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We have enjoyed and celebrated Māori Language Week across the school. Sincere thanks to Teacher, Mary Leota, for providing this focus and supporting our involvement.
Congratulations to our Champion team, winners of the Christchurch tournament on Monday. Superbly coached, encouraged and supported by Teacher, Mason Shaw.
The team had an outstanding day, going unbeaten and displaying impressive skill and talent throughout. After a hard-fought draw against Wairarapa Cobham Intermediate School in the final pool game, they rose to the challenge in the semi-finals, defeating them convincingly with a 25–7 victory.
The Grand Final was a thrilling contest, played in front of an energetic crowd. After a tense, nail-biting first half, St Andrew’s shifted gears, took control, and secured a commanding 26–7 win. The team's dedication to training and mastering a new sport truly shone through on this memorable day.
Please check the clothing rack in the foyer for lost property.
The weigh-in was very close. The tokens for each House were weighed (under strict supervision) and the weight was divided by the number of children in the house. This determined the winner. Erwin House sneaked victory from Rutherford by the smallest of margins.
The Erwin children can come to school on Monday wearing a little or lot of red.
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 goodies, including 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
This year the focus for Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori in the Preparatory School has been to see, hear and speak te reo Māori. Classes have started each day with karakia and waiata and then throughout the day teachers have shared stories, legends, songs and books in te reo Māori. The library has had a display of bilingual and te reo Māori books for students to browse in their class library time.
The tamariki in Years 3–5 have been learning the te reo Māori words for the many different types of fruit we enjoy. They made kepapa huarākau (fruit kebabs) and played a variety of card and running games to help reinforce the new vocabulary.
All classes have learned the waiata ‘Neo Rā te Kaupapa’ and class 8C have selected important sites around the school and planned the filming with Technical Operations Supervisor, Paul Sparkes, from the Secondary School Media Department, to help them with creating a video of all the tamariki singing the waiata. We hope to have this completed by the end of the term.
FLICKR >
From 8–13 September, 37 students and seven staff from the Preparatory School traveled to Tauranga for the annual AIMS Games, New Zealand’s largest intermediate sports competition for Year 7 and 8 students. With over 13,000 students from 397 schools participating, the event featured competitions in hockey, football, rugby 7s, swimming, and tennis.
In addition to competing, students enjoyed local hot pools and beaches, participated in a quiz night and a bake-a-cake challenge, and supported each other at various games. This year, College piper Alice Glover (Year 8) added a special touch by piping the teams onto the field, much to the delight of all schools present. The school haka was also a highlight.
The biggest achievement was finishing second out of 397 schools for giving back to Tauranga. Each student received 50 points for supporting the coastal clean-up or tree planting, with additional points for taking food items to the collection point where it would be distributed to those who need it. All three St Andrew’s College teams took part in the programme and accumulated enough points to finish in second place.
A big thank you to all players, teachers, coaches, and supporters who made the tour possible. The students represented the College with distinction, with the mixed hockey and rugby 7s teams marking their first entries from St Andrew’s College in the competition.
FLICKR >Emmett Lawler (Year 8) attained the highest score and the fastest time in the Kiwi Year 8 Mathematics Competition administered by the University of Canterbury. This competition was highly contested by students from over 480 schools throughout New Zealand, participating in multiple competitions and year groups.
Georgia Gregg (Year 7) competed at the Oamaru Highland Dance Competition in the weekend and won the runner up most points Under 12 Cup, and the runner up most points Under 14 Cup.
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 23 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.
Step back in time with us for a delightful twist on the classic Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, The Princess and the Pea. First gracing Broadway in 1959, Once Upon a Mattress has charmed audiences for decades. In a distant kingdom, Queen Aggravain has decreed that no one may marry until her son, Prince Dauntless, finds a suitable bride. Many princesses have tried and failed to pass the Queen’s rigorous tests. But everything changes with the arrival of Princess Winnifred the Woebegone. Will she succeed where others have failed…? Join us for an evening of laughter, music, and enchantment as we bring this beloved story to life!
When: Wednesday 30 October – Saturday 2 November, four shows, all 7.00pm–9.00pm
Where: St Andrew's College, Gough Family Theatre, Ngā Toi Performing Arts Centre
Tickets: Adults $35.00 | Students $17.50 | Staff $17.50
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).
