Kia ora e te whānau o Te Kura o Hato Karama Katorika,

Welcome back to Term 4 at St Columba’s Catholic School! I hope you all enjoyed a restful break and had some quality time together as a family. It’s wonderful to see our children back, full of energy and ready for another exciting term of learning and community life.

This term, our school-wide inquiry focus is Technology, exploring its origins, uses and impact on our lives today. Each class will dive into different aspects of technology through creative, hands-on learning experiences. Some teams are exploring themes such as wearable arts and fashion technology, while others are looking at the evolution of tools and communication.

We encourage you to talk with your children at home about what they’re learning. You'll be amazed at how they connect technology to the world around them! Keep an eye out for our Team Showcases later in the term, where students will share their discoveries and creations with the wider school community.

As we continue to celebrate our Centennial Year, we pause to honour those who came before us, the Mission Sisters (RNDM), the founders of our school and the Catholic community of St Columba.

We remember that our school stands proudly on the whenua of Ngāti Mahanga and Ngāti Wairere, and we continue to play our part as kaitiaki (guardians) of this land. We give thanks for the many hands and hearts that have shaped our school’s story over the past 100 years.

Term 4 is full of sporting opportunities, including basketball, touch rugby and athletics.

Please ensure your child brings their PE gear every day, as classes will be preparing for athletics and spending more time outdoors as the weather warms up.

Term 4 is always a busy and joyful time, filled with learning, celebrations and community events. Let’s continue to support one another and keep the spirit of St Columba’s alive through faith, kindness, and service.

Wishing you all a wonderful start to the term. Take care, stay sun-safe, and I look forward to seeing many of you at our upcoming school events.

Ngā mihi nui,
 

Gareth Duncan

Gracious God,

Thank you for the beauty and renewal of spring and the promise of summer. We are grateful for the longer days, warmer weather and the new life that surrounds us. Bless our school community as we move into this season. May our classrooms be filled with the joy of learning, and may our students and teachers find inspiration and energy for their work. We pray for those who may find this time challenging. Grant us a safe and productive term, filled with opportunities for growth, friendship and service.

Amen

The month of October is dedicated to the Rosary. We started our school term off with a rosary liturgy as a whole school. Classes are praying a decade of the rosary each day, and started with the joyful mysteries this week.

The word rosary comes from Latin and means a garland of roses. The rose is a flower used to symbolise Mary the Mother of Jesus. The rosary  is a form of meditative prayer that can be done individually or in groups such as a class. Prayer beads used to count prayers. It is prayed by meditating on events in the life of Jesus and Mary, known as "mysteries," while praying the Hail Mary, the Our Father and other specific prayers.

All Children should be in summer uniform from this week.

School hats are compulsory during Term 4.

The school uniform is to be worn with pride. It is expected that the correct uniform be worn at all times. 

All garments should be clearly named. Please note the following school uniform expectations.

Hair:

Nail polish and cosmetics:

Jewellery and Valuables:

Skins

Pupils may however wear:

Please note: If your child does not have the correct uniform, their classroom teacher requires a note or Seesaw message.

Our School works with SchoolDocs to provide a website for maintaining, updating and reviewing our school policies. Different policies are under review each term and our school community can submit feedback. Follow the instructions below to contribute to the review.

Note that you can review any policy that has a “Start your review” button, not just the key policies listed in Current review and review instructions. There will be other related policies in that section of the site open for review.

There has been a change to the format of our End of Year Certificate Assembly and Final Mass Prizegiving. These will now be combined into one event rather than held separately.

Awards and certificates will be presented at a single prizegiving on Wednesday 10 December at 11.00am in the Church.

The Final Mass will continue to have a leavers’ theme and will be on Tuesday 16 December at 11.00am in the Church.

THIS SATURDAY 11 October - get ready for a night of fun, laughter and friendly competition at our FOTS Quiz Night.

Tickets are $150 a table or $15.00 per person at a table of no more than 10 people. 

Lots of auction items, raffles, and fun prizes are up for grabs, along with the bragging rights for the winning team and the prestigious honour of winning the FOTS Quiz Night Shield.

If you haven’t experienced an SCCS Quiz Night and don’t have a table of 10 people, don't worry, come along and join a team!

Term 1:  Monday 2nd February to Thursday 2nd April

Term 2:  Monday 20th April to Friday 3rd July

Term 3:  Monday 20th July to Friday 25th September

Term 4:  Monday 12th October to Monday 14th December

The St John’s Orientation Day is scheduled for Friday 14 November for all students who have been accepted by St John’s.

More information regarding the day will be sent closer to the time.

A big thank you to all our SCCS Kids Club families who supported us over the holidays and shared their children with us all. It was a fun, wet holiday break, but we managed to do a lot of activities to keep the kids entertained while you worked. If you missed seeing some of the photos we posted on Seesaw, please let us know and Deb can send them to you. Some great moments were captured.

Please check with your children if they have left any lost property behind, as our bucket has grown over the holidays. Could the owner of a pair of red band Skellerup gumboots, left behind from our “STEM” activity day, pop into Kids Club to collect them.  

Our Christmas close-down dates and summer holiday dates are to be confirmed with the school first, then a notice will be posted on the Kids Club Seesaw classroom and in the next school newsletter, so you can start planning your family child care over the summer months while school is closed. 

Strike day….. Thursday 23rd October 2025 - Kids Club is closed due to our school closure that day.   

Transition visits for new students to SCCS - These visits are very beneficial to our little ones starting school and to our staff. Please contact Deb Honey on 021 586 633 to arrange a meeting and a plan before your child/ren start school. This has proven to be beneficial for our new students in their first 2 weeks of starting school, with all the new things/experiences that our 5-year-olds have to suddenly do.  It is a very busy first 2 weeks of learning lots of new things! Expect very tired children while they get used to their new, long days of learning. Thank you in advance for working with us to help your child settle into school/after-school care from the start.  

WINZ Forms -  If you need to apply for or want to apply for a WINZ subsidy for ASCare, please contact Deb to have your application completed. Once you have applied and received confirmation of acceptance, you are required to complete a new form (1 page) each term prior to the new term starting.   It is your responsibility to get your forms to Deb to complete her Kids Club section; otherwise, you will need to pay your school account yourself.  Please contact our school office if you need to discuss your account.   

Business hours……  Our business hours are 2.45pm to 5.30pm Monday to Friday.   Please allow enough time to collect your children by 5.30pm each day, as our staff also have families and do need to get away on time.   This is much appreciated in this busy world. 

Thank you for your support, and we look forward to entertaining your children in Term 4. 

Below are the details to order sports photos.