Kia ora koutou katoa e te Whānau,

Welcome to the start of the 2025 school year! Whether you're a five-year-old starting your school journey, a student joining us for the first time from another school, or a family or staff member new to St Columba’s, we extend a warm and heartfelt welcome to our Catholic community.

This year, our school theme is ‘Zeal’—a word that embodies great energy, passion, and enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or purpose. It invites us all to reflect on what ignites our passion and how we can channel that into serving and supporting one another.

As part of this, our school will focus on finding and celebrating the unique gifts that each person brings to our community. Through the lens of zeal, we aim to inspire our students to live with purpose and courage, embracing opportunities to make a positive difference in their lives and the lives of others.

This term, our school-wide inquiry is driven by the question:
“What makes our school such a taonga (treasure)?”

This ties into an incredibly special milestone: St Columba’s School and Parish are celebrating 100 years of life and service! From February 28th to March 2nd, we will honour this centennial anniversary with events that bring together our entire community to reflect on our history, celebrate our present, and look forward to our future.

Zeal in Action—A Family Reflection.
We encourage you to talk about our theme of zeal at home. Here are two questions to reflect on as a family:

What is Zeal?
The word zeal means “great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or an objective.” It is beautifully captured in the words of our school’s founding nun, Sr. Euphrasie Barbier of the Mission Sisters (RNDM):

As we embark on this year, let’s embrace zeal in all that we do—learning, sharing, serving, and growing as a community.

Important Dates for Term 1 - Here are some key dates to mark on your calendars:

Stay Connected
To keep updated, we will be sharing information through Facebook and Seesaw, so please check these platforms regularly. If you need more information about these platforms please talk to your child’s teacher.

Changes to personal details - Please, if you have changed an email address and other contact details let us know in the office immediately - we don’t want you to miss out on communication between school and home. For new parents, the old-school paper copy newsletter no longer exists, the vast majority of communication is via electronic means. Always call the school on 07 847 9322 or go to our school website to find more information or check what’s going on. 

Facebook - St Columba’s Catholic Primary School

Website - stcolumbas.school.nz

Let’s make 2025 a year filled with energy, enthusiasm, and purpose as we embrace our theme of zeal and continue to build our vibrant St Columba community together.

Ngā mihi nui,
Gareth Duncan
Principal

Special Mention
On behalf of our St Columba’s Catholic School community, I would like to extend our gratitude to Mrs Kerry Ranapiri for her exceptional service as our Director of Religious Studies (DRS) over the past four years.

Kerry has been instrumental in strengthening and refocusing our Catholic faith within the school community, particularly during the challenging period following COVID-19.  Her commitment ensured that our students, staff, and families continued to have access to the church and opportunities to nurture their faith.

Throughout her tenure as DRS, Kerry has been a pivotal leader, especially in guiding and supporting our sacramental programmes. Her dedication to the spiritual growth of our students has been evident not only in these programmes but also in her leadership, support, and faith-filled presence during key moments for our school and parish.

Kerry is not leaving St Columba’s, and we are delighted that she will continue to be part of our community as a classroom teacher (Titoki), a leader of the Young Vinnies, and a valued contributor to our school and parish. Kerry’s daily modelling of her passion for faith and her tireless service to our community are attributes we admire deeply. Her leadership has brought the face of Christ to life in our school, inspiring both students and staff to live with purpose and compassion.

Kerry, we thank you for your work and your faith-filled leadership at St Columba’s Catholic School.

In concluding this thank you, I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate  Mr Jolan Search, who will step into the role of Acting Director of Religious Studies while we take the time to advertise for a permanent appointment. Mr Search will continue his responsibilities as one of our Deputy Principals, alongside Miss Anna Gerritsen.

Policy & Procedures
SchoolDocs updates, modifies, and creates policies in response to changes in legislation or Ministry guidelines, significant events, reviews/requests from schools, and regular reviewing from the SchoolDocs team. Our school board has the opportunity to view changes/additions and comment on them before they are implemented. We will advise you when policies are up for review and how you can take part in the review. Please visit the Policy and procedures schooldocs site from the link on our school website.

Welcome to 2025, as we celebrate 100 years as a school and parish community. It is a special time for all of us to look back with gratitude, learn about our history, celebrate the present, and step forward with hope.

Pope Francis has also declared 2025 as a year of Jubilee with the theme Pilgrims of Hope, giving voice to his desire for the year to foster a greater sense of global sisterhood and brotherhood, solidarity with the poor, and caring for the environment. I challenge each of our families to consider how they may, in their own way, respond to this special Jubilee Year.

As part of nurturing your child’s faith journey, you are encouraged to attend Mass together as a family. St Columba’s Parish Mass times are on Sunday at 8am and 10am. It is also beneficial for your child’s faith to have simple moments of prayer at home – like saying grace or reflecting on something they are thankful for.

This term, our main Religious Education (To Tātou Whakapono) focus is Ā Tātou Whakapapa – Our Story. Children will be learning about the story of the Church and our place in it, connecting our lives to our land, ancestors and heritage. As Lent approaches, we will reflect on the meaning of sacrifice, forgiveness, and hope leading into Easter.

In the Heart of Euphrasie Barbier

Jolan Search

Deputy Principal / DRS 

Please remember hats must be worn at all times during Term 1 and Term 4.

Ensure your child has a drink bottle each day.

Hair must be worn off the face and tied back if longer than the bottom of the collar and be a natural hair colour. Navy, black, white or maroon hair ties or head bands are in keeping with uniform standards and are acceptable headwear. Head scarfs are not to be worn, unless for cultural or medical reasons or for specific events.

Nail polish and cosmetics are not permitted. Fingernails should be clean and well cared for.

It is a requirement that footwear is worn to and from school.  Children must have footwear on before they leave the school grounds each day.

Rings, bracelets and earrings can be easily lost or damaged at school. They may also cause injury to the wearer. For safety reasons, we ask that these are not worn. The school accepts no responsibility in the case of loss, damage or injury.

a) One pair of ear studs

b) A watch (No smart watches)

c) One plain chain, or pendant of bone carving, of religious or cultural significance — to be worn underneath clothing

Based on the Government directive, NO phones are allowed at school.  If children must bring a phone to school it is to be handed into the office for safe storage throughout the school day and collected at the conclusion of the day.

Term 1 - Monday 3 February to Friday 11 April
Term 2 - Monday 28 April to Friday 27 June
Term 3 - Monday 14 July to Friday 19 September
Term 4 - Monday 6 October to Tuesday 16 December

Team 1 - Yr 1/2 - Team Leader Hine Blair
Team 2 - Yr 2/3 - Team Leader:  Lorraine Thomas
Team 3 - Y 3/4 - Team Leader: Charlotte Manning
Team 4 - Y5/6 - Team Leader: Janelle McKay
Team 5 - Y7/8 - Team Leader:  Andrea Noakes

          

Basketball Term 1: 

Venue - YMCA/ Fraser HIgh

Start Date: TBC

Wednesday - Year 3-4

Thursday - Year 1-2

Friday - Year 5 - 6

Venue -  Swarbrick Park (6 week league)

Thursday 20 Feb - Year 1-6 

Monday 24 Feb - Year 7-8

I would like to wish all our SCCS Kids Club families a warm welcome back in to Term 1, of 2025.  We hope everyone had a restful break with family and friends over the summer.  Thank you to all our families who supported the SCCS Kids Club Holiday Programme over the summer and for all the kind comments and compliments on our programme, which are gratefully received. 

Please download our 2025 enrolment form from our school website and complete, then email it to Deb at kidsclub@sccs.school.nz.  We will contact you to make an appointment to visit our centre. 

If your child is new to school, please give them time to settle into school before starting them with us so they can adjust to the long school days of learning.  This works very well, especially with our new five year olds. Any questions or queries, please contact Deb to discuss your needs on 021 586633 anytime. 

When your child is going to be away from Kids Club on their booked days, please text Deb on 021 586633 to advise that they are going to be away so our staff are not worried and looking around the school grounds for them.  Absences once booked are chargeable days as per your signed enrolment form.  

All students who attend Kids Club need to wear a sunhat in Term 1 & 4 same rules as school.   Any hat will do when at Kids Club, so maybe pack an extra one. 

There will be a late fee charged to your school account when there is a late pick as per your signed enrolment form.

Thanks again for all your support in 2024 and continued support into 2025.  Thanks for sharing your children with us while you are busy working. 

Regards