Term 1 Week 9 3 April 2025 Newsletter #3
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Tena Koutou Katoa Talofa Lava Kamusta Malo e lelei Mauri Malo ni Faka talofa atu Namaste Greetings to all
Amazingly quickly we are near the end of our first school term.
I know many of you would have enjoyed the Franklin Schools Multicultural Festival last Saturday. What a spectacular event! I was very proud of our Kapa Haka and Pasifika groups that performed. There was a large number of our children involved bringing their parents to the event with them. We thank our parent helpers and staff who prepare our students for these events. We value your enthusiasm and expertise that you give our tamariki.
There is great excitement this week with the Easter Raffle on sale and the anticipated school disco tomorrow night. This Sunday, after the 10:00 am Mass, there will be a Bake Sale. All of these are Year 5&6 camp fundraising initiatives. We thank the teachers and parents co-ordinating these for the benefit of our children.
We began our year with 325 students and we will begin Term 2 with over 350! This roll growth has enabled us to employ another teacher. Mr Richard Plenos has been appointed to begin an additional Year 2 classroom in Room 8 and the students in Ako Years 2 & 3 have been redistributed across five rooms resulting in smaller class sizes for these children. We anticipate that these children will benefit both socially and academically from this decision.
Meanwhile, in Aroha Year 1, we began the year with four smaller groups in four classrooms. We wanted children who begin school as a 5 year old in Term 1 to have the best start possible as they don’t get the extra learning time of those children who have a Year 0. In Term 2, those Year 1 students will merge into three classrooms to enable Mrs Wallace to open our Year 0 reception room in Room 3. Miss Courtney Armour joins our teaching staff this week in Room 12. We thank Mrs Forbes for supporting the school through this transition. Mrs Forbes will continue to work at St Joseph’s covering teacher release and relieving.
These changes now mean that we have no spare classrooms and D’Saints After School Care will now be based in our school hall. Parents will need to use the Dublin St entrance to collect their children.
Next week we welcome you to our parent/child goal setting interviews. I hope you have all managed to book a time slot to meet your child’s teacher. By working together as teacher, parent, and child, we will create the strongest foundation for learning, ensuring the best outcomes and success for your child.
I think everyone is looking forward to our April term break. Our teachers will be back at school on the first Monday in the school holidays to complete our third Structured Literacy PLD day as required by the Ministry of Education. Along with new English, Mathematics, and Religious Education curriculums being introduced this year, teachers are very busy upskilling their craft to provide the best learning opportunities for your children.
It is unusual that our Holy Week and Easter celebrations fall within our term break; in fact there are four days that we would usually have off school. As a school, we will highlight some of the Easter story on either side of the holiday. As a family, we hope you find time to join in some of our parish celebrations during the Easter Triduum. These are the three days that begin on the evening of Holy Thursday (The Last Supper) and end on the evening of Easter Sunday, commemorating the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus.
May the Redeemer grant you a holy and peaceful holiday season.
Nga manaakitanga ki a koe.
 
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Special Catholic Character
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St Joseph’s Day and Tabloid Sports
On Wednesday 19th March we celebrated St Joseph’s Feast Day with a whole school Mass. Our Ako team led the responsorial psalm with their liturgical dance to “My Name Is Joseph” and Arahi Year 5 led the Liturgy of the Word beautifully.
As we celebrated the Feast of St. Joseph, we were reminded of his virtues—obedience to God’s will, hard work, humility, and unconditional love for his family. May our tamariki be inspired to follow his example in their daily lives. This Lent, let us take on the challenge to grow in faith, kindness, and selflessness, striving to be better in all that we do. St. Joseph, pray for us!
Unfortunately due to the weather we were not able to hold our annual Tabloids Sports on St Joseph’s day so we moved it to Friday. How lucky we were! The day was gorgeous and sunny. Our tabloids were held in the afternoon and the students were split into 4 teams within their house group from Year 1-6. The station assistants did a great job explaining the activity to all the groups that came through. The leaders of the teams were great role models and supported all members of their teams. A huge thankyou to the sports leaders for setting out the equipment and making sure everything was where it should be and then packing it away at the end of the day. All the children had a wonderful time participating in all the activities and supported their fellow team mates, showing great team spirit chanting and cheering their team on. To finish the day all the students received a much deserved and well needed ice block – thanks PTA! The winning house will be announced at our prize giving at the end of the year.
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Term 1 Key Dates
Please note these dates are subject to change For further dates see calendars on the website at: www.stjosephs.co.nz or the eTAP app
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SCHOOL POLICIES
A link to our school policies can be found on our school website or through www.schooldocs.co.nz
- Go to www.schooldocs.co.nz/
- Click Search for your school
- Start typing the school’s name (St Joseph’s School Pukekohe) and then select it from the dropdown list.
- Enter the community username: stjosephspukekohe and password: mission.
SchoolDocs Term 1 Policy Review:
In Term 1, the Board, staff and community are asked to review the following policies: Health, Safety, and Welfare Policy, Safety Management System, Risk Management, Worker Engagement, Participation, and Representation, Recording and Reporting Accidents, Injuries, and Illness, and Healthcare. This Review closes on 11 April 2025.
If you would like to contact the Board directly at any time, please do so through our email address schoolboard@stjosephs.co.nz
St Joseph’s School Pukekohe Development Trust
We are looking for parents to join our St Joseph’s School Development Trust.
You do need to have an understanding of property, finance, business, and/or law.
Please register your interest with our principal Ursula Hall. principal@stjosephs.co.nz
At St Joseph’s, we know that regular school attendance is essential for every child’s learning and success. This year, as part of our annual plan, we are placing a strong emphasis on attendance, aligning with the government’s priority to ensure students are at school and engaged in learning. Our goal is for 80% of our students to attend school at least 90% of the time. Research shows that children who attend school consistently make better progress academically and socially. Every day counts—missing just one day a fortnight can add up to a month of lost learning each year. We encourage whānau to prioritise attendance, ensuring that children develop strong routines, build friendships, and make the most of their learning opportunities. Let’s work together to give our tamariki the best possible start to their education.
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School Notices / Upcoming Events
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Term 1 Unpaid School Attendance Dues are now overdue!
Dues should be paid by week five of every term into our ASB account: 12-3023-0338374-01 ref: student’s name
These can also be paid at the school office by eftpos or cash.
Thank you to the families who have made the effort to get their dues paid.
The Catholic Character Contribution is a voluntary contribution forwarded to the Catholic Education Services Board. The St Joseph’s Development Trust Contribution is a voluntary contribution which the Trust is extremely grateful to receive. This is used in our school for improvements to our site and facilities. Both of these voluntary contributions are tax-deductible.
New Entrants starting in 2025
If you currently have a child at St Joseph’s and they have a younger sibling that is due to start this year we need your enrolment forms now. Please visit the office for an enrolment pack.
2025 Parent/Child/Teacher Goal-Setting Conferences
Your child’s Interim reports will be going home tomorrow, Friday 4 April, with your child. We always ensure that every parent is met to discuss this interim report and to set goals for the remainder of the year, so please make sure you have booked in for an interview. Tuesday 8th April or Wednesday 9th April.
We have scheduled our interview evenings for Tuesday 8th April from 2:00 – 7:30 pm and Wednesday 9th April from 3:00 -6:00 pm. On Tuesday 8th April, the school will remain open until 2:45 pm, however, you may pick up your child early at 1:45 pm. This will allow teachers time to prepare for their interviews.
If you are unable to collect your child early, they will be supervised in the hall until normal pick-up time of 2:45 pm. The bus will continue to run at the regular time, 3pm.
Bookings are open until 12pm on Monday 7th April on the @parent app (eTAP app). Please make sure that you have access to the app. If you need support please come into the school office. We can also book you in manually if needed.
School Start Time
Students are expected to be at school by 8:30 am. Teachers are not in class until 8:15 am.
Any children who come to school earlier than 8:15 are not supervised.
Parents, you need to ensure your child is at school by 8:30 every day. Thank you.
Second-Hand Uniform Shop
The second-hand uniform shop will be open in the holidays on Monday 14th April 9:00 am – 12:00 pm and Thursday 24th April 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
Term 2 all students should be in winter uniform. Some prices have been updated. We are limiting purchases to 1 item of each article of clothing per child, per term.
New items can be purchased from The Uniform Shoppe on Glasgow Road, Pukekohe.
Bake Sale
There will be a Bake Sale after 10am Mass on Sunday. All proceeds will support our Year 5&6 Camp.
Thank you to the Year 5&6 parents who will be contributing the baking for this event.
Please drop off your baking in the church foyer from 9:30 onwards on Sunday.
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Aroha
For most of our students in Aroha it was their very first school trip. We travelled by bus (another first for some) to Howick Historical Village. Throughout this term, we have been learning about what it was like in the past and comparing it to life today. We have learnt about how school was different, the changes in technology like TVs and phones, the games students played in the past and the difference in clothing from then and now. We have learnt a lot! To consolidate our learning we went on a trip to Howick Historical Village. We got to experience what a school was like, the games they played as well as going digging for different artifacts (did you know that they threw their rubbish under their houses because they didn’t have the rubbish collected like we do!) We also got the chance to explore the village and look at the different homes and what a village was like. We even dressed up in clothes that would have been similar to what they would have worn. A huge thank you to all the family members who came along to support us. It was a wonderful day!
Ako
The Ako team led a special liturgy celebrating the Annunciation to Mary. Together, we reflected on following in Mary’s footsteps by saying “Yes” to God. We also honored inspiring figures who exemplified this devotion in their own ways—Euphrasie Barbier, who lived a life of service; St. Joseph, who showed humility; Saint Mother Teresa, who embodied kindness; Bishop Pompallier, who demonstrated integrity; and Mary herself, who placed her complete trust in God.
Arahi
Year 6 Retreat Day
The retreat provided our students with a meaningful opportunity to step away from their routines and draw closer to God and reflect on their faith journeys. This time of prayer and reflection strengthened their relationship with God, nurtured their leadership skills, and deepened their faith in preparation for the next stage of their lives. We were also grateful to walk around the historic old convent before its demolition, capturing a memorable photo of the tree planted by Euphrasie Barbier. We thoroughly enjoyed the day, with students, teachers, Sr Anne and Mrs Hall coming together for a meaningful and enriching experience.
Rippa Rugby Tournaments
Our Year 4- 6 students have represented our school exceptionally well at the Rippa Rugby tournaments, demonstrating outstanding sportsmanship throughout the event. These days are a highlight for our students, filled with exciting opportunities to have fun and showcase their skills while building lasting memories and friendships.
House Rippa Rugby Competition
Over the last four weeks students in years 4-6 have enjoyed playing rippa rugby against each other in their houses. It has been full of fun and competition, with Barbier eventually winning 1st place. Well done to all of those who participated.
Final Results
4th – Costello
3rd – Chanel
2nd – Pompallier
1st – Barbier
Franklin Multicultural Festival
Last Saturday, 29th March we had over 70 students participate in the Franklin Multicultural Festival. This is an annual event organised by Puni school celebrating the many beautiful cultures that make up our local community. Both our Pasifika and Kapa Haka groups performed and we are extremely proud of the way the students represented themselves, their whaanau and our school with pride. We are so proud of all of you. Thank you to Joseph and Frances Emilio and Shelley Samuels for your tutorage of our groups. Also, a huge thank you to all of the parents who came along to help with costumes and make-up.
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Influenza Immunisation Programme starts this week!
Health New Zealand recommends getting immunised against the flu for everyone aged 6 months and over. The vaccine is free for those who have a health condition that may mean they are at risk of getting very sick from a flu infection. This includes pregnant people and those aged over 65 years.
Check eligibility criteria at: Pharmac eligibility criteria for 2025 funded influenza vaccination [PDF, 304 KB]
The flu vaccine is available from 1 April from your local pharmacy, doctor, nurse or healthcare provider.
Read more and book at: Book a vaccine – Health NZ
Influenza Immunisation Programme – Immunisation Advisory Centre
Protect Against Measles
New Zealand is at risk of a measles outbreak and immunisation is our best line of defence. When you have your flu or whooping cough vaccines, your vaccinator can also check that you are fully protected against measles.
 
 
New Zealand Traveller Declaration
Going overseas for the school holidays? Everyone travelling into New Zealand must complete a New Zealand Traveller Declaration, including returning New Zealand passport holders.
It’s FREE and you can do it on the online form or on the NZTD app.
If you’re travelling as a family or group and completing multiple declarations, the NZTD app allows you to copy your travel details into another declaration, making it easier to complete multiple declarations for the same journey. The submitted declarations are then all easy to see within the app.
The New Zealand Traveller Declaration collects travel, customs, immigration and biosecurity information and aims to improve the safety and security of New Zealand. It replaces the paper card you used to fill out on the plane.
To make your arrival easier, do your digital declaration before your flight back to New Zealand.
Head to travellerdeclaration.govt.nz today!
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