Term 4 Week 6
Principal's Message
Twilight Festival
Thank you so much for all the lovely baking you did to support our stall at the Brooklyn Festival on Saturday. We raised around $650! A big thanks to the Allen-Stone, Harper and McLean families for manning the stall with Mr Small and myself. Congratulations to our guitar players who were a big hit on the Festival stage. I was so proud I cried - you are amazing! Thank you to Emily for teaching them and preparing them so well for the performance.
Lisa
Faith News
Wednesday Mass
Please come and join Room 2, along with members of the parish, for Mass this Wednesday morning at 9am,
in Room 3.
Parish Newsletter
This week’s Parish newsletter is available here
Brooklyn Library Visits
This term we will resume our termly visits to Brooklyn Library. If your child wishes to borrow a book during the visit they need to bring their personal library card with them. We will return books on the next visit if they are brought back in time. Books not brought on the day of the visit will need to be returned by yourselves. If you would like to leave your child's card in the classroom between visits then teachers will find a safe place to keep them.
Room 2: 20 November
Room 4: 27 November
2025 Term Dates
Term 1 - Mon 3 Feb to Fri 11 April (Waitangi Day 6 Feb)
Term 2 - Mon 28 April to Fri 27 June (Kings birthday 2 June, Matariki June 20)
Term 3 - Mon 14 July to Fri 19 Sept
Term 4 - Mon 6 Oct to Wed 17 Dec (Labour Day Oct 27)
Absences
If your child is sick or unable to attend school for all or part of the day, please either send a notification via the school app (skool loop), email the school office on office@stbernards.school.nz or phone 3899377 by 9.00 a.m. so that your child's absence can be accounted for.
Children who are late need to report to the office in case they have been marked absent by the teacher who takes the roll first thing in the morning.
If an absence is planned for a special reason, a note or telephone call to the school in advance is appreciated. In cases of prolonged absence, e.g. a family trip, a written note is required.
Room 1 Learning
Last week the Room 1 children tried out a different after lunch routine. Each day ( Mon-Weds) Ms Parsons put out a different activity that we could do for 10 mins, quietly, by ourselves after lunch. These were stencils and drawing, puzzles, mazes and dot to dots. These activities helped our brains and bodies become calm and focussed after the busyness of lunchtime play. Then we were ready for afternoon learning.
During our literacy time, the focus last week was on the alphabet. The Year 1 children had a checklist of alphabet related activities to see what they could do..
- Say/sing the alphabet, pointing to the corresponding letters
- Correctly form the lower case letters
- Say the sound each letter makes
Then we had some fun buddy time, exploring all the alphabet related puzzles, games and equipment.
Room 2 Learning
Room 2 have been learning about their unique whanau (family) as part of our R.E. unit called "My Whanau & Jesus' 'Whanau." We've looked at what makes our families unique and talked about accepting the differences that our unique families each have. We compared and contrasted family traditions, size, food, culture, language, and religion. We then dived in deep by exploring different ways families might pray together and how they might share (or don't share) their faith together. The class reflected on their own experiences of prayer, church, or other faith related traditions that they have experienced within their families. Later we talked about what the word 'identity' means and how our unique identities might have been formed. In the photos below we are exploring ways in which our identity has been shaped by our families, interests, culture, values, and experiences.
Room 4 Learning
Native Bird Research
This term the Year 7 and 8 children researched New Zealand birds. They found lots of facts about our native birdlife. Below is a selection of facts from our Year 7 and 8s about the birds they researched.
Alna - Kiwis
Kiwis are so cute, especially baby kiwis with tiny black eyes. Kiwis have a long beak they use to smell their food. Kiwis are greyish brown and they have strong muscular long legs. Do kiwis have feathers or fur? They have feathers that are just loose and it makes them look fluffy. They also can have whiskers like a cat but no tail feathers. Kiwis that are full grown can go up to 45 cm to 60 cm. Male kiwis weigh up to 1.4 to 3.2 kilograms while the females weigh 2 to 3.9 kilograms.
Clara - Kea
Most Keas live in the South Island. Some of them are in Zealandia. In the South Island, Keas live in forests and mountains. They are mostly found in The Golden Bay and Fiordland areas. Keas can also be found around the coast of the South Island and are protected in New Zealand. Keas are endangered and have been protected since 1986.
Danica - Morepork
The diet of a Morepork is small birds and large insects like huhu beetles, moths and cicadas. Their predators are stoats and possums. Moreporks are carnivores (this means they eat other animals). They are also not endangered in New Zealand, (which is very good to hear).
Erin - Kākā
FUN FACTS:
The scientific name for the Kākā is the Nestor meridionalis septentrionalis.
Bird noise is like a loud musical whistle.
Kākā birds like to chatter.
Kākā are endangered and almost extinct. There are less than 10,000 more kākās.
Mason - Kākāpō
Kākāрōs eat lots of fruit. They have to get from branches of the rimu tree. Kākāрōs also eat juicy supplejack vines from the ground. Another plant they eat is called orchard tubers.
Natalie - Kea
Keas are omnivores, which means they eat a variety of bugs, roots, small birds and mammals. The male forages for the female and chicks while in the nest. The female and chicks are most vulnerable during this three month fledgling period because the chicks cannot leave the nest. Juvenile Kea can fly and tend to stay with their parents until their first birthday. Sub-adult Keas leave their parents and travel around looking for a mate and a territory. Keas are considered mature at 4 years of age. Adult Keas mate for life.
Riley - Kingfisher
Kingfishers weigh about 31-55 grams and are 16 to 24 centimetres in height. Kingfishers have a green-blue on their back. A Kingfisher’s beak is long and pointy. Kingfishers have buff yellow undersides. Kingfishers have white collars and black eye strips.
Vincent - Pūkeko
The Pūkeko’s diet mainly consists of plants but they can also eat small fish, eggs and insects. They eat the following plants and vegetables: leaves, roots, weeds, kumara and potatoes. The animal portion of their diet includes small insects, eggs, frogs, lizards, small fish, young ducklings and chicks. Pūkekos catch the food with their beak and use it to cut, pull or crack open the food. They then use their feet to secure or hold it while eating.
Public Notices
