Dear Whanau

Today our morning began with the most beautiful school Mass. The children, their parents and parishioners filled the church for this special celebration. It was wonderful hearing the children singing and to see them carry out the various ministries during the Mass. After the communion prayer we welcomed nearly forty children and their families to our school whanau. 

This year, as a school, we a looking at the significant tūpuna of our school; Eruera Patuone, Bishop Pompallier, Catherine McAuley and Sister Alphonsus, along with St. Joseph. They are the ‘foundation stones’, the ‘five pillars’ of our school. This term our focus is on Eruera Patuone and Bishop Pompallier. Both of these people had insignificant roles in the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. We will be looking at the remaining three tūpuna over the next three terms.

At the Mass we acknowledged two of our school community’s kaumatua, Mrs Erica Bon and Mrs Gabrielle Bateman. We are blessed to have had Mrs Bon teaching in our school over the last thirty years. Mrs Bon is currently a release teacher. She and Mrs Bateman were Assistant Principals for many years together. They had a wonderful role in developing the special Catholic character and Mercy charism of our school. Many of the traditions that they developed, we continue today.

Thank you to the whanau who were able to join us for this Mass.

On Tuesday evening our teachers attended the Dedication Mass for all teachers in the Auckland Diocese. At this Mass Monsignor Bernad Kiely acknowledged the outstanding ministry that our teachers show to the tamariki in guiding them on their faith journey. Within the Mass teachers are acknowledge for their continuing professional development in the areas of Special Character and the teaching of Religious Education. We had fourteen teachers acknowledged for completing various levels of professional development. All our staff are required to complete 12 hours of professional development in Religious Education / Special Character each year. 

Today sees the first full week completed by the children. Some of the younger ones were looking quite tired at Mass. Next week will see the programme of learning transition from ‘camp week’ (building relationships) to the children being introduced to their programmes of learning. Children take a couple of weeks to learn the routines for learning in their new home group environment, with their new teacher and fellow classmates. As with the last eight days being around relationship building, the next two weeks will be important for the children in setting their learning foundations for the year.

Ka manaakitia e te Atua

Alister Bridgman

Tumuaki

The Principal’s Message will cover the following topics:

• Welcome
• “Camp Weeks”
• Back to School Picnic
• Colour Dash
• Lego Drive
• Alpha Course Takapuna
• St Joseph’s Sports Registrations
• 2025 Shore-to-Shore Fun Run/Walk
• Carmel College Open Day
• St Mary’s College Open Day
• Kidz Can Performing Arts
• Parish News
• Community Notices

We would like to extend a very warm welcome to all of our new students, joining us at St Joseph’s in Term 1. We hope you enjoy the year ahead and relish being part of our wonderful school community:

Adriana, Alek, Alex, Andrea, Andrei, Anicka, Ardra, Atom, Candice, Eden, Eleanor, Ellie, Emma, Faith, Fev, Grace, Hannah, Harper, Iza, Javier, Jayden B, Jayden P, Jordan, Joshua, Kaleb, Khailey, Kyle, Lilly, Luke, Max, Monik, Nathan, Sofia, Toni, Wilbur, William, Winter and Zion.

INTRODUCING…Colour Dash, a vibrant and inclusive community event that Creative Abilities are bringing to life. Our goal is to help make Aotearoa a more inclusive and accessible place for all, and this event is a big step toward that vision.

In addition to being a joyful celebration of movement and connection, Colour Dash is also a fundraiser—100% of entry fees go to the Liz Soper Foundation of Care, which enables life-enriching extracurricular activities for people with high-needs disabilities.

Colour Dash is about breaking barriers to connection and creating opportunities for everyone to participate in something fun together.

Check out the information on the flyer!

Help Spread the Word & Win a $500 Cash Prize! Every person who enters and nominates St Joseph’s Takapuna in the referral box boosts the school’s chances of winning a $500 CASH PRIZE! 

We are looking for more players as follows:

2 more Splash Polo players for each of the following teams

• Year 2&3 team
• Year 4 team
• Year 5 team

**Please email sports@sj.school.nz if your child would like to play Splash Polo, as the online registrations have now closed.

• 1 more basketball player for the Year 5/6 Breakers Team – Thursday nights
• 2 more players for the Year 2/3 North Harbour Basketball Team

**Basketball registrations can be done online through our school website.

Lace up your sneakers! And join us on Sunday, 6th April for our annual fun run/walk! A lively, community-powered event that supports local schools!

Pick the laid-back Fun Run/Walk or challenge yourself with the Timed Run for an official finish. Don’t miss this fantastic community day out!

For everyone that signs up for this event and clicks on our school name, we receive money towards some new sports gear for our school.

Register here today!

27 February Thursday 1.30-3pm

28 February Friday 9-10.30am

Kidz Can Drama is your local Performing Arts Centre, based right here at St Joseph’s School. Our Drama Club is underway and all children are welcome at our weekly lunchtime sessions. The Club is for anyone interested in the Performing Arts. Our production of the Lion King will take place at the Rose Centre Belmont on the 13th of December, 2025. The cost is $18 per week charged, at the start of the term.

We are now open for enrolments for 2025. For complete details and to enrol your child, please contact:

Susan Fraser, 410-1506 or 021 378 007, susanf@kidzcan.co.nz

Latest News From St Joseph’s Takapuna Parish

Please check out the latest community notices  which you can find on our school website.