Term 4 Week 6 Newsletter #11

Term 4 Week 6                         13 November 2025                                        Newsletter #11  

Principal’s Message

Tena Koutou Katoa    Talofa Lava     Kamusta    Malo e lelei    Mauri     Malo ni     Faka talofa atu    Namaste   Greetings to all Since our last newsletter, we have had two significant school events: our athletics day and Mission Day, both very successful. The sun shone for us on athletics day, and everything went smoothly thanks to the great organisation of Mrs Farrell and her team. The children enjoyed their events and represented their school houses well. A school cup will be awarded to the winning house at our end-of-year prizegiving.  Last Friday’s Mission Day raised almost $6000 for our Mission Sisters’ work in Vietnam and India. Our mufti money was collected separately and will be sent to MissioNZ. It was lovely to see so many adults there, particularly our past students. Thank you for your generous support of our school and our missionary efforts. We are so proud of this school tradition, a favourite day for many of our whanau.  For the past two days, we have had the Auckland Diocese Catholic Education reviewers Christine Smith, Viki Trainor, and visiting principal Vincenza Golding (St Michael’s, Remuera) at our school. They have visited classrooms and observed RE lessons, met with students, parent groups and Board members, and support staff and teachers. We have been pleased with their oral feedback and expect a written report in a few weeks. I want to thank you for the way you contribute to our school. Over the last three weeks, we have called on you to attend our special events and be available for meetings. I especially want to acknowledge those core parents who come every time to cover teachers’ duties when we have a staff event during morning interval. It may be 45 minutes to you, but it means a lot to those duty teachers who would miss out on a staff celebration or not receive feedback information first-hand. We are blessed to have your support. The term is swiftly flying by. Next week our Year 5&6 students go off to camp at Totara Springs, Matamata. Camp is such a memorable experience for any child. It is an opportunity for children to be challenged while experiencing fun and building friendships. Thank you to our school and parish community who supported fundraising initiatives or sponsored individual children. We were able to cut the cost of camp by half for our students. I look forward to hearing the stories on their return. As we approach the end of 2025, our teachers continue to navigate a period of considerable change within education. Alongside the fast-paced rollout of updates to the New Zealand Curriculum, teachers are also managing ongoing negotiations around collective agreements, proposed changes to the Education Act, and adjustments to how the Teaching Council operates. These shifts, combined with the usual busyness of the school year’s end, are creating a time of uncertainty and added pressure for many in the profession. Despite this, our staff remain committed to providing high-quality learning and care for our students. We appreciate the continued support and understanding of our school community as teachers work through these changes and plan for the year ahead. Please keep yourself informed on the current issues facing our education system. These directly impact your children and the future of New Zealand.  Wishing you and your whanau many blessings as we race into this busy end-of-year season. I hope you can slow the pace down a bit and take time for yourselves. Kia kaha! Nga manaakitanga ki a koe.

 

Special Catholic Character

Mission Day 

Thank you so much for your support of our annual Mission Day. The day began with a beautiful liturgy led by our Aroha team. We then headed out to a fantastic market filled with lots of activities and goodies to buy. A big thank you to our Arahi team for all the work they put into this day. We raised approx $6,000 from this market to support the RNDM sisters in their missionary work.  St Joseph’s School continues to support the work of the Mission Sisters in India and Vietnam.  

Catholic Character Review

This week we have had our tri-annual Catholic Character Review. Auckland Diocese Catholic Education reviewers Christine Smith, Viki Trainor, and visiting principal Vincenza Golding (St Michael’s, Remuera) have been spending time with our staff, students and parents and seeing all the amazing things we do at St Joseph’s Pukekohe. We have enjoyed showcasing how wonderful our school is.

 

Key Dates

Term 4 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   

School Board

SCHOOL POLICIES SchoolDocs: In Term 4, the Board, staff and community are asked to review the following policies: Bullying and Harassment (board), Behaviour Management (board), Minimising Physical Restraint (board), Searches, Surrender, and Retention of Property, Stand-down, Suspension, and Exclusion, and Staff Wellbeing and Safety. 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. Thank you to our school community for participating in our triennial board elections.  If you would like to contact the Board directly at any time, please do so through our email address schoolboard@stjosephs.co.nz  Our next School Board Meeting is 7:00 pm Wednesday 26 November.

At St Joseph’s, we know that regular school attendance is essential for every child’s learning and success. 

Our goal is for 80% of our students to attend school at least 90% of the time.

We aim to have at least 80% of children attending school regularly.

School Notices / Upcoming Events

Term Dates 2026

Term 1 – Tuesday 3rd February – Thursday 2nd April

Term 2 – Monday 20th April – Friday 3rd July

Term 3 – Monday 20th July – Friday 25th September

Term 4 – Monday 12th October – Tuesday 15th December

Please email the office if your children are taking a holiday during the school term. stjoesoffice@stjosephs.co.nz

School Attendance Dues

Attendance Dues for the year should now be paid in full.

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.

When making a payment, please help us by telling us what you are paying for.

Ref: Student’s name / Particulars – What payment is for.

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

 

2025 School Magazine/Year Book

If you would like to order a school magazine/yearbook please pay $22 to the school bank account 12-3023-0338374-01 with code: student name.  Ref:  mag.

The oldest student in each family has been  invoiced for an OPTIONAL magazine.

 $22 to be paid before tomorrow 14 Nov.  No late orders as we need to advise the Printer how many we require.  

The school magazine is a lovely record of our school year which will be distributed at the end of Term 4

School Start Time

Students are expected to be at school by 8:30 am. Teachers are not in class until 8:15 am.  

Parents, you need to ensure your child is at school by 8:30 every day. Thank you.

 Please note that any children who arrive at school before 8:15 are not supervised. 

Some children are arriving at school before 8:00 am!

Second-Hand Uniform Shop

The Second-hand uniform shop is open on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons 2:30 – 3:00 pm. 

We are limiting purchases to 1 item of each article of clothing per child, per term. All students should now be in their summer uniform.

New items can be purchased from The Uniform Shoppe on Glasgow Road, Pukekohe

 

Health and Safety Update

We completed our term 4 fire drill on Monday 9 November. We were very pleased that all students knew exactly what to do when they heard the fire bell. 

Cybersafety

As a parent or caregiver at St Joseph’s, you have free access to Qustodio, a parental control tool that helps you monitor and guide your child’s online activity, and an online safety hub with digital safety advice.

Click here to access the St Joseph’s School Online Safety Hub

About halfway down the front page, you will find the section for Qustodio. If you would like to create a free account, you need to use the link from the St Joseph’s School Online Safety Hub.

Qustodio allows you to:

• Filter content and apps
• Monitor activity
• Set time limits
• Locate family
• Track calls and SMS
• Receive reports, alerts & SOS

You will only have access to Qustodio while you have a child attending St Joseph’s School, and for as long as we are able to include this as part of our Linewize subscription.

If you have any questions or issues regarding your Qustodio account, please contact their support team – myschool@qustodio.com

 

Celebrations 

Aroha

It has been a busy couple of weeks for Aroha. On top of all the wonderful learning we have been doing, we also participated in our whole school Athletics Day, and for many of us, had our first Mission Day.  Aroha were given the wonderful privilege of presenting the school Liturgy for Mission Day. The children were amazing. All students learnt three songs for this, and our readers were lovely and clear. 

Ako

Ako Team have had a very busy few weeks! Students have been practising their running, jumping, and throwing skills during Athletics training, and all that hard work paid off at our School Athletics Day. It was wonderful to see everyone giving their best effort, cheering for their classmates, and showing great sportsmanship throughout the day.

One of the absolute highlights of the term so far has been Mission Day — always a favourite event on our school calendar! The students loved taking part in the fun activities and stalls while knowing that everything they did was helping to raise money for those in need.

In class, we’ve been learning about Catholic Social Teaching and the principle of the Common Good. The students have been sharing thoughtful ideas about how we can care for others and make a difference, both at school and in our wider community — perfectly linking to the message behind Mission Day.

Arahi 

 

 

 

Community Notices

PTA/Friends of St Joseph’s School Notices

At the beginning of this term we held a poster competition to advertise our school fair. We had heaps of amazing entries. Here are the two winning entries that will be printed and distributed around our community. Please check out the other entries which will be displayed around the school in the coming weeks. 

If you are interested in sponsoring or helping our fair in any way please contact 

us at pta@stjosephs.co.nz 

Thank you for supporting our tamariki. We appreciate it immensely!

St Ignatius enrolments for 2027 opened on Monday 1st September for current Year 5 students going into Year 7 in 2027 

Please see their website for details https://www.ignatius.school.nz/admissions

Click here to register for the What teens really say about being online webinar Sign up for Raumati Reads! Raumati Reads is a free, fun summer reading challenge for primary school aged children that will help them maintain their reading levels over the summer break. It’s a must-do for the school holidays offering free events and activities at local libraries across Tāmaki Makaurau, with great prizes to be won.   Tamariki and their whānau can register from Saturday 6 December at their local Auckland Libraries branch to begin the challenge, which runs until Sunday 1 February. Stay tuned to https://www.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/ for all you need to know! Experience the Magic of Enchanted Christmas! Auckland’s newest festive wonderland is lighting up Teed Street! (Newmarket) Stroll through 240+ themed trees, twinkling lights, immersive Christmas scenes – and enjoy private time with Santa or the Grinch. Use our school’s code at checkout for 10% off tickets and 10% back to our school! Book now: www.enchantedchristmas.co.nz

 

 

For more information and to register, please visit the event page:

Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/share/1ANUarbLse/

Registrations (roller skating workshops only) are free and essential.