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Preparatory School Newsletter

Thursday 23 March 2023

Parent-Teacher-Interviews

The interviews were very well attended this week. I thank you for making the effort to participate. These are valuable conversations. It is important for your child to know we are a team working together; this was particularly important with the Goal Setting reports being the focus of discussions. I also thank the teachers for the time they gave to the interviews – they have had a very big four days!

The StAC-Up winning House for the end of Term 1 is Erwin. This means the Erwin students may wear casual gear with a little (or lot) of red to school next Thursday 30 March.

This Afternoon

While many of the teaching staff attended an off-site Union meeting this afternoon, those who remained along with support staff ran a most successful activities session for the children. It was fun times for all.

End of Term 1

Just a reminder, Term 1 concludes on Thursday 6 April, at 12.35pm. Please note, there will be no After-school Care available. Term 2 commences on Tuesday 2 May at the normal time.

Regards

Jonathan Bierwirth
Principal of Preparatory School
Deputy for Rector

Preparatory School Prefects' Investiture

On Tuesday, the Preparatory School Prefects' Investiture was held in the Centennial Chapel. It was a special occasion for these children and their families. Preparatory School Chaplain, Jillian Fenton gave a message themed around leadership, highlighting a number of influential leaders including Pipe Band Leader and former Preparatory School student, Toby Cammock-Elliott (Year 13). It was wonderful to have the whole Preparatory School present for this special occasion as well as the Secondary School Heads of College, Torin Ward, Lily Champion-Smith, Poppy Rumble and Lachie Odlin. Congratulations to everyone involved.

Flickr

Well-being at StAC – together building better people for life

In the Preparatory School we are committed to educating whole child and looking after the well-being of our students is core to achieving this goal. Well-being in the Preparatory School context is underpinned by a number of facets including:

StAC-Up values and token rewards;
restorative conversations;
explicit teaching and social and emotional learning through the Health Curriculum;
pastoral and counselling support;
survey tools, including Komodo.

This year we are again using the well-being survey tool, Komodo, with our students from Years 4–8. Komodo is a well-being platform for students where they complete a survey once a fortnight on specific areas of well-being. Through carefully developed questions, teachers are then able to identify individuals or groups who require follow-up. This may take the form of a quick check-in or more regular support through the pastoral team. Any referral to the pastoral team will always involve parent conversation and permission. If you would like to know more about Komodo, the information sheet below provides more detail about the tool.

Click here to read Komodo Parent Information

Counselling facilities are available at any time to parents with student concerns. For most matters, parents will initially consult with their child’s classroom teacher, the Principal of Preparatory School or Syndicate Leaders. For matters of assessment, referral or guidance with more personal matters, Deputy Principal of Preparatory School (Well-being), Vicki Pettit can be contacted through the Preparatory School office. Mrs Pettit co-ordinates referrals to the Counsellor.

Notices

STACTALKS: TEENS AND TECH

Registrations are now open for the next session in the College's free parent evening series, StACTalks: Teens and Tech. The presentation is aimed at parents of children aged 10 and above, however, all current parents are welcome to attend.

During this technology-focused presentation, St Andrew’s College staff and members of the College’s wider community will discuss the topic of technology and adolescent well-being. They will present their ideas about the positive and negative impacts of technology use and will reflect on the approach St Andrew’s has adopted in response to research about technology, pornography, teaching and learning and social media. The evening will conclude with a panel discussion where parents will have the opportunity to ask questions, provide feedback, and consider strategies they can adopt at home to promote positive technological use and prioritise well-being.

When: Tuesday 28 March
Where: Centennial Chapel
Time: 6.30pm–8.00pm

Sport Medley Holiday Programme

This year we will be running a Sport Holiday Programme during the last week of the April holidays (Wednesday 26 April – Friday 28 April). The sessions will run between 9.00am–1.30pm each day. Students can be dropped off from 8.30am. We will meet in the Preparatory School Library. Lunch will be included each day. The programme will be available for Year 1–8 students.

The sessions will be run by a variety of professional coaches and staff. The sports included are futsal, netball, indoor hockey, basketball, cooperative games, tag games, and more..!

The cost of the programme will be $180.00 for the week.

Students have the option of a six inch or foot long Subway sandwich for lunch. Gluten free wraps are also available. There will be an additional $10.00 charged for a foot-long for the three days. Students will need to bring in morning tea and a water bottle.

Please click here to download and complete three entries for Subway, one for each day.

An additional service is available for your child to be supervised from 1.30pm until 3.30pm. The cost of this will be a further $10.00 per day disbursed to your College account.

Please complete the online permission form and return the Subway form (one order per day = three entires) to the Preparatory School office by Wednesday 5 April. Payment will be disbursed to your College account.

Complete the online Permission Form here >

If you have any questions, please contact AKE@stac.school.nz.

AIMS Games – Tauranga 2023

Entries due to Deputy Principal of Preparatory School (Operations), Alex Kelley by Friday 26 May

During Sunday 3 – Friday 8 September 2023, the Preparatory School Girls' A hockey team, and the A netball team will compete at the annual AIMS Games in Tauranga. Over 11,000 Year 7–8 students from over 360 schools have competed at these games in a variety of sporting codes in the past.

There will also be a number of individual sports available. However, due to the limited group accommodation available in Tauranga, we are unable to at this stage include individuals as part of our official tour. If you would like your child to compete at the games and you are able to travel, care for, and get them to and from the events then I can complete and forward the entry on your behalf.

In travelling to and competing at the AIMS Games, your child would be included in any activities offered to the tour group and tour apparel will also be available.

You should only consider this option if your child is an elite performer in their chosen sport. The individual sports offered are:

Badminton
BMX
Canoe sport
Cross country
Golf
Gymnastics
Hip hop
Indoor bowls
Mountain biking
Rock climbing
Squash
Swimming
Table tennis
Tennis
Yachting

If your child is in this category and you would like to consider this option, please email Head of Preparatory School Sport, Alex Kelley, on AKE@stac.school.nz and he will provide you with further information. You can also access the AIMS Games website which provides further information on each sport offered: www.nzaimsgames.co.nz

PIPE BAND CEILIDH: SAVE THE DATE

The very popular Pipe Band Ceilidh fundraiser (pronounced “kay-lee”) is back! Celebrate our Scottish heritage and help support the Pipe Band get to Scotland for the World Championships in August this year.

Make sure you save the date – Saturday 27 May, 7.00pm in Gym 1.

More details to come soon!