27-07-15

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

What a fabulous few days of weather we have had. It has been great to see the children outside, having a lot of fun and exercise.

While on duty and walking around the classrooms I have enjoyed listening to the children tell about some of their holiday destinations and activities.

Communication (talking, and listening) is so important but it has changed a lot over the last few years with social media, texts, Facebook and e-mail. These are great for a quick message but there really is no replacement for a face-to-face discussion when more significant matters need to be discussed.  You get to see facial expressions, body language, hear tone of voice and get a general feel of whether or not you are being listened to.

If you need to communicate about a concern over your child at school or just want to clarify something, a meeting with the teacher is often the best way to get the answer or work out a solution.  We have interviews scheduled for later in the term but appointments can be made at any time.

Letting the class teacher know of any events that may affect your child is a really important aspect of communication between home and school and it can be the difference between a good or not so good day at school for your child.

It is often hard for teachers to give you a lot of time before school to discuss things in depth but if an appointment is made, the teacher can then give you the time to listen and work out a solution.

Have a great week.

Lindsay Stevens

Acting Principal

20-07-15

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

Welcome back for Term 3 of 2015. It is great to see the children looking relaxed and positive after a two week break.

What a wonderful beginning to the school holidays we had with the Highlanders win. The enjoyment and pride in the Otago/ Southland province over the Highlanders win was great to see. Three years ago they were second last and almost written off but through hard work, determination and a positive attitude the team has now won their ultimate prize.

If we approach life and school the same way, with a positive attitude and hard work then we will surely move forward.

We have a busy term planned, as you will see in the Calendar of Events. We really appreciate the time and effort parents put into helping us achieve goals with home support, outings and fundraising.

Have a great week.

Lindsay Stevens

Acting Principal

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