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The staff are delighted to be under way with the new school year. We have thoroughly enjoyed the first two days with your children.
For most of the new children the settling-in process will be very quick. For a small number, this may take a little longer. Please keep your child’s class teacher informed as required.
Morning congestion has increased with all of the Secondary School students returning. Give yourself plenty of time to navigate the drive to school and to find a park.
Regards
Jonathan Bierwirth
Principal of Preparatory School
Deputy for Rector
Well done to all the dancers who attended our first ‘Ballet Intensive’ experience at St Andrew's College this week – new dances, friendships, and wonderful experiences abound! In just two days the students were challenged to learn and perform two completely new dance works – and did so beautifully!
FLICKR >If you have a pair of last year’s sport shoes, running shoes, football/rugby boots or school shoes that no longer fit your child and are in good condition, please give them to Mr Alex Kelley, via reception.
Last year, such shoes were given to children who couldn’t afford these items at various low decile schools – it would be great to do this again. Please ensure the footwear is clean and in good condition before sending it in. Any questions, please feel free to email Alex Kelley on AKE@stac.school.nz. If you wish to donate your child’s old footwear, please could you do so by Friday 16 February.
This is a reminder that the College's Kindo lunch service now has an order cut-off time of 8.00am.
A big feature of the past three days has been the individual and class/tutor group photographs for all 448 Preparatory School and 1160 Secondary School students. Parents will receive an email in the coming weeks advising when these are available to purchase online.
Important Information: there will be no Prelims this year, in order to provide students and classroom teachers more time in class. The venue has also moved from Jelly Park Recreation Centre to Wharenui Sports Centre to align with the ISSA Swimming Sports Day and venue restrictions. We also warmly welcome our Year 4 Preparatory School students to join us on our Swimming Sports Day and all parent/caregiver community.
The Preparatory Swimming Sports Day will be held on Monday 19 February.
This event is for Years 4–8. Students will travel to and from the event by bus.
Years 4–6 will complete in the morning from 9.00am–11.30am (Opening Ceremony starts at 8.45am) Years 7–8 from 12.0pm–3.00pm (Opening Ceremony starts at 11.45am).
Students should be changed prior to leaving on the bus (i.e. students do not get changed at Wharenui Sports Complex). Students may use the toilets but must let a teacher know.
Junior Choir: This choir is for children in Years 3–5. This is not an auditioned choir. This is compulsory for Year 3 and Year 4 students. Year 5 children all sing in the choir for the first term and then can choose if they wish to remain in the choir for Terms 2–4 where they will join the Cantare Choir (this choir rehearses period 6 on a Tuesday in the Preparatory School music room). The weekly choir rehearsal for the Junior Choir is on Thursday afternoon at 2.25pm in the Music Room. Directed by Ros Emeleus, accompanist Margot Askin. The Junior Choir starts Week 1.
Cantare Choir: This is an all-comers (not auditioned) choir for children in Years 6–8. This year the choir will rehearse at 8.20am on a Tuesday morning in the Chapel, and period 6 (2.30pm) on Tuesday afternoon in the Preparatory School music room. The choir sings mostly secular music and participates in the annual Christchurch Schools’ Music Festival. Choir director: Ros Emeleus, choir manager Greta Henley, accompanist Margo Askin. Cantare Choir will start Week 3, Tuesday 13 February in the afternoon.
Preparatory School Orchestra: This orchestra is for anyone Year 4 and up who is learning an instrument and can read basic music notation. This includes guitar and recorder players. Beginners are welcome. Players bring their lunch to the music room and eat before the rehearsal. The rehearsal time is Wednesday lunchtime in the music room starting Week 3, Wednesday 14 February. Orchestra members will need their own clear file for the storage of orchestra music. Directed by Ros Emeleus, assisted by Greta Henley.
Please email Ros Emeleus on REM@stac.school.nz should you have any further enquiries.
We are excited to commence our year in the new Ballet Studios within the new Ngā Toi – Performing Arts Centre complex! Students who are new to St Andrew's College, or curious about the Ballet Academy are welcome to come along to the first Ballet class of the year to watch or have a go! Students can ask their teacher for their class Ballet time). Note: if wishing to enter at Year 5 or over, a background in dance is required.
No gear needed! Just come along and find out what it’s about! Please direct enrolment enquiries to Ballet Academy Artistic Director, Dr Carolyn Cairns, on CCA@stac.school.nz.
Exciting News! The Communications team, with the support of the ICT team, have been hard at work during the holidays, and are delighted to share that a revamped StACNet (school intranet) is now live for our current parents and students.
Explore the new look at stacnet.nz >
Updates include a Quick Links section at the top of StACNet, designed to streamline access to the pages parents visit most frequently.
Beneath the Quick Links, you'll find organised accordions (drop-down folders) with links to pages per topic area.
All existing links from the old site will redirect to the new one. If you encounter any issues or unexpected behavior, please let us know by emailing comms@stac.school.nz. Please note you will be prompted to login using your StAC parent login when accessing StACNet. This is to protect the privacy and security of our school and community.
We're thrilled about the improvements to StACNet, anticipating an enhanced user experience for both parents and students. Should you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to reach out.
The Library team invite all returning students to take part in the Preparatory School Library Summer Reading Photo Challenge. We would love students to send in a photograph of themselves reading in a summer setting over the holidays. Great prizes for the best photos up for grabs!
Students can borrow books from the Preparatory School Library for their summer holiday reading. There are also some fantastic events with Christchurch City Libraries this summer. Follow this link to their 2023/24 summer reading programme. Summer reading is important for children and teens to help prevent the summer slide in reading levels, and we encourage all students to read for pleasure over the long holiday period.
Competition Instructions:
Students are to email a photo of themselves reading in a summery place to Library Manager, Tracey Hull, at THL@stac.school.nz. Entries due no later than Friday 9 February 2024.
