Term 2 Week 5
Principal's Message
Catholic Schools' Days
Next Wednesday is Catholic Schools' Day, a day when schools all over the country celebrate what makes them special.
We will start our day with Mass at 9am and all are welcome to join us.
After a short morning tea we will then head up to The Penthouse to watch Lilo and Stitch.
Lunch will be provided by the school that day so you only need to pack morning tea.
In the afternoon, we will work in our house teams and take part in activities organised by our seniors.
New Schools
If you would like to have a chat and bounce around ideas about which school you are going to choose for you children next year feel free to book in a time. I recommend that you go and visit a couple of schools to get a feel for where would suit your child best. Check out school websites for enrolment forms, some of them can actually be completed online.
In Term 4, I'll contact the schools and arrange for children to do visits as a group. This will help with their nerves and also make it easier for the new schools.
Central Zone Coss-Country
Last Tuesday afternoon, Joan, Quinn, Daniel and Joseph competed in the Central Zone cross country at McAllister Park. It was a grueling event with the children running long distances and competing against eight other schools in our zone. For Daniel and Joseph it was the first time they had competed in a cross country event. Joseph came 5th in the Year 4 boys race, Danny finished 16th in the Year 5 boys race. You have to finish in the top ten runners to qualify for the Primary Sport Wellington cross country race. Quinn came 10th in the Year 6 boys race and Joan 11th in the Year 7 girls race. This means that Joseph and Quinn have qualified for the P.S.W. cross country event that will be held on Tuesday June 10th at McAllister Park when they will compete against children from all Wellington schools. Well done to Daniel, Joan, Quinn and Joseph for representing St Bernard’s and showing excellence on the running track!
Lisa
Faith News
Wednesday Mass
Please come and join us all for Mass this Wednesday morning at 9am in the school hall.
Parish Newsletter
This week’s Parish newsletter is available here
Teacher Only Day - 01 August
Just a quick reminder this Friday 01 August, is a Teacher only day, so School will be closed.
This day will be used to explore the new curriculum.
Mobile Dental Clinic Visit
From next Wednesday June 4 until Friday Jun 6, the schools’ dental nurse will be onsite in their mobile van, for the childrens annual dental check ups.
If further treatment is required your child will be given a notice to bring home. Please ask your children about their visit and check to see if they have brought any information home.
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 1: 29 May
Room 2: 05 June
Room 4: 12 June
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
Our science focus last week was all about our sense of smell. We talked about smells we like, smells we don't like, smells that remind us of different places or people. We then had a challenge activity - mystery smells! We had small containers that we sniffed to see if we could name the smell. Then, we had to see if we could find two containers that smelled the same! Our noses were very busy! Some comments from the children.....
" I can taste that smell"
"it's so strong my eyes can smell it"
" that smell has gone to my mouth"
We learnt that our sense of smell is not very good first thing in the morning, that our nose has special cells which help us smell, and that men usually have larger noses than women! Interesting fact!
Room 2 Learning
Room 2 have been working hard on their story writing skills. We've been focusing on the opening of our stories, looking carefully at what makes a great opening. The class have been helping each other with their stories by sharing their own writing and providing constructive feedback. We've been looking at how authors structure their own story openings, and we've noticed some commonalities: describing the setting, introducing the characters, and hinting at what might happen later on. The class has used these three important steps to structure their own writing. As a result we've done some awesome creative writing! Kai pai Room 2.
In maths, the class has been working hard on multiplication and division mental methods. I've seen lots of amazing work and progress! This week we begin our new fractions unit, so stay tuned for some more amazing learning.
Room 4 Learning
JB Taste Tests Activity
Last Wednesday, Room 4 participated in an activity from the science resource kit called ‘Super Senses’. The purpose of the activity was to demonstrate how the senses of sight and smell and taste work together to give flavour to our foods.
The children worked in pairs and completed two sensory tests using jelly beans. In the first test, one child was blind folded and had to sniff four jelly beans, trying to identify the flavour of each using their sense of smell. For the second test, the blindfolded child had to hold their nose and then taste (eat) the jelly bean to guess the flavour. After one child completed their tests they swapped roles. The children recorded their partner's responses.
Once the tests were finished the children could see which of their two senses was the best to identify the jelly bean flavours. Some children discovered that their sense of smell was more accurate than their sense of taste! Room 4 really enjoyed being able to taste test jelly beans as part of their science learning experience!
Public Notices
FastForward Musical Theatre
We’re excited to offer a School Holiday Program where participants work together to stage a full Broadway Jr. musical (approximately 60 minutes) in just one week!
The program runs:
- Monday to Thursday: 9am – 5pm in Khandallah
- Friday: 9am – 9pm in Lower Hutt (with 3 performances!)
Our upcoming production is Madagascar Jr., and we currently have 15 spaces available.
You can find the registration form HERE.