Back row: Normanii, Mila, Ane, Natalia
Middle row: Lau-Ó-uvea, Austin, Aksa, Aumetua, Casey
Front row: Jaydan, Deborah, Harriet, Alexis, Angelo, Matteo

Back row: Iva, Molly, Amiyah, Ryder, Amae
Front row: Sophie, Mateo, Ameliah, Luna

Over the past two weeks we have welcomed two third year College of Education students to our kura. Miss Wedderburn (Summer) will be teaching in Room 5 with Mrs Burke, and Miss Beattie (Neve) will be teaching in Room 7 with Ms Tayles. We can see they are already getting to know the tamariki and settling in well, we hope they enjoy their time with us.

Room 6 has had a wonderful start to the year, creating artwork, celebrating successes, and supporting each other. The three rules in our classroom are to protect each other and our environment, participate in all activities and work in partnership together. These guidelines fit in nicely with the principals of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and help us to be the best that we can be! 

Our inquiry topic is Ships and Seafarers to New Zealand. This week we have started to create coral gardens from the Pacific where a lot of our explorers have come from. Today we wrote about the legend of Kupe and te wheke, Kupe was an explorer who was led by a giant octopus around Aotearoa. There was some great retelling of this legend. Well done, Room 6 and keep up the great work!

On Monday the Year 5 and 6 children explored the EPRO8 equipment and took part in a team challenge in the hall. Our task was to build a concrete truck and the mixer on it had to be able to spin round and round in a circle. At the end of the practice run we waited to find out which teams would move on to the school challenge. Seven teams were selected to take part in the school final on Tuesday.

In the school final, each group was able to choose one of the three options , a machine with a roller to paint a room, a carousel, and the third option was a fan that had to spin.     

It was a lot of work, both physical and mental. The most important thing was to work as a team. It was fun working with friends. The maths was challenging but we thought we did well at it. We worked very hard. We were so hungry at lunchtime and our fingers were sore from tightening and loosening screws and bolts. We were very tired but it was so much fun. It was definitely worth it.

When time was up we were super worried about the results to see if we would make it to the Dunedin final in April.  

From the 7 teams on Monday, 2 were selected to take part in that final. Some were very happy, and some were a bit disappointed, but everyone learned lots and we all really enjoyed the experience.

Report by Franklin, Eleni and Hunter. 

Congratulations to AJ, Piuela, Noah H, McKenna, Aumetua and Walker who were all successful in the Move it March draw this week. Keep up the great walking.

This morning we were treated to a delightful prayer assembly from our Year 1 tamariki. We all enjoyed watching video clips about things that were precious to them, and hearing them share their knowledge about how special and unique each and every one of us is! Listening to them read and sing, and watching them dance, could not help but fill you with joy. We would like to express our gratitude to all our whānau for entrusting us with the care of your precious, unique tamariki; it is a responsibility we truly treasure.

Last week I had the privilege of travelling to the Far North with a group of Otago Southland Catholic primary principal colleagues. This was a trip I have already done with Māori Achievement Collaborative colleagues, but it was wonderful to experience it again as a 'Hīkoi Wairua - a spiritual pilgrimage'.
Our purpose was to build our knowledge of Te Tiriti O Waitangi and the significance of the area to Tangata Whenua, and the relationship between tāngata whenua (the first peoples of Aotearoa), and tāngata Tiriti. It was also a time to reflect on our understanding and responsibilities as tāngata Tiriti and as tumuaki of Catholic schools.
For me it was a chance to deepen my understanding of the connection Māori have with whenua and whakapaka, and to marvel at the skill those early explorers had, being able to build waka to withstand the Pacific Ocean, and navigate by stars and tides to our beautiful Aotearoa (I was very excited to read that Room 6 had been learning about Kupe's journey).
Our guide Shane and the wonderful people at the Waitangi Treaty grounds helped us to understand some of the complexities about the early relationships between Māori and early European settlers. We also marvelled about Bishop Pompallier's commitment to learning reo Māori, and were fascinated by the story of the Pompallier Mission and Printery.  Standing on the pa site of Hongi Hika and listening to his story told by iwi, was also very special.
If you ever have the opportunity, I encourage you to embark on this hīkoi! To be at Waitangi is to be still enough to hear God the Creator’s whisper in the salt air, calling us back to truth, to treaty, and to each other.

Thank you to all those whānau who follow our procedures for using the car park for pick up and drop offs. This helps us to keep our tamariki safe. It is always good to remind everyone what the expectations around the use of our carpark are:

We have many children at St Bernadette's who have holidays during term time, mostly those who are returning home to visit family. It is important you consider your reason for going, when you go and how long you go for, before booking a holiday during term time. Our Attendance Plan (available on our website) states 'a written request needs to be submitted and held on record if this occurs'. On most occasions it will be categorised as an explained but not justified absence (see attendance codes on the website as well). Talking to us in advance on the (hopefully rare) occasions it is necessary to travel when children should be at school, will give us time to prepare school work so your child does not fall behind. 
We know 'children who attend school every day are more likely to have friends, to achieve success, to develop good social behaviours and learning skills, and to be ready for secondary school'.