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You may have noticed I have not been stationed at my usual spot on the Preparatory School drive this week. Along with some parents of the school, I have been attending the Vantage National Masters Hockey Tournament in Wellington. I won’t go into the details of my age category, but at the time of writing this Newsletter my Canterbury team is undefeated. One more win today and we will play for the gold medal on Saturday. I am the goalie and there is no back up, so I am doing my best to avoid injury and sickness. So far, so good!
As current parents of the Preparatory School, you are most welcome to attend our upcoming Open Day. Please register online if you plan to attend. See more information below in the notices.
Erwin children may wear casual clothes with a little or lot of Red on Thursday 14 March (in two weeks' time).
Parent Interviews will be spread over four days from Monday 18 – Thursday 21 March and are in-person interviews. If you are unable to meet during interview week, please contact your child’s teacher directly to make an alternate arrangement.
Please note, all Years 4–8 children are required to attend the interviews.
Please enter and leave the Junior Department via the gate behind the Pre-school.
Entry to the Years 4–8 building is via the front door and exit via one of the two maglock doors either beside Year 5 (at the end of the building) or beside Year 4 (in the middle of the building).
Please contact Reception if you experience any difficulty making a booking. Bookings will close Friday 15 March at 4.00pm. If there is no suitable time available for you, please contact your child’s class teacher directly (via email) and another day and time will be arranged.
Site link: www.schoolinterviews.co.nz
School code: 79p4z
At this interview, your child’s beginning of year assessment results will be discussed along with the draft Goal Setting Report.
Please note, Mrs Wylie’s class is not included in this interview round, they have a different interview timetable.
Regards
Jonathan Bierwirth
Principal of Preparatory School
Deputy for Rector
‘Oceans’ is New Zealand Junior Surf Lifesaving’s premier carnival, held at Mount Maunganui each year. Eva Willcox (Year 8) competed against 109 female U13 swimmers. Although she had no podium results, Eva achieved a personal best in the surf swim event getting into the semi-final (top 34), and the quarter-final in the board event.
Unfortunately, in the past couple of weeks we have received complaints from local residents regarding driving and parking behaviour in the streets surrounding the College. We would like to ask everyone to be courteous and obey the road rules at all times. This is critical to ensure the safety and well-being of students, staff, other road users, and local homeowners.
Congestion has increased significantly at pick-up and drop-off times. Please take care as you approach the College and navigate parking, ensuring the road rules are obeyed at all times.
In addition, please:
• use the Kea crossing on Normans Road, 8.00am–8.30am each morning and 20 minutes at the end of the school day;
• only turn left onto Normans Road when exiting the drop-off zone;
• do not park across neighbouring residents' driveways;
• do not park on yellow lines, which can lead to obstruction of line of sight and access;
• check for cyclists, as well as other road and footpath users before opening your vehicles doors;
• unless you are a Pre-school parent (with a visible permit) do not use the allocated Pre-school parks in the drop-off/pick-up zone.
Monday 25 March, 3.45pm, Preparatory School Music Room
All Preparatory School students, beginner or advanced, are welcome to perform at the Preparatory School Music Performance Concerts, regardless of whether they learn an instrument at the College or from a private tutor. It is expected that the Music Scholar students will take part in this concert. This is a wonderful opportunity for children to gain experience and confidence performing in an informal performance setting. There are only 20 performance slots available on a first come first served basis. Please note that there is an accompanist available to play for this concert. There is a fee of $50.00 should your child require an accompanist. You will be expected to provide the accompaniment music for the accompanist.
If your child would like to perform at the Term 1 concert, please complete the sign-up form by 5.00pm on Thursday 7 March.
REGISTER FOR THE MUSIC PERFORMANCE CONCERT >
Sunday 10 March, 5.00pm, Centennial Chapel
Our first Preparatory School Chapel Service this year will be on Sunday 10 March, at 5.00pm in the Centennial Chapel. The service is for all Year 1–8 students. Parents are also warmly invited to attend.
The arrival time is 4.45pm and class teachers will be there to meet the children and check attendance (attendance is compulsory). Please note, there will be no teachers at the meeting point until 4.45pm, so do not 'drop and go' earlier than this.
Years 1–3 children will meet in the new Junior Department and Year 4–8 students will meet at the flagpole in front of Strowan House. The expected finish time of the service is 5.40pm. Please arrive a little earlier to ensure you are there to collect your child at the conclusion of the service. Given the large number of people involved, it may be wise to arrange a place to meet your child after the service. Students are required to wear their school uniform with blazer.
Cantare Choir
The students in the Cantare choir need to arrive ready for a warm-up and run-through of their performance piece at 4.30pm in the Centennial Chapel.
All parents/caregivers will not be able to enter the chapel until 4.45pm.
Our Year 8 Parent Information Evening (for parents with children presently in Year 8) will take place on Tuesday 12 March, in the Strowan House staffroom, 7.00pm–8.30pm. Please note this is a parents/caregivers only event.
At the information evening Rector, Christine Leighton, will share with you the current initiatives in the Secondary School, and outline the future direction of St Andrew’s College. There will also be the opportunity to meet key Secondary staff and connect with other Year 8 parents considering the Secondary School.
To register your interest in attending this evening please click here.
This is to advise you that talented singers and musicians from St Andrew's College Preparatory School can now apply for an audition to join a Representative Group – Junior and Senior Choir, Concert Band, Orchestra.
Applications are made online on the Music Festival website. We ask that parents/caregivers make the application so that they are aware of the rehearsal and performance commitments. Please note that applications close on Monday 1 April which is also Easter Monday.
Apply on the Music Festival website by clicking here.
The aim of the Class Parent Programme is to get one to two volunteers from each form class who help organise two social events a year. This brings parents together to connect, welcome new families and meet each other outside of the College in an informal setting.
Class Parents Are Fun, Helpful, and Needed
The Preparatory School values its parents and close communication between teachers, parents and the school. People tell us that having a child at St Andrew’s College is like joining a family. To keep that tradition alive, we need Class Parents for each year group.
What does a Class Parent do? It’s easy and it’s fun!
How does it work? It’s simple and easy.
What have other Class Parents done in previous years?
If you are interested in being a class parent volunteer or would like some more information, please email your details and child's form class to Kelsey Williams – KWL@stac.school.nz.
Meet our teachers who make the difference at our upcoming Open Days. Please help spread the word for interested families to register online.
Secondary School Open Day | Wednesday 6 March, 9.00am–12.00pm
Preparatory School and Pre-school Open Day | Thursday 7 March, 11.00am–12.30pm
We are currently accepting enrolments for the Year 9 intake in 2025. Kindly note that the deadline for applications from siblings of current and past students, children of alumni and children of our current staff is Monday 18 March. The deadline for boarding applications is Friday 22 March.
To register your interest in a place at St Andrew’s College for students new to the College, complete our online application form by clicking here >
For further information please don’t hesitate to contact our Registrar, Lynn Smith, enrol@stac.school.nz.
Motivationz Rugby is running a pre-season training on Monday afternoons on the 4th, 11th, 18th, 25th of March and 8th of April (five sessions in total). This is an excellent complement to club training and will help enhance rugby skills. The sessions will focus on building confidence in young Rugby player skill sets and will cover the pillars of rugby fitness, catch, pass, and tackle, along with being comfortable with defence, learning game sense and vision.
If you would like to book, please email your child’s full name, date of birth and contact phone number to anthony@motivationz.co.nz. For more more information, view the promotional flyer online by clicking here.
