Tēnā rā koutou katoa,

I hope the first week of swimming has gone well for all those involved! We have a few updates below that will interest most. Lots of work is going on in the school whilst swimming is on. Hopefully the next newsletter will have photos of all the new things in the school completed. Exciting times! More to come!!! This is a huge newsletter but important to read the parts that affect you (we have subheadings to help).

2024 STRUCTURE
Congratulations
We congratulate Te Māio Tamati-Stirling and Ateliana Tiatia for successfully gaining positions here for 2024. Both are amazing assets to our school and are full of talent. We are so excited that we are part of their ongoing journey, and they are a part of ours!

Room Changes
The rooms some teachers are in and the ages they are teaching may change a bit next year, but a consistent staff is a nice thing! As we only have a handful of year 8’s leaving, we only have a handful of students to replace them next year, so many students may not move rooms (note, this is not to do with their learning).

Bilingual classes Years 5-8 
As you are aware, we had so many applications for these, we are starting two classrooms. The maximum number of children will be 18 in the room (compared to 30ish in other rooms), however, being the first year, we are aiming for 15-16 in each to ensure we set them up well. This ratio is used for staffing through the Ministry and is not our decision. This bilingual education attracts a lot more funding also, so students in these classes will receive the same trips and opportunities as normal but will often have more trips and opportunities due to us having more money to run those classrooms. Some students commented, as there are not many students in the class, they were worried some friends would be in the other class. We reminded them, before school, morning tea, lunctime, after school, weekends, Hagley Sport, camps etc they will all be together, and also reminded them, more students, more distractions from learning. If there are any parents who missed the applications, please contact me as we are starting to form waitlists for them principal@stannes.co.nz

Pasifika Update
There were discussions at our Pasifika Fono regarding the future at St Annes for pasifika learners. In 2024, Ateliana Tiatia will not be a classroom teacher but will spend the year supporting all teachers to be more culturally capable, increasing our Samoan students language and culture abilities, increasing our community’s (also wider community-Kāhui Ako) abilities also, and working with management to create the possibility of a Samoan Bilingual Unit for 2025.

OTHER IMPORTANT NOTICES
Update-Road Works
Thank you for you patience with the road works outside of school, you will be excited to know the housing is finished at the end of the street so the street should be clearer from now. It will be nice not having to complain to the council anymore regarding cones and sign placement.

Parking
This is still pretty poor. Traffic wardens will be in the area regularly now due to the danger. The council witnessed whilst dealing with a complaint of mine about signs obstructing views. We are a school dedicated to our faith. Our faith isn’t about us, it’s about others. Please think about about our children and community before parking or driving dangerously to save you a few seconds (or whatever the reason).

Update-Entrance, Rooms 3 and 4, Kidsbase
Thank you for your patience here. The School Board approved replacing carpet in these rooms due to the age, look and feel of the existing. Rooms 3 and 4 have been enjoying their new scenery in the Mission Centre. The workers are on track to finish soon so will be live as normal early Monday!

Update-Rooms 5 and 6
Monday may have students working in the Mission Centre. This is because we are installing the outdoor cubbies seen in front of Rooms 1,2,7,8. Children like them as their bag, jackets, drink bottles and hats all easily fit in one space. They commented in dislike of hooks as things fall on the ground and everything has to be in their bag all the time. We also find 50-60 children going into one cloakroom at the same time each day for morning tea, lunch and afterschool difficult. Also, unfortunately, the lack of respect for the cloakroom from unseen eyes, with food left on the floor, rubbish left etc. We thank the School Board for approving this for the students of Rooms 5 and 6. This should only take the day to complete.

Our Faith – Our Focus
We are Catholic! Love is front and centre. For God, and for our neighbour. Please discuss these with your children. See what they say. A couple of school examples and a couple made up.
Four examples this week as why a few things below don’t show we love God and our neighbour fully:
-Name call or put down
We believe all baptised people have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them. When we put someone down, we are putting Jesus down, he said this to everyone clearly on his Mission. Calling people a name is like starting to crunch up a piece of paper, eventually it becomes a ball. We can unroll it but it stays wrinkled.
-Walk past someone crying and not help
If we believe all people are made in God’s image, are loved by God and the Holy Spirit dwells within them, how could we walk past? When you help them, you are helping me-Jesus said!
-Drop rubbish in God’s favourite school (St Annes!)
This school represents our faith, and God. If we believed that fully, we would be constantly ensuring it was perfect like the flowers in Church. We wouldn’t walk past a piece of rubbish, we would help our teachers ensure the room was perfect at the end of the day to make the life of our cleaners easier and knowing, God dwells here!
-Wear incorrect uniform
Wearing a uniform correctly says I’m proud of my school! I am proud of my faith! I respect my teachers and the school’s rules as I care about others. We see some families, ensuring their child is tidy and in the exact uniform, and they apologise so much the shoes are wet from the day before and they need one day to dry them. We see the utmost care and love of others at the forefront!
A request, if a student is ever trying to break a rule or law, spend some time helping your child try to understand why the rule or law was made in the first place, if that doesn’t help, look at the rule or law again from our faith’s perspective.

We are celebrating those who live ‘love of God’ and ‘love of neighbour’. They are our role models. It is why we exist as a school. GRIT is on the subs bench and now each assembly week, one student is chosen per class who has really shown their faith over the week. They then come to my office to hang out and choose prizes. They are asked if they want photos (for family) by themselves, with another student in the room, or with me as (if you are wondering why the photos are a mixture of these).

Christmas Appeal by Clara Fleming
It’s that time of year again! The St Vincent de Paul Society are running their annual Christmas Grotto and are in need of donations to make this possible. Vinnies are asking for new (or good quality second hand), unwrapped gifts for children and young adults. Over the next two weeks we will be collecting gifts at school, with the last day for donations being Friday 24th November. Thank you very much for your support and generosity!

Signs
Thanks Derty Bull Creative (a parent here) for these designs and Langham Signs for making our new signs. The designs reflect our many cultures at our school weaving through our country’s bicultural and bilingual foundations. Jonny used Pasifika (red to orange) and South East Asia (green to yellow) symbolism, colours and designs linking with a Māori Koru based design. Our long standing motto, ‘Living our faith through our actions’ is the only writing (except our original name) on there showing our most important thing!

South East Zone Athletics – By Dean Isherwood
Yesterday, a group of dedicated St. Anne’s students proudly represented our school at the South East Zone Athletic Championships, and it turned out to be an outstanding day. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Penny Cherry and Matt Brorens for their tireless efforts. We’d also like to express our thanks to Blair Forester for ensuring the safe transportation of our students to and from Hansen Park, along with the beloved gazebo! Remarkably, three of our students have secured a spot in the upcoming Canterbury Primary School Athletic Championships, which is set to take place later this term. A round of applause for Maua Tanoai, Shammie Batangas, Eric Loto and Zak Walker.
Maua Tanoai achieved a resounding victory in the Year 7 Boys Shot Put with an impressive throw of 8.65 meters. Eric Loto also won the AWD shot put event. Zak Walker also made us proud by clinching 2nd place in the Year 8 Boys High Jump, with a remarkable jump of 1.35 meters. Shammie Batangas showcased her skills, securing 2nd place in the Year 7 Girls Long Jump with a distance of 3.98 meters.
Our students’ achievements don’t stop there; here are some other notable results from the event:
– Issy Wichman achieved 3rd place in the Year 7 Girls High Jump, with a notable jump of 1.15 meters.
– Willow Cherry and Eve have qualified for the Year 7 Girls 60m Sprint Final.
– Shammie Batangas also qualified for the Year 7 Girls 100m Sprint.
– Willow Cherry demonstrated her skills by securing 5th place in the Year 7 Girls 1200m Distance Race.
– Maua Tanoai’s versatility was on display as he secured 5th place overall in the Year 7 Boys Discus.
– Let’s not forget to congratulate Luis Bonot, who has qualified for the Year 8 Boys 60m Sprint Final.
A massive thanks to Dean, and also to Matt Broren for their work training the students daily, also to Penny and the parent helpers on the day!

Touch
This is the first season I haven’t been able to make it down due to work and family commitments on a Thursday. I miss refereeing as got me fit for summer! A huge thank you to all the coaches offering to help! You are Kuru Pounamu!!!! Absolute treasures! Lots of photos on our Facebook page.

Te Atua te aro’a!
Kia manuia,
Dallas Wichman
Tumuaki