It is hard to believe we are almost at the end of the Lenten Season and school term.

Rememberance and Thanksgiving: This time last year we were isolated in our homes, social distancing, unable to visit family and friends, working remotely, learning in a different way.  The focus that many of us will remember was (and still is) to treat others with kindness. Many lessons were learned through our response to the pandemic; we were reminded of the importance and significance of Community.  During this  Easter break let's reach out to family,  friends and those around us; let's spend time together, perhaps revisiting some of the beautiful walks many of us enjoyed during lockdown.  Let's be grateful for the many gifts that surround us; the gift of people, the gift of place and the gift of faith.

During the weekend I was quietly reflecting on my 2021 lenten journey which began on Ash Wednesday, February 17. In my prayer and reflection journal I came across a past reflection from Cardinal John that I would like to share with you. I invite you to reflect upon his powerful message ‘I see it as an incredible privilege to be with God’s people and to celebrate together, to remember what God is doing among us. All liturgical prayer is an act of remembering. Over time, as the years go by and we celebrate another Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday we simply delve deeper and deeper into its richness and meaning. Over the coming days we will celebrate and remember the mystery of Jesus Christ passing from death to life. It is our mystery too. This mystery describes how we live from day to day as disciples of Jesus. This is who we are and how we are to live as faithful followers of Christ. It means that we need to ask ourselves every day, probably several times a day: “Am I living through Him and with Him and In Him.” When we can say from time to time “Yes, I am living through Him and with Him and In Him,” then we know “The mystery is Christ among you, your hope of glory.” (Col 1: 27)’

This week to link to the above message I spoke with the students about GOOD people being GOD people- in other words when we act in kind and loving ways people come to know and experience God through us. Let’s be deliberate in our actions and indeed help others come to know our God of love, the greatest teacher of all. 

Earlier this week we gathered as a school to talk about our playground spaces and the equipment that is available for students to use.  We are committed to providing a happy, safe environment for our students.  A question we encourage students to consider when engaging in break time activities is:

• Is it fun?
• Is it safe?
• Is it inclusive?

We encourage our students to be creative, to make up new games as well as modify games and activities. All of the staff and students spent some time outside enjoying a variety of activites.  

This positive support and encouragement is on ongoing journey; the thoughts and ideas of students are valued in this process.  

During the term we have carried out Fire, Lockdown, Earthquake and Tsunami drills as part of our ongoing self review practices. 

Last Friday, as you will be aware we carried out a full school evacuation. We would like to thank you for making the time to participate in this drill.

Some of the areas we felt went well included:

• Having all current parent information and contact details to hand.  REMEMBER: IF YOUR CONTACT DETAILS CHANGE PLEASE ADVISE THE OFFICE.
• The school moving quickly and quietly to the evacuation point- quite a hike for us all!
• Students sitting quietly in class lines waiting for further instructions.
• The opportunity provided for whānau to become familiar with our practices and routines. 
• Our ability to make improvements on the spot, on the day e.g., moving the parent collection point at the zig zag end of Athens Street, closer. 
• Use of cones for collection spaces
• Reassuring students and whānau of the supports already in place- food, water and thermal blankets. 

Ideas for strerngthening our practice include:

• Changing the way the cones are organised to make collection areas streamlined.
• Making these collection areas more visible 
• Having a comprehensive first aid kit stored in a house near the top of the zig zag- rather than carrying it up!

A number of parents have offered to help in the event of an emergency- thank you for this. We will have a training input session to progress this next term.  

If you have any feedback or ideas please email these through to the office.

Last Wednesday we had an evening focussing on how to establish a supportive online environment to help our tamariki be good digital citizens at home and school. This was In light of an increase in situations that we have needed to work through with the Year 7/8 children around positive choices when online. At the start of this evening, we recorded the questions and topics that Parents / caregivers wanted to cover and we recommend https://www.netsafe.org.nz/advice/parenting/ as the go to resource for finding out how you can support your child online. Another important piece of advice from netsafe is to keep the lines of communication open with your child and we encourage all families to use these conversation prompts when the time is right. They are designed for Instagram but could be used for any social media platform.

In term 2, we will be holding another one of these evenings and we strongly encourage all parents to atten

The Kāhui Ako group have secured Samuel Marsden auditorium for this interesting and informative event. The auditorium can take up to 500 people so there should be plenty of space available for all parents to attend. The entry fee for parents will simply be a gold coin donation for the Home of Compassion Soup kitchen.

We will also receive a link to the documentary after the event that we can share with you.

On Sunday, a number of our students took the next important step in their faith journey and received the sacrament of Reconciliation.

These are some of the beautiful reflections they shared:

Rory learned that God's love is never ending and immeasurable and when you have done something wrong you say sorry to that person and God.  I also learned that when you go to bed you say your prayers not play video games.

Cian: I learned that no matter what you you will always be loved. God would do anything for us.

Nadege:  God will always love and forgive us.If you do good for others, you're doing good and being kind to God.

Serena: God's love is immeasurable and you should always say sorry for things you've done wrong to the person and God.

Marlon:  No matter what you do God will always love you the same;  if you say sorry to God and the person. 

Toby: When you say sorry to people you are saying sorry to God. If you've made a wrong choice and say sorry, you feel better inisde too. 

Charles: At my reconciliation I was forgiven by Father and God. It's important to say sorry because then everyone feels better.

Elaisa: Father gave me a special prayer to say at the end of my reconciliation. I felt scared before my reconciliation, then I felt happy.

Mia: I learned that Father gave me second chance.  I felt nervous before but Father Bill made me happy.

Ninor: My cousin came and helped me with my homework. We have  to say sorry if we have made a mistake. 

Please keep these students, their families,  and all others who received the sacrament of reconciliation in your thoughts and prayers. 

Gardener of the Day

Today in the garden, we were investigating what has been eating our lettuce.

We thought it could either be caterpillars, birds or mice were responsible for eating the lettuce. We decided it was probably the green caterpillars.

Next we were in 3 stations- one was seed savings, we had to put the coriander seeds into envelopes.

In the second station we were taking the lettuce out of the seedling pots and placing them into bigger pots.

The third station we put broccoli and beetroot into seedling pots.

We then finished by cutting out paper and making labels for the coriander group.

Chef of the Day

In the kitchen today we made spaghetti with zucchini and herbs. We chopped up 4 zucchinis, and 5 garlic cloves.

Matri, Meela, Georgette and I peeled and chopped the garlic.

We noticed that our hands smelt of garlic! We mixed the ingredients with the pasta.

It was really yummy! 

Congratulations and well done to the prize winners of the PSG Easter raffle. We manged to raise a whooping $2260.00, our biggest ever result. THANK YOU! 

Thank you to all the families who sold their tickets and some families who sold many tickets, a special mention to the Semu whānau who sold the most tickets!

1. Marios

2. Serena

3. Denis

4. Margaret from Arohanui Strings

5. Angelia

6. Aimee

7. Lucy Macleod from St Pat's College

8. Bec

What a beautiful day we had to celebrate the Assyrian New Year on Sunday. There was lots of fun, laughter, food and music. Many were dressed in the traditional costume. The food was delicious and didn’t last very long! 

Thank you to Ashoor, Ameera and the team from the Assyrian community who organised this wonderful celebration.

Is your household winter-ready?  If your home is cold or you’re struggling with power bills, Sustainability Trust can help.

They can arrange free curtains, heaters and bedding to eligible households via Well Homes.

Well Homes is a free in-home service - co-ordinated by Regional Public Health and delivered in Wellington by Sustainability Trust.

Freephone Regional Public Health directly on 0800 675 675, or

e-mail David@sustaintrust.org.nz.  Ask for ‘Well Homes’.

FROM MON 29^TH MARCH: BOOKINGS OPEN FOR TERM 2 CLASSES & THE APRIL HOLIDAY PROGRAMME AT BIGAIR GYM! Classes fill up fast, so don’t miss out!

Children LOVE learning how to Cartwheel, Round-off, Handspring and Flip at BIGAIR GYMs Classes! Children develop strength, flexibility, balance, proprioception, plus determination and self-confidence as they achieve new skills! BIGAIR’s GYMNASTICS, TUMBLING, FREE RUNNING & TRAMPOLINE classes are excellent for fun and fitness! We focus on safety, technique, fundamental skills, right through to more advanced skills, such as summersaults and twisting. Bigair Gym is a pristine, exciting, kid friendly, state of the art gym facility! Our experienced coaches run structured & fun gym classes.

Keep your kids active these holidays, with our full or half day Holiday Programme sessions, while they also practice and learn new gym skills!

To Book online: www.bigairgym.co.nz Contact: Bigair Owhiro Bay - phone 383 8779 or email wgtn@bigairgym.co.nz or Bigair Tawa - phone 232 3508 or email office@bigairgym.co.nz

Nga Manu Easter Celebration 2021

Ngā Manu Nature Reserve, 74 Ngā Manu Reserve Road, Waikanae, Kapiti Coast

Friday 2 April – Monday 5 April 10:00am – 5:00pm

Gather your family, pack a picnic, and come and celebrate Easter at Ngā Manu Nature Reserve! We have Easter eggs, children’s activities and daily prizes throughout the long weekend with discounted entry for families – just $20 for a 1 adult family and $30 for a 2 adult family (up to 3 children – additional children just $5)