Term 3 Week 10
Principal's Message
Onesie Day
Thank you for supporting Wellington Free Ambulance on Onesie day last week. It was a very colourful, snuggly day, we raised a total of $69.
2026
We now know where all but two of our families will be moving to for school next year. At the start of next term I would like to be able to inform the Ministry so that relevent funding can be allocated to the new schools. Please make sure you have all your paperwork into the new schools and that you have told us officially where your child is heading to.
Faith News
Wednesday Mass
Please come and join Room 1 for Mass this Wednesday morning at 9am in Room 3.
Parish Newsletter
This week’s Parish newsletter is available here
Celebration of Learning
This Friday September 19, at 2pm in the hall we are holding our Celebration of Learning. Each class will share what they have learnt during the term. We will then head back to classes for you to have some one on one time with your children.
Anyone is welcome to join us- mums, dads, aunts, uncles, grandparents etc.
Swimming Lessons Term 4
All children will be taking part in our swimming programme during Term 4. Lessons will be on Mondays and will begin the first day of next term, Monday October 6. Children will travel by bus to the Kilbirnie Aquatic Centre at 1pm. Parents and caregivers of younger children are welcome to join us at the pool and assist with changing.
Please ensue all items of your child's clothing and footwear are clearly named. Children must remove all their belongings from the changing rooms during lessons, check that the bag your child will take to swimming is large enough for them to fit all their clothes, footwear and towel into while they are swimming.
Children are to wear their P.E uniform on swimming days.
Sun Hats Term 4
A reminder we are a sun smart school, so all children must have a school sunhat at school each day in Term 4 regardless of the weather.
Birthday Wishes
Special birthday wishes to Elijah who turns 8 this Wednesday. Also special birthday wishes to Joseph, Jesryia and Josiah who have birthdays durring the school holidays. We hope you all have wonderful, fun filled birthdays.
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
As part of our reading programme, we have a focus picture book each week.
We read this each day so that the children become familiar with the story and can practice re-telling it. We also discuss the characters, setting, plot, problem and solution. We identify new words that we haven't heard before, learn the meaning and then try to use them in our writing or speaking. We get alot of learning out of a picture book!
Last week's book was Elvie the Sheep by Colleen Brown. It is based on a true story of a sheep that lived in the Pollock's backyard in Kilbirnie Wellington. It was very exciting to have a story setting that is familiar and the children recognised places in Wellington in the illustrations. What wasn't so familiar was the concept of a farm, so we did some learning around farms, animals and their babies, and kiwi words eg paddock.
With the farm animals in the classroom, we created a farm and found other books about farm animals. It was farm fun!
Room 2 Learning
In math, we have been exploring measurement with a focus this past week on mass — learning how to measure using grams and kilograms. The children have been weighing all sorts of objects from around the classroom. We’ve discussed how different items can be measured using grams (like a pencil or a small book) and how heavier things, like a school bag or a chair, are better measured in kilograms. This hands-on learning has been so much fun and has really helped everyone to develop a strong understanding of what these units mean in real life. The class has been making great progress with using digital scales to compare and measure objects accurately.
Earlier in the term, we focused on length, using metres and centimetres to measure everything from books to the perimeter of the classroom! It has been wonderful to see the children applying their math skills to real-world situations. Our next step will be to explore capacity, learning to measure in litres and millilitres. This will complete our measurement unit, and we are looking forward to doing some fun, practical activities (possibly involving water!) to help bring this learning to life.
In writing, we have worked on a very special project all about the meaning of our names. Room 2 were so excited to research and learn more about where their names come from and what they mean. We had thoughtful discussions about why names are important and how they can connect us to our families, cultures, and identities. The students then wrote beautiful pieces describing the story behind their names. It was a joy to see the pride they took in sharing their stories with the class.
Room 4 Learning
A Load of Rubbish: Practical Packaging
For our first science session with the ‘A Load of Rubbish’ kit, Room 4 was given a scenario to test with different types of packaging. The children had to design effective packaging for a company that had developed a sports drink to be sold at local supermarkets. Working in pairs, the children began by measuring 125mls of water using an electronic scale. The water represented the sports drink they were designing and testing packaging samples for.
Another important requirement from the company was that the packaging should be able to be reused or recycled. Each pair had to consider the following criteria when testing and selecting the most effective packaging:
Will the packaging contain a liquid?
How heavy will the packaging be? (They needed to think about transport and stacking on supermarket shelves).
Is the packaging robust - could it be easily damaged if it was knocked off the shelf?
Will the packaging be able to be reused or recycled?
The children could choose from glass or plastic bottles, thin plastic bags or thin paper bags. After testing each type of packaging the children selected the plastic bottle or the glass bottle. These two packaging samples were the best choice for a liquid product, although a couple of pairs experimented with the paper bag option!
Phonics
Do you know what a polyglot is? How would you use the word ‘exothermic’ in a sentence? If you want to know the answers to these questions be at our Celebration of Learning assembly on Thursday at 2 pm, where the answers will be revealed!
Public Notices
Alliance Française September Holiday Programme
Week 1 (Monday 22 September - Friday 26 September): French heritage. Week 2 (Monday 29 September - Friday 3 October): Tales & Fables from childhood.
Children are immersed in the French language through cooking, arts and crafts activities designed to educate and entertain. From $55 per day, 9.00am—3.00pm (5 -10 years old). Contact admin@french.co.nz or book online at french.co.nz"
Interested in Gymnastics?
Whether you're new to the sport or returning, Capital Gymnastics Club in Newton offers exciting programmes for children aged 5 to 18 years. Our structured classes help kids build skills, confidence, and a love for gymnastics in a supportive environment.
📍 Visit our website: www.capitalgymsport.org.nz
📧 Email: office@capitalgymnastics.nz
📱 Call/Text: 027 239 9139
Holiday Programmes – Book Now!
The club offers two sessions so you can book for the morning, 9 - 12:30 PM, or the afternoon, 12:30- 4 pm of the full day drop off starts at 8:30 am ($30 per half session or $55)
The programmes are full of fun games, gymnastics circuits on all of our equipment, including tramp, tumbling, etc. Each day will have a gymnastics skill focus, so fun and learning will go hand in hand – No Experience needed! For more information, please go to our website: https://www.capitalgymsports.org.nz/holiday-programme
