Week 2 Term 3

What a special mass this morning where we welcomed several children into the church through the sacrament of Baptism.

Thank you all for your efforts with book character costumes on Friday - what a colourful parade we had.

These were the Room 3 'finalists' with their books. Liam was selected as one of the winners with his "Where the Wild Thigs Are" costume and book.

This will be the last blog post as we move to the Skool Loop App. Please follow the instructions in the school newsletter to download this app. Keeping you informed will be so much more efficient.

Monday: The junior school will be walking over to the cross country track at 1:45. It would be great if there were some parents to come with us. We will walk the track so that everyone knows where we will be running on Wednesday. Check the school newsletter for information about times. Great to see everyone in sports uniform last week - we have trained each day at fitness time. Keep this up.

PMP: all year 1's will be joining Mrs Wright and Bernadette in the hall at 9am on Thursday mornings for this programme. If you are able to help at an activity, please add your name to the roster on the Room 7 door. More helpers still required.

Homework Books: Please make sure that these are at school each day.

Maths: Some people will have the "What's My Number?" game in their reading folders. You just need a whiteboard marker so that the game can be played over and over. These are to keep at home and play. By looking at a hundreds board regularly we will be able to visualise the patterns on it, which helps develop a strong mathematical foundation. Have a conversation with your child about the patterns that they can see.

Spelling: the spelling group are working on the 'long i' spelling patterns again this week. We can all listen for words that have this sound in them when we are reading. Words like: hide, night, pie etc. Hearing these sounds is the first step, then use your 'sharp eyes' to spot the spelling pattern.

Looking forward to seeing people step up and support each other at the cross country on Wednesday. You can do it!!

Week 1 Term 3

The holidays have whizzed by and I have enjoyed spending time with my grandchildren one of whom was brave enough to fly by himself from Christchurch to Queenstown. He was so pleased to be here, and also enjoyed having our own Rebecca Cowley give him a skating lesson - he can't wait till his school has their skating day this term.

We welcome Harry Campbell, Mia Samuel, Joe McLean and James Fahey to Room 3 this term. I know we are all ready to help them settle in as Room 3 students, and that they are keen, as a couple of them took the opportunity to hang their bags and join us for prayer on the last day of the term. Meanwhile Mrs Flannery was looking for them!!

Interviews: are on Tuesday and Wednesday. I have messaged on Seesaw a few parents who I noticed had not booked by the end of last week, just to check that this was not an oversight. It will be super to touch base and share where your children are at. I do like to have your child at the meeting so that they can talk about their learning with you.

Book Fair: from Ashton Scholastic (Lucky Books) is running from Monday to Thursday this week. The books are on display in the hall which is open from 8:30 - 9am and then again after school.

• I am sure many of you have a favourite children's book, and as part of the Book Fair Week I would love some parents or grandparents to come and read their favourites to the class. Please let me know if you could do this - we will accommodate a time that suits you.
• Friday = Dress up as your favourite book character and bring the book to share. There will be a parade starting at 11am

Cross Country: The school competition will be held on Wednesday 31st July at 1pm. In preparation for this we will be using daily fitness time to bring our running skills up to speed. Please wear sports uniform and running shoes from now until the cross country.  Uniform items only - green track pants/black shorts, school sports shirt and jersey or tracksuit jacket if you have one. Mr Yeoman is the organiser of this event and will be delighted to hear from you if you are able to help as a track marshall on the day.  ollieyeoman@stgerards.school.nz

Mass 28th July 9am has the sacrament of Baptism where a number of students including Sophia will be baptised. This is a special "welcome" and it would be wonderful if some of our families could attend. Our Religious Education strand at the start of this term is "Sacrament" and we are learning about Baptism. Children will be asking you about their baptism as part of our homework, and this Sunday is a perfect opportunity for them to watch and take part in a Baptismal Mass.

Spelling: We are beginning to look at the "long i" spelling pattern.

Family Ski Days: have been booked for Wednesday 7th August and Wednesday 4th September. Watch the newsletter for further information. Families can head for the snow for a day and pay school rates.

Looking forward to a term with lots of exciting learning.