Monday, May 25, 2015




Dear Parents, Caregivers and Friends of St Mary’s School,

I was talking with a friend over the weekend and reminiscing about the coldest place that we could remember being. We both had several options. My memory of the coldest that I have been was at "Stonehenge" England, not the Maniototo farm (although I’ve been cold up there too).

Yesterday however was very close to that level of cold and the weather doesn’t look like mending any time soon.

Please remember that winter is the cough and cold season. Everybody is susceptible to catching a ‘bug’. Please remind your children to wash their hands thoroughly, that is wash their hands for a minimum of 20 seconds in warm water with soap and dry them for 20 seconds. They need to wash their hands at all key times—before eating, after using the toilet etc. If your child is unwell then please get them to stay at home, as we don’t want bugs to spread.

This week we are having our first round of school interviews. These interviews support the
written reports that went out last week. Please ensure that you make an appointment for an
interview as this is a great way to keep up with your child’s progress and the learning steps.

Have a great week

Mike Brosnahan

Principal

Tuesday, May 19, 2015




Dear Parents, Caregivers and Friends of St Mary’s School,

After spending a large amount of last weekend watching winter sport I am convinced that May is indeed the first month of winter.

We are five weeks into the term and rapidly approaching the halfway point of the year! Over the next few weeks our school will be visited by Harold the giraffe and the Life Education Trust, and the senior pupils will take part in our annual public speaking competition against Outram School.

Later in the term a number of our pupils will take part in the Sacrament of Confirmation, a high-light in our school’s calendar.

Education is by definition the process of facilitating learning. The transfer of skills, knowledge, values, beliefs and habits. The human being has many varied components that add to their lives: physical, academic, artistic and spiritual.

We at St Mary’s as an integrated Catholic Christian school are able to teach about the spiritual component of life through our Religious Education programme. This programme through the strand lessons teaches a large amount of knowledge about Christianity, but, it is the application of this knowledge to our lives that is the most important aspect of the programme. The application of ‘the golden rule’ (Matt 7:12) is the bottom line for good social behaviour. If everyone treated each other the way that they wanted to be treated what an excellent world we would live in.

Have a great week

Mike Brosnahan

Principal






Golf

Tuesday, May 12, 2015




Dear Parents, Caregivers and Friends of St Mary’s School,

Skype, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Ask, are all part of our modern world. Some have been around for a period of time, some are new. Facebook was founded in 2004 instantly making founder Mark Zuckerberg a multi millionaire (by now I’m sure he’s a multi billionaire).

Initially it limited access to Harvard University students, then it admitted other local universities and high schools and since 2006, anyone who is at least 13 years old, is allowed to become a user of the site. By March this year it officially had 1.44 billion users.

Social media has many positive aspects to it. It enables people separated by huge geographical distances to communicate in a multimedia and often instant forum.

It allows people to share important milestones instantly with all of their friends. Me with my first hole in one, me with my first trout, me at George’s 75th birthday. But it can mean that rather than living the moment we are intent on sharing the moment and recording the moment. Much like the tourist intent on photographing the bird in the tree, there is a danger of not seeing the forest. Social media is a fact of the modern world. It has an age limit of 13 years for good reasons. Positive things can be shared and so can negative. Younger people are more likely to be affected by negative comments.

Please remember, after your child turns 13, if they want to use social media, to monitor their usage and ensure that you are aware of any inappropriate use.

Social media, like all technology, is a tool that was built to complete a task. Used wisely it can work well.

Have a great week

Mike Brosnahan

Principal

Wednesday, May 6, 2015




Dear Parents, Caregivers and Friends of St Mary’s School,

Like most of you I awoke to a frost on Saturday morning. This was the first frost of the year and told me that Autumn was on it’s way out and we were heading, rapidly, into winter. I know

people who love all of the seasons; Summer for the warmth, the holidays and Christmas, Autumn for the beautiful colours, the harvest time and super rugby, Winter for snow, skiing, skating and winter sports, and spring for the longer days the lambs, daffodils and the beginning of summer sports. We are lucky to be able to enjoy all four seasons. People who I know that live in tropical climates say the thing that they miss the most is the seasons.

In Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 we are told "for everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven". That is one of the main challenges that parents and schools face: ensuring that our children know that there is a time for all things and that they don’t need to rush, but rather to embrace the period of their youth. As the Latin quote goes "bis vivit qui bene vivit" (s/he lives twice who lives well". Not those who rush to complete a task or tick a box live well.

So remember there is a reason films and games are rated M or R. There is a reason the age to drink alcohol or drive a car are what they are and facebook is for those over 13 years old. All good things come to those who wait.

Have a great week

Mike Brosnahan

Principal






The Duck