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.

Kia ora koutou e te whānau,

Welcome back to term 3! I hope you had a restful break over the holidays.

We welcome Eleanor, Lara, Amazi of Room 1, and Remy of Room 9, who started on Monday at our school. You will love being at our school and will make lifelong friends.

We are so excited about our musical bingo fundraising event on Thursday, 24th March at 5:00 PM (doors open at 4:30 PM), St Mary's College Hall. Get your tickets, as we have limited space. Bring your children, and everyone gets snacks and pizza.

This morning, the staff prayed the following karakia together.

"We pray for a term filled with learning, growth, and positive relationships. May our classrooms be places of joy, discovery, and mutual respect. Bless our colleagues and the entire school community as we work together to create a vibrant and nurturing learning environment."

Have a wonderful week, and thank you for everything you do for our school.

Arohanui,

Bernadette Murfitt
Tumuaki
Sacred Heart Cathedral School

Attendance continues to be a top priority for the government, which has set a target of 80% of students attending school for more than 90% of the term by 2030. To achieve this, schools must aspire to reach an average daily attendance rate above 94%.

In the last week of Term 2, 23rd-27th June, we were 85.14%.

Please use SchoolAppsNZ to report your child's absence to the school. Thank you.

Well done! This is certainly improving for us as a school.

Congratulations to all of our students who were at school 100% in term 2. A wonderful achievement.

When your child is at school, they will grow in their learning and social development.

As you are aware, the government aims to have 80% of our students attending school 90% of the time.

Time off from school can result in students missing key pieces of learning. Whilst we always do our best to catch students up, it can place a burden on students.

I acknowledge that things in life happen and that students may be experiencing sickness. Unwell students must stay home for their well-being and the well-being of staff and peers. However, we are still finding that students are increasingly staying home for reasons that do not meet the justifiable criteria set by the Ministry of Education.

If your child can attend school, please bring them here so we can work with them and support their learning.

Encourage your child to sort out their uniform and lunch the night before so everything goes smoothly in the morning.

Please reach out if you need support with getting your child to school.

Please don't drive up Guildford Terrace to drop your child off. Miss Cranney observed a near miss on Monday morning. Keeping everyone safe is very important.

Learning to live with change and loss. This will be offered at our school, facilitated by Catholic Social Services.

Everyone is affected by change and loss at some time in our lives. At Sacred Heart Cathedral School, we recognise that when changes occur, such as separation, divorce, death, school transitions, and natural disasters, children may benefit from learning the skills to manage these changes effectively. We are therefore offering an education program called Seasons for Growth, which will commence later this term. This program is facilitated in small groups of up to 7 participants and is based on research
which highlights the importance of social support and the need to practise new skills to cope effectively with change and loss.

If you are interested in your child participating in this programme, please reach out to Bernadette.

The Zones of Regulation framework uses a color-coded system (Blue, Green, Yellow, Red) to help individuals understand and manage their emotions, sensory needs, and states of alertness. 

Each zone represents a different level of emotional intensity and self-regulation, to promote self-awareness and the ability to move between zones effectively. Strategies for each zone focus on identifying triggers, practicing coping mechanisms, and developing emotional intelligence will help to keep students in the zone.

Junior Syndicate:

Middle Syndicate:

This is open for our Years 5-8 students. Notices were sent home on Monday.

Please click on this link to the Google Form to fill it in and learn more details about the  SHCS Musical Bingo. Please ensure you have completed the form and transferred the payment for the tickets to the school account.

Account Name: Sacred Heart Cathedral School Board

Account Number: 12-3140-0325505-00

Reference: Bingo

Doors will open at 4:30 PM for pizza and nibbles, and the first song will be played at 5:00 PM sharp.

Please join us for our Grandparents’ Liturgy on Friday, 25th July at 9:30 AM, Metropolitan Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, 40 Hill Street, Thorndon. Limited parking will be available at the school grounds.

FREE GIRLS' BASKETBALL TRAINING:

Kia ora,

Our free Girls Training Programme is back for Term 3.

It's just for girls in Years 3 to 8. No pressure, just a chance to learn, play, and have fun with other girls.

If you haven't signed up yet, you can Register Here.

Flick me a message if you have any questions.

Cheers,

Hemi

WELLINGTON MARATHON KIDS MAGIC MILE RACE:

Congratulations to Enrico (Room 9) and Owen (Room 5), who both participated in the Wellington Marathon Kids Magic Mile Race. Enrico came 1st Place in his age category, and Owen came in 2nd Place in his age category. Well done, boys!

2025 INDOOR CRICKET NZ JUNIOR PROVINCIAL CHAMPIONSHIP:

During the School Holidays, Enrico (Room 9), played in the National indoor Cricket tournament in Auckland for U13 Wellington boys team. Their team finished 5th in their group Category. He did very well competing against the top national indoor cricketers from other regions.

SHCS STUDENTS SHINE AT PCA SWIMMING COMPETITION:

While most students were soaking up the final hours of their school break, two standout swimmers from our school chose a different kind of splash— they were both at the PCA Division III Swimming Competition held at Tawa Pool on Sunday, 13 July.

Jiezl (Year 7,  Room 10) delivered well earning three gold medals in the following events:

• 50M Breaststroke

• 50M Freestyle

• 100M Freestyle

Sophia D (Year 6, Room 7) also competed in several races and earned:

• Gold – 100M Breaststroke

• Silver – 100M Individual Medley

• Bronze in six events, including freestyle, backstroke, and butterfly

Huge congratulations to Jiezl and Sophia for their outstanding effort and results!  Well done girls!

A group of Year 5 and 6 students will be participating in the Mid Winter Festival.  The new date is Tuesday, the 22nd of July, not Wednesday, the 23rd of July. If your child is participating in this, please ensure they wear their PE uniform to school on Tuesday, not Wednesday.

An email has also been sent out today to the parents of all the students who are involved in this event.

Please complete this Google Form for your child - Middle Syndicate - Akau Tangi Sports Centre Term 3-2025. All parents of our Middle Syndicate must fill in this form. Thank you.

Our Middle Syndicate students will visit the Government House on Thursday, 7th August. All parents of our Middle Syndicate must click and complete this Google Form for your child - Middle Syndicate Government House Visit Term 3-2025. 

On Friday, 1st August, there will be NO SCHOOL as our teachers will have their Kahui Ako Professional Development Day.

Special thanks to Evan (Dad of Otis), who has organised a 30-inch TV for us to use for our raffle. Thank you Rich and the team from Streamliner Productions.

Tickets will be $5.00 each, and this will also be drawn at our Musical Bingo Night next week.

If your child has outgrown a size 10 winter tunic, we would appreciate it if you can donate it to the school office. Thank you.

If you are interested in training to become a teacher, please see Bernadette in the school office.

Kelburn Guides is having an open night on Thursday, 24th July for girls aged 9 - 12.5 years old with spaces available right now due to senior girls moving up to Rangers.

• We meet on Thursdays in Kelburn.
• We have girls from Kelburn, Te Aro, Highbury, Thorndon, and Wadestown in our unit.
• We have an awesome programme including STEM, outdoor, global & local community activities, and personal/self-confidence skills which builds girls' confidence & life skills with fun, adventure and friendship!
• We are taking expressions of interest for Kelburn Brownies, which is reopening in Term 4 for girls aged 7 – 9 years.
• We also have some spaces at Wadestown Brownies & Northland Guides

Please let me know if your daughter is interested in attending:

Text 027 292 2007

michelle@splashbathroomdesign.co.nz

Thanks in anticipation!

Ngā mihi nui,

Michelle Stronach-Marsh

Guide Leader/Unit Team Leader – Kelburn Guides

Local Coordinator – Team 7 Te Ahumairangi - Wharangi