemblies we will also talk about events coming up with key information. 

The Dates are: 

Thursday 16th May 2pm  - (Whole School Assembly)

Friday 7th June 2pm  - (Whole School Assembly)

Thursday 27th June 2pm  - Matariki Assembly (Whole School)

Mass

Please find attached below details for our Thursday class masses. Through attending Thursday Masses our tamariki have built lovely connections with the Parishioners. We are are working together with the parishioners who arrange the music on Sunday's so the children can learn some popular hymns and enjoy singing along to them on Sunday's. We have organised some dates for Family Masses. All school families are welcome to attend (children in mufti). The first one is Sunday 5th May. 

The School/Parish Sunday Masses are an expectation (children in school uniform). The attendance of St Francis and St Paul classes was exceptional in term 1 and a highlight for our Parish community. St Patrick and St Cecilia will be leading the Term 2  Mass on Sunday 26th May and will have different responsibilities. 

Girls winter uniform consultation: Last term a uniform survey was sent to our school community.

The survey conducted asked if they community would be in favour to add the option for the girls to wear the royal blue long sleeve polo with the uniform navy track pants that typically the boys have been wearing. The original inquiry about track pants came from a parent, hence the school whānau consultation reviewing our policy.

Results of the survey are:  In Term 2 & 3 the girls are able to wear the royal blue long sleeve polo and track pants as over half of the parents that completed the survey indicated the girls should have choice. The school board agreed that track pants are a sporty look hence the shirt and tie is not to be worn with the track pants. 

As not many parents responded I am expecting that the majority of the girls will continue to wear the white shirt and red tie with the pinafore or senior skirt. Some parents in the survey had some other colour recommendations for the polo however there is not sufficient stocks at our uniform supplier. The children need to be wearing black shoes also.

Please note culottes in the Catholic tartan are part of our uniform so this is always an option too. https://www.mainlanduniforms.nz/161-our-lady-star-of-the-sea-school. The girls tend to wear navy tights or navy socks for warmth too. 

Children are encouraged to bring their fleecy tops daily and also a warm jackets for break times in the colder months. 

A big shout out ....

Thanks to Ryan Hudson-Craig and Matt Wild for the marking out a football pitch on the field. Also to Phil Willard and Perrin Jones for taking down the shade sails in the holidays. 

School Strategic Plan and Implementation Plan

I would like to share with our parent community our new Strategic Plan for 2024 and 2025 which aligns with our School Vision, School Values and Mission Statement. Details of our strategic initiatives, annual goals and intended actions to achieve and make progress are in our Implementation Plan on our website. It would be a pleasure to talk to you about our Strategic Plan goals: Faith, Learning and Community in more detail should you wish to explore areas of focus and prioritisation based on the needs of our learners and Ministry of Education expectations. Pop into my office and see me. 

Key Dates for Term 2 

Week 1

Thursday 2nd May - Aupaki Tech Fest T Shirt design (some senior students)

Week 2

Monday 6th May - EPro 8 Challenge - St Cecilia Students

Friday 10th May - Whole School Cross Country - The Esplanade 1.30 - 3pm

Week 3

Monday 13th May - Young Vinnie’s - Lunchtime

Monday 13th May - Marian College visiting -St Cecilia Class

Thursday 16th May - Support Staff Day

Thursday 16th May - Turbo Touch - St Cecilia

Friday 17th May - Pink Shirt Day

Week 4

Week 5

Monday 27th May - El Gregoe Magician

Friday 31st May - Teacher Only Day

Week 6

Monday 3rd June - Kings Birthday - No School 

Wednesday 5th June - South East Cross Country Zones

Friday 7th June - Values and Highlights of learning Assembly (whānau welcome)

Week 7

Friday 14th June  - Lipsync Rehearsals at night

Saturday 15th June - Lipsync

Sunday 16th June - Lipsync clean up 10am

Week 8

Monday 17th June - Young Vinnies (lunchtime)

Tuesday 18th and Wednesday 19th June - Techfest (Year 7 & 8) students.

Week 9

Thursday 29th June - Matariki breakfast in each class

Friday - Matariki - School closed

Week 10

Last day of the Term is: 3pm Friday 5th July 2024. 

Let's embark on this term together, with enthusiasm and a sense of fun along the way. 

Ngā mihi Nui

Adele (Tumuaki)