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areer Pathways Department This week saw the first University Liaison Officer visit and it was from the University of Canterbury. Dan Gread spoke to 22 Year 13 students about studying at Canterbury, including study options, accommodation, and scholarships. As the year progresses other universities and polytechnics will have the opportunity to speak to our Year 13’s. This week our Gateway students undertook their final course in preparation for work. Safety ’n’ Action tutor, Rowena Bright, presented a Safety in the Workplace school essentials package to our students. Most students will be out in the workplace before the end of term and courses like these are an important part of their learning and preparation.
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Young Farmers Club Field Sports On Saturday the St Peter’s Young Farmers Club had a field sports day to encourage new members to join and for current members to have some fun. Emily Irwin, Caleb Coats and I had organised a day full of fun including sack races, gumboot toss, and we even finished off with an unplanned water fight. It was a beautiful day with the sun shining and a small breeze to keep us cool. Thank you to those who came, we hope you had fun. If anyone is interested to join the club, keep an eye out in the notices for our next meeting and don't forget to like our Facebook page (@SPCYFC). Olivia Shanks, Secretary
Comments from the Principal 26th February 2021
Kia ora e te whanau Lent – Time to take a step back and notice God more Submerged in a world of distraction, there are more reasons than ever for young people finding it difficult to practice disciplines that are important for their own growth. We invite our students during this season of Lent to slow down and notice everything around them in the natural world. Notice the ant crawling through the grass. Notice the way we spend our time when it is up to us. Notice the kid who ends up as the punch line of everyone’s jokes. Above it all, we are inviting them to notice God, the way God is actively at work in and around us each day, the way God speaks through Scripture and through our community, the whispers in the silence, and the shouts from the dramatic sunset. It turns out that paying attention can make all the difference. In the midst of all that noticing, we’re inviting them into practices of faith. These practices, or disciplines, shape us largely because they open up space in our lives to notice, and make meaning of God with us. The more we practice, the more we form patterns and rhythms in our lives that in turn allow the Holy Spirit to do the work of transformation. So when we pray, we become more aware of God and what God is doing. When we forgive someone, we notice that God is at work forgiving us too. Traditionally Lent is a time of fasting, a time of giving something up. Another way to approach Lent is to subtract things so we can add in new things. If we give up an hour of video games, what do we do with those extra 60 minutes? If we give up lattes, what do we do with that money? Maybe it is adding silence and stillness to a life full of noise and movement. Maybe we add prayer when we are usually silent toward God. Maybe God adds passion for serving the poor where we are usually self-absorbed. Subtract and add. Notice more. Lent means subtracting something so that we, or perhaps God, can add something new. On Monday we had our annual Athletics day, and it was great to see all of the students out there participating in their house colours with pride. I was particularly proud of those students who stayed all day to cheer on their peers and house members in the afternoon relays. A lot of time and effort goes into organising and running an event like this and I would like to thank the PE and Sports department of Ms Janelle Conlan, Mr Ronnie Kotkamp and Ms Jessica Young for their efficient organisation. Our senior student leaders also stepped up to ensure the clean up at the end of the day went smoothly. At St Peter’s College it is a privilege to work with staff and students who just get the job done, serve their community and help each other out without being asked. A special thanks also goes out to all of the parents who came down to support, help run events, and cheer their children on. This week we had Cyber Safety expert John Parsons in school to spend a day with teachers and students, followed by a session with parents in the evening. John facilitates interactive workshops where he encourages debate and audience participation. He helps students to take ownership of their own wellbeing and become capable, connected and confident in the online world. John leaves parents with the knowledge that helps them relate to and build strong relationships with their children and the school. I particularly enjoyed his messaging around values and faith and how the parent and school partnership of sharing these consistently with our young people ensures they have a solid foundation for making good decisions as adults. We thank all of the parents and caregivers who came along to hear John and meet their child’s teachers. Tara Quinney Principal Whanau Evening Thursday 25 February
It’s that time of the year when things are finally beginning to settle and it would be good for teachers and whanau to meet up and check in that everything is going well for our young people here at St Peter’s College. We’d like to invite you to join us for our Whanau Evening this coming Thursday 25 February. Tea and coffee will be available in the Hall from 6.15pm. We’ll begin the more formal gathering at 6.30pm and we should be finished by 8pm. During the course of the evening there will be an opportunity to meet the Learning Tutors from Years 7 to 10 as well as the Form Teachers of these year levels. However, whanau of ALL year levels are invited to attend this evening as we are very fortunate to have John Parsons with us on the night. Many of you will have met John before, but every year he presents on different aspects of Cyber-Safety, as it is an evolving area. This year John will work with students and staff on the topics of how to respond to bad behaviour and bullying online as well as how digital media can be used to ensure inclusivity of all. We look forward to seeing you on Thursday! Digital Devices and Preparedness for Distance learning It has been pleasing to note that the vast majority of students are coming to school every day with their devices and that their devices are charged and ready to use. There are, however, some students who are not bringing their devices regularly and are not displaying good self-management by having them charged. Indeed, some devices are coming to school with very little charge and the charger has been left at home. It is important that all students bring their devices to school, charged and ready to use every day other than days such as next Monday when we have our Athletics Sports. If there is a reason that a student does not have a device because it is in for repair and so on, please let me know so that I can pass that information on to the teachers concerned. The overnight initiation of Alert Levels in our “Covid world” is our new normal in New Zealand. All staff at St Peter’s are well prepared and resourced should we end up having to engage in distance learning as we did last year. All students will need fully functioning devices should we go into Level 3 or 4. If your student does not have a device, please be in touch with me to discuss the situation so that we can seek a solution. Nga mihi, Bridget Ryan DP Teaching and Learning St Peter’s College Young Farmers Club
Whanau and students, like our Facebook page (@SPCYFC) to keep updated with all our notices and events. This site will be our main source of communication regarding the AgriKids and Junior Young Farmer competitions. Career Pathways Department This week Gateway students attended a First Aid certificate course in preparation for going out to work. This course is run by the Red Cross and provides valuable skills for all students and a useful accreditation to put on their CV.
School Accounts and Payments
We have received many payments already for items or donations that correspond with the start of year forms that were issued at the end of last year. Items on these forms will not be loaded onto Edge school accounts until the timetable settles, usually around the beginning of March. Until then, most payments will sit in the account as an unallocated credit until such time as the items are entered and the payments are then allocated. This is a very complicated and lengthy task and we appreciate your patience as we endeavour to ensure that all school accounts are correct. Request for payments will be emailed by the end of March when the student accounts are up to date. We appreciate all the payments we have received to date. If you would like to make regular automatic payments throughout the year, we encourage this. The school’s bank account details are as follows: St Peter’s College 12 3434 0012635 000 Reference: Your child’s name If there is a specific item you would like to pay for, please also use this in the reference. Otherwise we will allocate the payment at our discretion. If you have more than one child you are paying for, we encourage you to have separate payments for each child to ensure correct payment allocation. Please also update any existing automatic payment references with the correct reference details. Camp and Trip Donations Providing school camps and trips to our school community is heavily reliant on donations being made by parents/caregivers towards the costs of organising these. Without financial donations for each attending student, the school would simply not be in a position to provide the outdoor experiences in our amazing own backyard that we have always had the privilege of being able to undertake. As well as Deep Cove and Borland Camps, some subjects also have trips included in the donation amount and without these those subjects would not be in a position to offer these amazing experiences. Tax Credit Donation Receipts You will be able to claim a tax credit after you have paid your donations, from Inland Revenue at the end of the tax year. You can find more information on ird.govt.nz/donations. We are happy to issue a donation payment receipt for this purpose, on request. Paula Robertson, Executive Officer execofficer@stpetersgore.school.nz Career Pathways Department 2021 is shaping up to be a big and busy one for the Career Pathways Department. We have 19 Gateway students with placements ranging from Agriculture to Plumbing. Prior to going out on work placement, Gateway students will be undertaking First Aid and Safety courses to ensure they are ready for work. There are 27 students in the Trades Academy programme (formerly known as Hokonui Tertiary High School) studying a wide range of courses through the Southern Institute of Technology. Trades Academy begins for the majority on 5 March 2021, with most students catching the bus to Invercargill. In the recently published SIT Community Newsletter, ex pupil James Fitchett starred, receiving his graduation certificate from SIT Acting CEO Maree Howden. James undertook Gateway and Trades Academy programmes in Automotive and now has an apprenticeship with the Southern Motor Group in Invercargill. Congratulations James!  Uniform Shop - KILTS
The Year 7 girls have been fitted for kilts. The order forms are due back asap or by texting 027 208 0442 with students full name, size, and whether you want one or not (no voicemail messages please). If your daughter missed getting fitted for a kilt, please let Mrs Egan or the Office know, and I will find a time that suits. |
