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

Winter has definitely arrived with a vengeance. My house which admittedly is quite high in altitude is still well and truly surrounded by snow.

We have just passed the winter solstice (the shortest day) and as the optimists among us will note, things will only get brighter from here on.

This is a very long term, eleven weeks, and it is important to keep a close watch on your child’s health as they begin to run out of energy, as the term winds down. If they are coughing or sneezing then please keep them home so as not to spread the ‘bugs’.

Last week I had the pleasure of listening to a number of speeches from our Year 6,7 and 8 pupils. They were all very good, and I was proud of the time and effort that they had put in. Verbal communication and the ability to be able to do this fluently is an important skill. Our senior pupils have shown that they possess this skill to a large degree and I look forward to seeing them present their speeches later in the week at Outram School.

Have a great week

Mike Brosnahan

Principal






Extra

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

We are well into our Autumn term although on many days it feels more like winter.

The pupils in the senior classes are in the midst of preparing their speeches. They will present these at school and then the pupils who produce the best speeches will be selected to go on to represent our school at the annual Haddon Shield competition.

One of the most important skills that we learn in life is to communicate. By far the most common way that people communicate is by speaking and listening. The old joke goes that: "we have one mouth and two ears, so we should listen twice as much as we should speak". But a

persuasive, engaging and articulate speaker will convince many more people that their opinion is correct, will change the opinion of others more readily and keep the attention of others than someone who fails to process these skills.

A good speaker speaks in a clear voice, speaks at a pace that is easy to understand and

engages with their audience.

The Haddon Shield event is always of a high level: entertaining and interesting. So whether your child is a participant or not try to come along for a very interesting evening.

During the next holidays I will be having a hip replacement operation. For a period of next term I will be convalescing. In my absence Mrs Lindsay Stevens will be acting Principal. Over the next weeks we will be informing you of any other organizational changes.

Have a great week

Mike Brosnahan

Principal

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

This week the pupils will have a busy week with their visits to see Harold the Giraffe and the Life Education Bus. The Life Education Trust and it’s educator Pip provide a fun way to learn some interesting information and values.

Last week my Year Eight R.E. class and I were talking about being positive (assuming that the glass is half full). We talked about how positive people were the people who achieved great things. Rather than ask the question why, they would ask why not?

Positive people are fun people to be around. We all quickly tire of being around people who only see the bad and focus on the negative. That doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t take the time for critical reflection but after we have reflected we need to have a positive plan of where to next.

Positive people keep moving forward.

When I reflect on my friends and family and the people I like to spend time with they are positive people; they see the good in others, they see the humorous side of a tough situation and they have a plan on how to go forward.

A friend of mine who is a Maniototo farmer, a couple of years ago had most of his sheep trapped in a large snowfall. I rang him up to see how things were going and he said most of them are still trapped up the hill but I’ve had a good crew helping to get them out. It could be worse the Maggots (Maniototo rugby team) could have lost. This guy had a plan and despite being in a tough situation he came out the other side.

Our children learn from us, if we are negative and always put others down focusing on the negative that's how they will be.

Have a great week

Mike Brosnahan

Principal






Life

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

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

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

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