Dear Whanau,

It was lovely to see all our children decked out in the ‘Cultural Costumes’ today. Thank you for taking the time to dress them in the beautiful outfits that reflect your family’s culture. This Sunday the church celebrates Pentecost. The ‘Gift of the Holy Spirit’. In the first reading ‘They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to talk in other languages, as the Spirit enabled them to speak’. We reflect on how we all come from different parts of the world and through the gift of the Holy Spirit we have a common language; that of our faith.

Thank you to our school whanau for the 402 cereal boxes that were gifted to De Paul House. It was wonderful of the community to support this very worthy cause. The children enjoyed setting up the cereal dominoes and seeing them fall. Such great excitement.

Our Year 5 / 6 children have had an amazing few days at camp and on E.O.T.C activities.

The Year 6 children enjoyed a variety of activities, including the campfire evening. They have arrived home with many stories and are looking forward to a full night’s sleep. Camps are a great experience for the children as it presents opportunities to try new experiences, strengthen their friendships and continue to develop their independence.

The Year 5 children visited Creative Abilities on Wednesday and Parent Workshops on Thursday. I have received such lovely feedback from parents in regards to the children’s outstanding behaviour on both these days. Congratulations to the children on representing themselves, their whanau and the kura in such a positive way.

A big thank you to the parents who have so kindly supported our children at the Camp and the E.O.T.C. activities. Your support ensures our children can participate in these very memorable and educational events.

On Thursday this week we celebrated Support Staff Day. As a school we are blessed with an AWESOME Support Staff team: our Admin team and our Learning Support Assistants. They are wonderful at supporting the teachers in their delivery of the programme of learning for the students. The Admin team provides wonderful support for the children, teachers and parents. Thank you to all of them for the amazing work they do.

Take care.

Ka manaakitia koutou e te Atua

Alister Bridgman

Principal

• Attendance
• Important Information: Drop-off/Pick-up
• Attendance Dues/Contributions
• Rosmini Open Day
• Cultural Dress Day
• Parish News
• Community Notices

The Government has developed a few education policies. These include cell phone use within schools; the requirement to do one hour reading, writing and maths daily; along with mandating structured literacy, beginning in 2025.

Another area of focus is attendance.

The Ministry of Education has published “Student Attendance: A Guide for Parents and Caregivers“. Please read this document to understand their expectations.

As a school, we have a focus on ensuring that children and staff who arrive at school are healthy. Sick children and staff impact on the health of other children and staff members, resulting in them having to take time off. We continue to promote positive hygiene practices, like sneezing/coughing into your elbow; using tissues to blow your nose; and washing your hands.

If your child does have a ‘snotty’ nose or cough, please keep them home. If you are not sure, please contact their teacher. If a teacher finds that your child is not well enough to be at school, they will arrange for you to collect them.

We do expect all our students to attend school daily as per the Government requirements. However we ask that they are kept at home if they are unwell.

School Gate Opens: 8:15 am / 3:00 pm

The school opens at 8:15 am. Children stay in their cars with their parents, until they see the duty teacher walking across the carpark to the back of the church. Parents can then either walk their children to the back of the church or to the front of the office. Children do not enter the school until the duty teacher has told all children they can. This happens once the children meeting at the back of the church have been escorted across the car park.

It is at this point the school gate is opened for parents to drive through and drop off their children. If the gate is closed please park your car and walk your child into school. Please do not park in front of the gate waiting for it to be opened. There is no parking on the yellow lines.

Parents can park in the Parish car park and on the courts in the afternoon when collecting their children. Parents wishing to drive through and collect their children need to plan their arrival for after 3:00 pm. 

The school day ends at 2:50 pm. It takes 10-15 minutes for the parents and children to safely exit to their cars and to the pick-up area. The gate is only opened once the duty teachers feel is safe to do so.  If the gate is closed please park your car and walk in to collect your child. Please do not park in front of the gate waiting for it to be opened. There is no parking on the yellow lines

The painted yellow lines are not to be stopped on. They are there to allow traffic to flow in and out of the courts and the staff car park. Please be courteous and ensure you do not end up having to stop on the yellow lines blocking the way for other parents. Please take turns, zip. This will allow you all to get in and out of the school/parish car park in a timely fashion. Patience is key.

Fred Thomas Entrance – Summit School

The driveway St Joseph’s School community uses for drop-off and pick-up is 10 Dominion St.

Please do not use the Fred Thomas driveway. This drive is only for the Summit School community.

There is limited access, space and parking for the Summit School parents. 

We are fortunate to have easy entry and exit, plenty of parking, and the drive-through available, via our school’s Dominion St entrance. Please use this entrance at all times.

Funerals

We are fortunate that we have the parish car park available to our parent community to use when parents are dropping off and collecting their children. On occasions there are afternoons when funerals are taking place and mourners fill the parish carpark. In addition the exit to Taharoto Rd is not available due to the hearse being parked at the front door of the church.

When this happens, we ensure the children are ready for collecting earlier than normal in order to assist the flow of the pick-up traffic. We appreciate parents showing understanding and patience on these occasions.

We are certainly blessed as a school to have so much off road parking available to our school community. The majority of schools on the North Shore have no off street parking available.

Please be considerate of other parents and parishioners during drop-off and pick-up.

Next week we will be sending out statements for the 2024 Attendance Dues & School Contributions. These are already available on your @School App.

The Catholic office asks that Attendance Dues (compulsory) are paid, at a minimum, termly; $129 per term. We appreciate that some parents choose to set up automatic payments; and some choose to pay fees in full. 

The school contributions for Special Character, Teaching & Learning, and Capital Works, ensure that we can continue to provide an exciting programme of learning for our children in a modern, vibrant learning environment. We really appreciate parents paying these contributions as they allow us to deliver the various E.O.T.C. events like swimming, waterwise, and excursions to the Zoo, Auckland Art Gallery,  along with being able to invite various performances for the children to watch.

School contributions are tax deductible. A receipt for the current tax year is available via the school app (simply click on the black “Accounts” icon to download). The receipt states clearly which items are eligible for a donation tax credit at the end of the financial year. Please keep in mind, tax years are not “calendar years”. They extend from the 1st of April to the 31st of March. Tax receipts for past years (or for students who have left the school) may be requested from payofficer@sj.school.nz.

Contributions from parents are vital for the school to ensure we continue to provide high quality programmes and motivating learning experiences for our children.

Rosmini College is holding an Open Day on Wednesday, 29th May, 2024 at 1.30 pm for Year 6 boys from St Joseph’s Catholic school. This will give you and your son a chance to have a look around the college and allay any misgivings boys often experience as they face secondary school.

On their school website, you will find the Prospectus and Information about Rosmini College, including a Preference Form for you to have signed by your parish priest. Should you wish to continue with a Catholic education for your son, they invite you to complete an online application at www.rosmini.school.nz/enrolment/enrol-2025. They would be grateful if you could complete your enrolment by 4th June, 2024 as late returns invariably result in disappointment.

There has been an unprecedented demand for places in Year 7 at Rosmini College in the last few years. There is further information on our website regarding the enrolment process and documentation required. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to phone Eunice Barnard on 09 488 3750; or email enquiries@rosmini.school.nz. If you prefer to complete a paper enrolment form, these can also be found on our website and can be emailed or posted to the school.

Latest St Joseph’s Parish Newsletter

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