Dear Parents, Caregivers and Friends of St Mary’s School,
Tomorrow 22nd February is Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday has always been an important date in the Christian Calendar because it is the beginning of the season of Lent, the time when we prepare for the celebration of Easter.
It was during the season of Lent last year that we were stunned by two natural disasters that had a huge effect on our lives and will for years to come.
I am writing of course about the Christchurch and Japanese earthquakes. Both events were defining moments for us as a nation, the Christchurch earthquake because I think we all believed that things like this only happen on T.V. so the reality of people we know being effected bit deep. The Japanese earthquake was terrifying for a different reason, because it wasn’t just a huge earthquake; it was a massive Tsunami followed by a near nuclear meltdown. Thing that popular authors like Clive Cussler and Tom Clancey wouldn’t write because they would be seen to be too far fetched. But they were and are real, and the healing process goes on, made all the harder by the after shocks.
Lent allows us a time to reflect on ‘the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune’ - (to quote Shakespeare) that we face.
But it is also a time when we can focus beyond the traumatic at the tranquility that exists in our world. Life is a path that for every climb has a drop and for every person who loves to climb we have one who loves to descend. The challenge in life is to be a person who accepts the climbing and the falling, the ups and the downs and to know that our faith is what enables us to keep going even when the climb appears too hard or the descend too steep.
Have a great week,
Mike Brosnahan.
Dear Parents, Caregivers and Friends of St Mary’s School,
It was written by a famous author that all of us are standing on the earth but some of us are reaching for the stars.
When you think about this, I think that we would all agree that anyone who achieves anything always aims high, and of course this is especially true in education. We, and I speak as a parent here, all have great ambitions for our children.
Right from birth we have dreams and aspirations for them, but having dreams, reaching for the stars, is only half the battle. Once we have our dream we often have to work hard, to make it a reality and it is the same with our child’s education.
Those times when we are busy and it would be easy to just not hear the reading tonight or leave that project until tomorrow. But when we do listen and help and organize their projects, these are the times that help our children to achieve their potential and reach the stars.
At St Mary’s we try to be realistic about the amount of work that we give our pupils to complete at home. We take into account the busy lives and the many extra-curricular activities that children have these days, but the work that is given is important and necessary, so please ensure that you support your child and enable them to complete this work. As well as the extra knowledge this home support helps them to attain and the attitude and values that they learn, will enable them to reach their star.
Have a great week,
Mike Brosnahan.
Dear Parents, Caregivers and Friends of St Mary’s School,
We are into Week Two already and it’s hard to believe how fast Week One disappeared. We have a number of beginning of the year occasions coming up this week.
On Wednesday evening we have our class information night. The purpose of the evening is to allow your child’s teacher to outline to you how they will organize their class for the year, the topics that they will be teaching and their expectations for the year.
Please remember that the expectation is that the teacher will be presenting general information, if you wish to discuss any personal or specific matters relating to your child then please make an appointment to meet your child’s teacher at another time.
On Friday we hold our beginning of the year Mass and Whanau day. The Mass will be held at 9.15am at St Mary’s Church and at 12.30 the pupils will have a picnic lunch (they bring their own lunch) at Brooklands Park (the Rec across the road), followed by an afternoon of fun games starting at 1.15pm. We will have a wet weather back up plan if required. Parents are most welcome to come and support the pupils.
Our Whanau programme is a vital component of our school as it allows our senior pupils to act as leaders and to develop the necessary skills.
These skills will be with them for the rest of their lives. It also allows our younger people to work as part of a group, larger than a family but smaller than a school and set the framework that allows them to aspire to a leadership role.
Have a great week,
Mike Brosnahan.
Dear Parents, Caregivers and Friends of St Mary’s School,
Welcome back to the 2012 school year. I hope that everybody was able to take a break during the summer and a happy and restful holiday period was had by all.
2012 brings some changes to our schools staffing; and I would like to welcome Mrs Lisa Matheson into Room Four where she will be the full time class teacher and also to welcome Mrs Anne Kenneally back into her role as Deputy Principal and class teacher in Room Six.
Term One is going to be another very busy and engaging time for our pupils, we have listed a number of key dates for you to keep an eye on further in the news letter.
During the holiday break a friend of my son’s a young man of fifteen passed away in a tragic accident. He was a young person who had achieved a lot in his brief life and has a lot more to look towards.
Tragedies like this force us to reflect on the big questions in life, but they also enable us to take stock of where we are and where we want to go.
I think for anyone to enjoy a fulfilling life they need to live by the old Latin quote which roughly translates as ‘seize the moment’ meaning don’t put off until tomorrow what you should do today.
I think that at times we all procrastinate but a challenge for all in 2012 is to seize the
moment.
Have a great year,
Mike Brosnahan.
Dear Parents, Caregivers and Friends of St Mary’s School,
The last newsletter for 2011 and what a busy and yet fulfilling year it has been. When we think back on 2011 many people will remember the terrible natural disasters that occurred in Christchurch and Japan, they will think of the bloody revolutions right throughout the Arab world and the continued global financial meltdown.
Some will remember it as the year in which New Zealand finally regained the Rugby World Cup or the year in which the new Forsyth Barr Stadium opened for business.
Children, especially young children have, I believe, more personalized memories. They remember their own personal experiences far more strongly then they relate to a name that they have had no personal interaction with.
That is why the experiences, the routines, the skills and techniques that children learn while they are young are so important because they form they type of person that they will be and where they will go in life.
A positive partnership between home and school is a vital component for a young person to ensure rapid development in these early years.
Leading Education Theorist Lester Flockton spoke recently of the amount of time that a young person is actually at school, he suggests about 20%. But if the school and home are more of a community then obviously the school’s affect is far greater. But a school with such a limited access can only really accomplish so much, the home must continue to support this development, be it reading, maths or social.
So please, during the holidays continue to support your child’s learning, read to them, play games with them, and talk to them.
I would also like to farewell our Year Eight pupils, they have been great leaders and have achieved a huge amount this year. I feel confident that they have been well prepared for the next big step in their life, into secondary education and I wish them all well. Please come along to our End of Year Mass and Prize giving to farewell them and to mark the end of another highly successful year at St Mary’s.
Have a happy and Holy Christmas and a restful and enjoyable New Year. Have a great week,
Mike Brosnahan.
Dear Parents, Caregivers and Friends of St Mary’s School,
The second last week of the term and what a busy time it is.
I attended, along with a number of parents and teachers, pupils and our school choir, Father Vaughan Hook’s ordination on Friday night, and what a special occasion it was. Father Vaughan has noted on several occasions how proud he had been of his education at both St Mary’s and as it was then, The Taieri High School. Father Vaughan was Head Boy at St Mary’s when he was in Year Eight, and feels the leadership opportunities that he was given at such a relatively young age helped to enable him to achieve what he has in later life.
We have begun our performances of our end of year concert, with the matinee going off very smoothly and I am sure that the evening performances will also be a tribute to the hard work and effort of the staff.
In his book ‘Outliers’ the author Malcolm Gladwell noted that a study carried out in American schools showed that children who continued with their education during their summer break were the children who were most likely to achieve well at school, up to 25% more likely in fact.
So just continuing on with my message from last week, please encourage your children to continue to read during the holidays. Buying books as Christmas presents is a good idea, but remember all children right up to intermediate age like to be read to, especially a story that is topical. I am reading the Hobbit to my daughter Emily at the moment. She chose this because she liked watching the Lord of the Rings films and wanted to know what happened in the Hobbit before she saw the film—this comes our next year.
As with most longer books it takes a while to get into it but now that we have she reminds me every night that it’s story time, and lets face it reading a good book is far more beneficial than watching some of the programmes on T.V.
Have a great week, Mike Brosnahan.
Dear Parents, Caregivers and Friends of St Mary’s School,
As we focus on the concluding school functions for the end of 2011, it is important to remember that learning doesn’t stop on 16th December and begin again on 31st January.
Learning is continuous and for our pupils to continue to achieve it is important that their learning continues over the six week summer break.
This doesn’t mean of course formal school setting each day but rather informal learning through games, focused activities and role modelling.
Here are some ideas that may work for you:
Give children some Christmas presents that ensure learning e.g. board games, puzzle books, and of course books for them to read. Each day spend some time visibly reading, this will show your children that reading is a grownup and a cool thing to do. Play games with your children, especially board games as this will encourage them, children love playing against their parents! Read to your children regularly and discuss what is happening in the story and why, I am reading the Hobbit to Emily at the moment and each night she tells me what happened the previous night.
When you are travelling by car play games like: I spy, animal, vegetable and mineral, or twenty questions. They are great for learning and also help the trip to go more smoothly.
When playing sports such as darts, table tennis, cricket or even basket ball, get your children to score and ask questions like if Ricky Ponting is on 87 how many more runs does he need to make 100? And what is 100 in cricket?
Learning is fun, it is on going and it is essential to our continued development. Sometimes their questions may seem unnecessary but remember that’s how they learn.
A recent study carried out in the USA showed that the learning that pupils did outside school was the difference between those who achieved and those who didn’t, so a six week period will have a huge effect on your child. Over the next couple of weeks we will put down more simple ideas to help you support your child’s learning over the Christmas break.
Have a great week, Mike Brosnahan.
