Dear Parents/Caregivers,

Haven't we been blessed with beautiful sunny days this week? Please make sure your child does bring to school a warm black jacket as it get a little chilly in the afternoon. I have a large selection of second hand uniform in the After School Care Room including warm jackets - please help yourself. Another lovely option for the children and is part of our uniform is to wear a green woollen sleeveless vest - we have some available at school. These range in price from $50.00 to $70.00 depending on the size.  

We are really looking forward to our International Food Night tomorrow. Special thank you to all of our families who have been preparing yummy treats for us all. It will start at 4.30 pm and there will be plenty of choice for dinner. You are welcome to pre-pay before the night and your Sacred Heart Cathedral School currency will be available for you to collect at the office.

Staffing Update: We are delighted to have Adrienne our Reading Recovery teacher back with us. Adrienne will also be working with students supporting literacy right across the school. Juliet will continue to work and support our Junior school children until the end of term.  

Catholic Schools' Day - next week we are going over to the Suzanne Aubert Centre, (Home of Compassion) in Island Bay  to celebrate Catholic Schools' Day. You are most welcome to join us for part or whole of the day. We will all travel over by bus leaving school at 9.30 am and returning at 2 pm. 

Special thanks for your generosity last week with your donation of a can for the  "soup kitchen" on Pink Shirt Day.  Collectively we have made an enormous contribution to the soup kitchen. 

"Do your little bit of good where you are; it's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world."

Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Thank you for your ongoing support and I look forward to seeing you tomorrow evening.

Arohanui

Bernadette Murfitt

Principal, Sacred Heart Cathedral School

Sacred Heart Cathedral School will be closed on

Wednesday, 29^th May due to the strike.

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

You may have heard in the media that NZEI members (primary teachers) and PPTA members (secondary teachers) across New Zealand have both voted in favour of taking joint strike action on Wednesday, 29th May.

The Board has considered whether an education service can be provided on 29th May - but given the absence of the Principal and teaching staff we have concluded that we cannot provide a teaching service during that period. As a result, the School will be closed that day and no school related services (including after school care) will be provided and no staff will be at School on that day.

I know this will be inconvenient for many parents and hopefully a resolution to the underlying issues will be found that the Government, NZEI and PPTA can accommodate.

If you have any questions relating to this decision, please contact me.

Kind Regards,

Suzanne Adair

Board Chair

Email: suzanneadair@hotmail.com

Mobile: 021 039 7558

Just a reminder that we are seeking nominations for 5 parent representatives.  Nominations close at noon on Friday, 24 May.

Dear God,

You come to us in Jesus who teaches us that the way to happiness is through our love for one another.

Watch over the teachers, students and families of Sacred Heart Cathedral School as we try to be faithful to this teaching.

Help us to be a welcoming and joyful community, so that others may come to know your love and peace.

We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord,

Amen.

This year we have decided to have Sacred Heart Cathedral School currency.

You will be able to purchase vouchers to purchase your food before the event or on the night.

You can pre-pay and your vouchers will be waiting for you at school. Please pay into the Parent and Friends account 12-3140-0397242-00 please put your surname and food fair as a reference 

This will make it easier for stall holders as they wont be handling money. 

Food will range in price from $2.00 to $15.00

We are really excited! There will be alot of yummy food available for you to purchase on the night or to put away in your freezer. 

This year for Catholic Schools' Day, our whole school is going over to the Suzanne Aubert Centre (Home of Compassion) in Island Bay for a spiritual well-being day and learning about Suzanne Aubert. Father James and Father Doug will be joining us to celebrate Catholic Schools' Day.

Buses will leave school at 9.30am and we will return back to school by 2pm.

Parents are most welcome to join us for the whole or part of the day. Please let your child's teacher know if you would like to join us. 

Special thanks to Ann Stephen, staff and all of our wonderful parent helpers who together ensured that our sports day was another successful event. Top marks to all our swimmers who all showed grit and determination when competing in their races.

House banners and children supporting our swimmers:

Results:

•  Year 7/8 Jade played Seatoun and won 17-15.  Liana was awarded 'player of the day.'
•  Year 7/8 Ferns played EBIS Tigers and won 32-4.  Angelina was awarded 'player of the day.'
•  Year 7/8 Emeralds played Clyde Quay Firebolts and won 9-4.  Amanda was awarded 'player of the day.'
•  Year 5/6 Pulse played Seatoun Breakers and lost 3-8.  Oli was awarded 'player of the day.'
•  Year 5/6 Sapphires played St Mark's and lost 11-1.  Sophia was awarded 'player of the day.'

During term 1 of this year, our students attended school 94.2%.

When we look at data over the past 5 terms, Term 1 2019 has been our best in terms of student attendance. This is fantastic! 

Thank you for your ongoing support in ensuring that your child arrives with enough time to set themselves up for a day of positive learning. We are aware of the challenge of Wellington traffic and appreciate when you leave a message/email or contact us through the SchoolApp.

We are part of a Ministry of Education initiative called "Every Day Matters" and we recieve quality data on student attendance.

See below to a link about the changes to NCEA

https://education.govt.nz/news/changes-to-strengthen-ncea/

Over Easter, Ava (Room 10, year 7) had the privilege of competing at the bi-annual Alana Haines Australian Awards (AHA) classical ballet competition in Wellington. This competition was established 29 years ago in memory of Alana, a promising 11 year old ballerina who was tragically killed in a car accident on Christmas Eve.  Over the last 29 years, this competition has grown to become arguably the most prestigious Australasian ballet competition with over 600 dancers travelling from all over NZ and Australia to dance and almost half a million dollars in prizes and scholarships to awarded.

Ava and her teachers prepared her variation Cupid from the ballet Don Quixote, for over six months – for a total of 1.04 minutes on stage! The competition consisted of an adjudicated class focusing on ballet exercises and technique prior to Ava dancing Cupid on the magnificent Opera House Stage. As the 18^th youngest competitor, Ava was delighted to be one of the 100 dancers selected to proceed to the quarter finals. All quarter finalists received complimentary pointe shoes from Capezio, who had staff available to provide personal fittings for all 100 dancers.  These are Ava’s very first pair of pointe shoes, so doubly special.

It was an amazing experience for the entire family, with the local ballet community being incredibly supportive.  Ava is already considering what ballet variation she would like to dance in two years time at the next AHA and this time…it will be en pointe!

Ava learns classical ballet and contemporary dance at the Wellington Dance and Performing Arts Academy and is a level 2 Scholar at the NZ School of Dance.  Ava spends on average 10 hours a week on classes and conditioning.

Enrolments for 2020 at Sacred Heart Cathedral School close on the 31 July 2019. Enrolment packs are available on the school website - www.sacred-heart.school.nz or a hard copy at the school office.  Any siblings who will be starting school in 2020, will need a completed enrolment form submitted to the school before 31 July 2019.

"I cut the cross out of cardboard.  Then I put 5 layers of paper mache on it, stuck it onto an upside down paper bowl.  Then another 5 layers of paper mache on the bowl, then I coloured it in and decorated it.  My theme was 'Life and stuff like that!'  

Rupert Room 6

The 2018|2019 Entertainment Memberships expire this week!  Pay for your 2019|2020 Entertainment Membership before 1^st June 2019, and not only will you receive a bonus $10 StarCash Gift Voucher, but you will also go in the draw to win a $1000 Countdown Voucher!

Sacred Heart Cathedral School is once again selling Entertainment Memberships as part of our fundraising, and $13 from every copy directly supports our school! 

There are fantastic savings to be made at Wellington’s leading restaurants, cafes and attractions. Your membership is a great way to find exciting new places to visit, or a reminder to get back to those old favourites. There are also great offers for over 2000 Hotels, Theme Parks, Rentals Cars, online shopping and so much more!

A copy of the book was sent home with your child so you can see the value. Purchase now and access these great savings!

If you are not wanting to purchase the entertainment book that was sent home earlier in the term, please return it to the school office as soon as possible.  Thanks very much.

A letter of thanks for our generous donation of $496.70 from Caritas.

"On behalf of the familiies and communities we work with, thank you for your school's generous donation to the 2019 Bishops' Lent Appeal.

Your donation helps us to provide those in need with access to healthcare, education, nutritious food and clean water, and enables us to respond with lifesaving support when emergencies strike. It also helps us to speak out against injustice and developing young leaders in our schools and communities. It is only through help from schools like yours that we can continue making a lasting difference in the lives of vulnerable communities around the world including Aotearoa New Zealand." 

Julianne Hickey 

Director Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand