Professional Documents
Culture Documents
5
17th
pril
!"1#
,e-sletter
Birthday Wishes
Mr Kemp 26th April (We wont disclose his age)
Farewell
Unfortunately today not only sees the end of the term, it also means we say farewell to a family that has been a part of the St Pats family for the last 4 years. The Hakets are making the move to the orth !sland and we wish "illem all the best in his new s#hool. "e would also like to say you help a to huge $on, and thank their
%ngela and &ary for all generosity throughout their time at St Pats. "e hope you will not be a stranger and we will hear from you in the future.
School News
Subway ' Tuesday ()th &ay. *orms are available from the s#hool offi#e or in the #lassroom.
Miniball starting
'
&iniball (
is
week
ne+t
term for #hildren in year ),-. St Pats has entered ( .unior team and ( senior team. /ets hope we have a repeat of last seasons a#hievements.
(rincipal.s /ommentar):
Changing times I have had the absolute privilege of being the acting rincipal of !t atric"#s !chool since mid$%&%. 'uring that time I have seen our school go from strength to strength and watched (uite a number of our year ) students go on from our school to begin their courses of study at various high schools with absolutely outstanding results. Most of our students go on to these high schools better e(uipped than many of their peers and they e*perience greater levels of success more (uic"ly, due to the good grounding that they receive here at !t atric"s. I have also seen numerous enrolments come in to our school, at all levels, but most importantly I have seen how having teaching staff of the highest calibre, with the latest and greatest training, s"ills and new "nowledge and high standards can be a positive influence on many aspects of school life, not the least of which is the growth in new entrant enrolments, which is always good for the long term outloo" of any school. I have witnessed the trials and tribulations of older students new to our school. Having been misunderstood or discarded by other schools and agencies, they all, without e*ception, succeeded at something here and they usually e*ceeded their own e*pectations and all,
Thank
You
from
Morgan & Laney ' "e would .ust like to say thank you to everyone who supported us with pur#hasing 0ho#olate *undraiser. raised a 2verall our 1rownie we wonderful
3((4.56 whi#h we have sent off to ""*. "e would also like to say a big thank you to &rs "aller who took us down to ew "orls to get all of our ingredients and also supported us all the way with our fundraiser. "e hope she has a great time at "aihao 7owns S#hool ne+t term. "e would also like to say a big thank you to Toni 2udemans who helped them bake the #ho#olate brownies.
without fail, were reluctant to leave to move on to higher education. +he all-embracing and welcoming atmosphere of our school is something that I have not seen elsewhere and it should be treasured. ,s a staff, we have lifted student achievement, across the curriculum and we have made a difference for all of our students. -e have won national and regional competitions through hard wor" and aiming high and we have never considered our students to be capable of anything less than e*cellence. It has been my absolute privilege to have wor"ed with those on staff and I cannot emphasise what a fantastic and dedicated team we have had here over the past few years. -e have all been so luc"y to have had such wonderful and capable people loo"ing after our children#s education and I than" each and every one of those that have wor"ed with me over the past few years. +here have been so many highlights during my time here at !t atric"#s and there are so many occasions and achievements that I will never forget and I don#t need to mention them all here, as most of you already "now what we have achieved over the past couple of years. .i"ewise, I will also never forget some of those people in the community that have gone above and beyond in their efforts to support me in my role, or our school. +he following are just some of those that need to be singled out for their contributions. Gareth /udemans for e*ample, needs a medal for all of his support and for the ridiculous hours that he has spent over the past four years wor"ing to ma"e this school such a good place of learning and helping to ensure that the 0atholic !pecial character is upheld and enhanced. ,t least I got paid to do the job that I have done, but the hefty hours that Gareth puts in as 0hairperson on behalf of the school is all voluntary.
Gareth is the only 1oard member left that has been on the 1oard for the entirety of my tenure and I am so glad that he is there to support ,nne in her new role as well. Gareth is a good role model for all of our board members, attending regular training and "eeping himself abreast of latest trends and developments in education and governance. Gareth is also active on the arish 0ouncil and is a stalwart of this school community. Mi"e 2olan, 0ushla /#0onnor and Maureen 3err from the 0atholic 4ducation office have provided me and the 1oard with advice and guidance from a bottomless pit of support and enthusiasm and I am indebted to them all for their understanding and suffering of my endless (uestions and lac" of e*perience. -hat a sterling job you fol"s all do, even through earth(ua"es and mayhem. +oni /udemans, as outgoing chairperson of the 5riends at !t ats 6a.".a. +,7 is another who has provided unerring support over the past years and on many occasions has filled in as surrogate parent for school outings and events when others couldn#t. Her drive and commitment to the 5riends at !t ats is beyond doubt and she has overseen the raising of (uite a stash of funds over the past couple of years, all for the benefit of our students. 8ess 6 .+.7 1ailey, as /ffice ,dministrator has been an absolute treasure. 8ess runs things with efficiency and enthusiasm and despite the challenges that are often placed in front of her. 5rom 2ovopay disputes to ordering supplies and filling in as parent support on school outings, 8ess has repeatedly demonstrated her commitment to your children#s education and welfare. /ften going outside her job description and often wor"ing well beyond the hours for which she is paid, I could not have done my job without the assistance and commitment that 8ess provides. I thin" that it is
really special that 8ess is a past student and having her own children attending the school provides an even greater level of synergy. +han"s 8ess for all that you have done. It has been a real pleasure to have wor"ed with you and I cannot emphasise enough how much I appreciate all that you have done to ma"e my job easier. +he rest of the team at !t ats; 8o !hea, 0olleen Mouton, Hannah 9eeves, 1arry .ist, 0hristine 2ash and 3elly -aller : I am so luc"y to have got to "now you fol"s and to have wor"ed with you. I than" you for everything that you have done and continue to do for this school. ;ou are all very very wonderful fol"s and part of me would be (uite happy to stay, just to enjoy the camaraderie that e*ists at the school. +hese wonderful, efficient and highly entertaining people are all committed to the cause and all, without fail, often do so much more than what they are paid to do, because they "now that it is a great wee school with something special about it. -hat they don#t "now, is that it is them and the "ids in it that ma"es it so special. It is them and the "ids that ma"es our 0atholic special character bear witness to the teachings of 8esus 0hrist. !pea"ing of 0atholic students<.. 6here we go again<.7 6why couldn#t he just say goodbye without ma"ing people s(uirm with embarrassment=7 at a recent meeting of !outh 0anterbury 0atholic rimary rincipals held here at !t atric"#s last wee", the consensus over the (uestion of why so many 0atholic families are ignoring their 0atholic obligations at 0hurch and in attending 0atholic schools, was that people have become less interested and less devout, or more la>y. ,pathy is a self-perpetuating ?disease.# +here is no e*cuse for 0atholics to bypass the 0atholic school. +here are buses that cover nearly all of the -aimate district. +he school has an e*ceptional forward-focused curriculum and everything that students may
need in terms of resources and e(uipment. !t atric"#s students e*perience such success on the sporting fields that the old complaint of @not enough competitionA almost ma"es me feel embarrassed for those that use that one for an e*cuse. /h yes, and @e*cuse me,A but we#ve got both of the -aimate miniball trophies hanging on our wall. 2o competition= ;es, we often complain about that here too. It would be good if all of the parishioners could encourage everyone that they "now to send their children to !t atric"#s. +he roll is safe enough and at least the parents of early childhood centres seem to have their heads screwed on and are enrolling their children here, presumably because they "now it#s the best primary school in town, for their children#s needs 6no offence anyoneB7. ,nd, many of our older enrolments come from newcomers to the district. 1ut still, there are (uite a few families that consider themselves to be 0atholic that don#t send their children to the 0atholic school. +here are many families that attend church that don#t send their children to the 0atholic school. ,nd there are many families that want to send their children to our school just for year C and ) that should be sending them here for years &-D as well. 2o apologies whatsoever if this conversation ma"es you uncomfortableE that is your conscience doing that : not meB /ne of the few disappointments for me during my tenure here has been the lac" of cohesion between the parish itself and the school community. -e still never really got it right, or got it in sync. +here has to be more than what we#ve had and I suspect that the very careful appointment of our new roprietors 9eps by the very adept 5ather 1rian, and the new rincipal may just be the tic"et to solving this problem. 'espite the narrow perspective of some, the long-term future of the parish is directly related to the roll of the school, as the
students are the future of the parish. 4ven the late -hitney Houston sang @<I believe that children are the future<A 1eing part of this school, for over five years has made me realise that 0atholic schools really are part of something much bigger. +he collegiality of rincipalship in a 0atholic school for e*ample, is superb. I have made so many friends and ac(uaintances on behalf of the school and there are some really nice people out there that are continuously wor"ing on our behalf, lobbying, promoting and sharing the word about what a good school this is. I must finish by saying that it really has been an absolute treat to have been able to teach those students that have been in my class since I have been at this school; without e*ception. +he school has a few challenges ahead of it, but I "now that you will all go out of your way to support ,nne in her new role and that she is more than up for those challenges. +o all of those that have congratulated me over the past few wee"s and said nice things about what we have achieved her; 4hara ta"u toa, he ta"itahi, he toa ta"itini +ranslated, this means that the successes of the school over my tenure were not mine; they were the results of the efforts of everyone. 4very single student and all of the team. +han" you 2a"u no na Me rongo 6in peace7 'arcy 3emp rincipal !t atric"#s -aimate
Community News
Waimate Company Holiday (-. The ) Theatre 8aster workshop hours be of and from
singing will on at
%pril
&ain $egistration
Coa hing an! " hole tournament ' *or all golfers aged (; and under. Held on Thursday (st &ay at <eraldine <olf 0lub. and $eport #ost is *or by 3:6 ;am per more #onta#t email on
8very from
evening
"aimate
$on alli S hool The 1oard $on#alli &anagement of Trustees 0ollege and of are
%t (atric+. %chool -ould li+e to than+ the follo-ing sponsors 1 Main North Road Oamaru
please and en#ouraged by the re#ent 8$2 report and su##esses by our students in %#ademi#, Sporting and 0ultural important areas. that !t is this
momentum is maintained and we are therefore in the initial stages of some long term strategi# planning. Part of this is developing an awareness of both the needs and desires of our #ommunity over the ne+t (6 years. %s some value a result spe#ifi#, and $on#alli detailed you
0ollege would appre#iate feedba#k as to what you where would like emphasis to be pla#ed with regards to the building the future. !f you are a member of the 0ollege 0ommunity ?parent or pupil, present, past or future@ and would like to have input in this strategi# planning, please go to www.ron#alli.s#hool.n> and #li#k on the survey A$on#alli :6:9A. "e value your input in shaping our future. and physi#al resour#ing to prepare for