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The AIMS Games (Association of Intermediate and Middle Schools) is an annual sporting event held in Tauranga. The tournament is one of the biggest sporting events in New Zealand.
Zespri’s partnership with the AIMS Games promotes the health and well-being of our young people through sport, physical activity, outdoor recreation, and having fun.
I am delighted to have had three days with the children and staff in Tauranga. Everyone is having such a wonderful time. Win or lose, the children remain buoyant as they know they have done their very best in their respective sporting arenas. They are enjoying the experience and camaraderie of being away with their peers.
I acknowledge the staff who are full-time night and day caring for the children’s every needs. They will be very weary come Friday night. I also acknowledge Alex Kelley’s organisational ability, upbeat demeanour, and his engaging and informative daily repartee.
This year, we plan to place the children in their 2025 classes before the end of this term. Please note staffing for 2025 is not yet finalised and there will be some changes.
The process is similar to previous years:
This year, the teachers will again use a computer program to assist the process. At each year level, the teachers will work together to enter the information (their own plus other sources i.e., parents, learning support, pastoral support, etc.) and the program will generate the class lists. The College's database does not have the facility to compile future classes, so to have an option that doesn't allow double entries or missed names is helpful and quicker.
This year, Grandparents' Day will be held on Friday 25 October. This special occasion will commence with entertainment in the Centennial Chapel at 10.40am.
Please note, there will be the PTA’s very special Christmas cake to sample before going into the Chapel. A Christmas cake can be ordered at this time if this appeals.
Following the entertainment, everyone will leave the Centennial Chapel and meet up with the Preparatory and Secondary School children waiting in anticipation outside. There will be a photographer available to capture this special day for those who would like this option.
Visitors on Grandparents’ Day need to register to attend. This will ensure that the children are released from class to meet with them. Please use the link below to register for this special day.
GRANDPARENTS' DAY REGISTRATION >
Reading Is Magic
Excitement is starting to build for our annual Book Week at the end of this term. We have five days of activities and fun planned around the theme of 'Reading is Magic', designed to celebrate the wonder and magic in stories and books.
Activities will include a visit from inventor and author Steve Mushin, a Story Walk, our inter-class Battle of Books Quiz, a variety of competitions and lots of fun activities.
The highlight of the week as always will be our annual Book Parade. This will take place on Thursday 26 September starting at 12.00pm. All students are invited to dress up as book characters for the day and join in the fun.
If you are interested in finding out more about this voluntary role, please contact Preparatory School Library Manager, Tracey Hull, on THL@stac.school.nz.
Regards
Jonathan Bierwirth
Principal of Preparatory School
Deputy for Rector
Class 4T have been working on word development as part of their Literacy learning, using the creative language in The BFG, a novel by Roald Dahl. Part of the learning involved students creating their own new word, determining whether it was a noun, adjective or verb, and providing a brief definition of the new word. To see if their new word would be accepted into modern day language, each word was neatly written on a ‘slip’ with the student’s definition, and then posted to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) based in England.
You can imagine the students’ delight when the team at OED not only replied but created a colourful and creative drawing using each of the 21 students’ words, alongside an encouraging letter outlining the words that are now on the OED’s ‘watch list’ for future inclusion. It goes to show, an independent school in Christchurch, New Zealand can have an impact on our spoken language.
FLICKR >
Class 8A had a fantastic educational trip to Rutherford’s Den and The Christchurch Art Gallery. The excursion was a great success, with students fully engaged in the activities and learning a lot from the experience. At Rutherford’s Den, students explored the historical significance of Ernest Rutherford’s work and its impact on modern science. They participated in interactive exhibits and demonstrations that deepened their understanding of physics.
The visit to the Art Gallery allowed students to appreciate the work of artist Marilynn Webb (NZOM), who dedicated herself to creating art that explores the relationships between land, sky, and water. They engaged in discussions about her art style and applied the technique of lino printing to create their own designs inspired by her work.
On Thursday, the Years 7–8 football, hockey, netball teams, and a Years 5–6 football team took part in the annual Canterbury Primary Schools Winter Tournament, bringing together the top 32 teams from across Canterbury for each code. All teams gave everything and represented the school proudly. The Years 7–8 football team made it through to the quarter finals before a 0–1 loss resulted in an eighth overall finish, and the Years 5–6 football team finished 12th overall. The Preparatory A netball team and a selected Years 7–8 mixed hockey team won their tournaments to be crowned Canterbury Champions for 2024, a fantastic achievement for both teams. The Preparatory A netball team went through the competition unbeaten.
FLICKR >Preparatory School students had a great day at Ruapuna Raceway earlier this week at the CPSSA Duathlon. The students represented the College with pride and showed great determination and resilience throughout the races. A huge congratulations is due for all athletes as they accomplished a tough test of endurance against 900 students from around the wider Canterbury area. The following students finished in the top 10:
Congratulations to all students who all completed the duathlon this year. If you would like to view the full results, you can do so by clicking here.
For the second year in a row, Cong (Zilong) Chen (Year 8) has achieved a perfect score in the Junior Division (Years 8–9 in Australasia) in the Australian Mathematics Competition. He has won the Peter O'Halloran Award along with a prize. This is a huge achievement and even more outstanding doing it two years in a row.
Isla van Toor (Year 3) competed in the Christchurch Tap Dancing Teachers Association (CTDTA) Competition on Sunday, winning the Novice Lyrical class.
Ceci and Maggie Pugh (both Year 6), along with their sister Lucy (Year 9), attended the South Island Hip Hop Championships in Nelson last weekend. Ceci placed first in a very competitive division amongst 18 other dancers from around New Zealand for her Solo dance. Maggie got a highly commended for her Duo, and Lucy placed second in the Senior Duo division.
This year, Grandparents' Day will be held on Friday 25 October. This special occasion will commence with entertainment in the Centennial Chapel at 10.40am. Please note, the PTA’s very special Christmas cake will be present to sample before going into the Chapel. Cakes can also be ordered at this time.
Following the entertainment, everyone will leave the Centennial Chapel and meet up with the Preparatory and Secondary School children waiting in anticipation outside. There will be a photographer available to capture this special day for those who would like this option.
Visitors on Grandparents’ Day need to register to attend. This will ensure that the children are released from class to meet with them. Please use the link below to register for this special day.
GRANDPARENTS' DAY REGISTRATION >
We will be running a Sport Holiday Programme for Year 1–8 students during the third week of the October holidays (Monday 14 – Friday 18 October 2024). The sessions will run between 9.00am – 1.30pm each day. We will meet in the Preparatory School Library and students can be dropped off from 8.30am.
The sessions will be run by a variety of staff. The sports included are invasion games, frisbee golf, basketball, backyard cricket, cooperative games, and more.
The cost of the programme will be $300 for all five days.
Students have the option of a six-inch or foot-long Subway sandwich for lunch. There will be an additional $10.00 charged for a foot-long for the three days. Gluten free wraps are also available. Pizza will be offered on the other days. Students will need to bring morning tea and a water bottle. Click here to download the Subway order form.
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 (please complete one order per day – all three entries) to the Preparatory School office by 2.00pm on Monday 18 September. The total cost will be charged to your child's College account.
COMPLETE THE ONLINE PERMISSION FORM HERE >
If you have any questions, please contact me via email at AKE@stac.school.nz.
Delicious Christmas goodies, locally made with the highest quality ingredients. The perfect gift for Christmas or to treat your own family! All proceeds will go towards the PTA 2024 fundraising drive.
This year the PTA are introducing a new offering to tempt your tastebuds:
Beautifully presented in a gift box, the full range of products on offer this year includes:
More information about each of the PTA’s Christmas Goodies, including the ingredients list, can be found at the link below.
Closing date for orders: Friday 1 November 2024.
Cake collection
Orders will need to be picked up from the College Second-hand Uniform Shop (there is no delivery option) from 3.00pm to 4.30pm during the following dates:
Join us for the StAC Ag Show on Thursday 26 September. Students at all year levels can enter a number of fun events, such as baking, art, flower arrangements, and Lego creations, with placings from first to third place receiving a ribbon, and all first-place winners will also receive a prize. Some incredible grand prizes are up for grabs including an animal care package from Rangiora Vet Centre for the animal categories, a Willowbank Family pass for the plant and food categories, and a Willowbank Family pass for the art and photography categories.
There is something for everyone at this A&P Show-inspired event. Come along to Gym 1 to experience all the art, baking and other pet entries as well as the petting zoo – get set for a day of agricultural fun!
The Year 12 Agribusiness students will be selling their food and animal products at the show, including deer velvet dog treats, rocky road, and lolly packs. Eftpos will be available, and a pre-order form will be sent out a week before the show.
Entries: Cost: $3.00 per category entered (viewing the entries on the day is free). Entries close 4.00pm Friday 20 September. To enter your Years 1–8 child/ren into the StAC Ag Show, please complete the Preparatory School entry form below:
Complete Preparatory School Entry Form here >
Raffle Draw and Year 12 Agribusiness products: During the Ag Show, a raffle will be run to fundraise the costs of the event. The Year 12 Agribusiness classes will also be selling their products in Gym 1. If you wish to pre-order raffle tickets and/or Agribusiness products, you can do so using the form below. This will be charged to your account and will be available for pick up from Gym 1 between 9.00am–12.00pm on the day.
The online sales for the following 2024 photographs are now available:
Details of how to order the photographs can be found on our website using the button below and you will need to log into StACNet using your St Andrew's College login.
If you have any questions relating to this service, please email photography@stac.school.nz.
For any illness, students should stay home if unwell. Any student should also feel free to wear a mask if they wish to do so while at school.
For any absence, whether ill-health (including COVID-19) or otherwise, the College’s preferred platform for reporting this is via our online form which can be found at the button below:
If you are not able to report your child's absence using the online form, please report their absence via the relevant email address below. If you cannot get through to us via the form or email, please call our attendance line on +64 3 940 2031 (term time only).
