Please note and action: www.newbrightoncatholic.school.nz

• Parent/Pupil interviews – below in red email: office@nbc.school.nz

• Download the Skool Loop app (page 7) Newsletter/Pānui No. 39

• Start of Year (2021) information (page 4) Term 4 Week 9: 10 December 2020

Important Dates

Fri 11 Dec 9am Final Assembly/Duffy Govt Book Week 2pm Christmas Carols in the Church – Juniors Tues 15 Dec End of year concluding with Mass at 1.30pm 2021 Mon-Tues 1-2 Feb Parent/Pupil/Teacher Conferences (details below) Wed 3 Feb 8.45am full school classes resume Mon 8 Feb Waitangi Day observation – school closed

Wed 17 Feb Ash Wednesday Mon 1 or Mon 8 Mar SOD – tbc Wed 3 Mar School Swimming Sports Thurs 11 Mar 11.30 NZSO Mon-Tues 15-16 Mar Life Ed Fri 2 Apr-Tues 6 Apr Easter – school closed Thurs 8 Apr Canty Swimming Champs Fri 16 Apr 2.45pm Term 1 ends

Dear Parents, Caregivers, Whānau and Friends,

Final assembly tomorrow Friday 11 December at 8.50am in the Church: Senior leaver awards will be

presented and Duffy books given out.

End of Year and Year 8 Leavers' Mass – 1.30 pm Tuesday 15 December All parents and whanau are invited to join us.

Parent/Pupil Interviews with Teachers Monday 1 February 2021 and Tuesday 2 February 2021

You and your child meet with your child’s teacher to discuss goals and aspirations for the year, to become acquainted with classroom expectations and routines, and to drop off the stationery items. Please make an appointment via our Skool Loop app (how to book refer to page 5) – bookings available from 12noon Monday 14 December.

Thank You: The School moved on Tuesday! A huge thank you to

Dion Williams, BJ Stipich, Andrew Boyle, Keith Rooney and some staff. They did the hard yards, lifting and shifting furniture around the teaching spaces ready

for next year. We put the new build’s scissor lift to good use getting the big tables upstairs!

Thank You: We are very fortunate at NBC to have such a wonderful school

family who readily volunteer for sandwich-making, camps, school trips, road patrol, transport, reading with pupils, gardening, Discovery, helping in class, and so on. Many, many thanks.

Thank You – Yr 7/8 Leavers Dinner: A wonderful meal and night in the Parish Centre last night. Thank you to all who made the night such a success.

2021 Stationery Lists are going home on Monday 14 December. All pupils need to bring their

stationery when they meet with their teacher on 1 or 2 February 2021. If you misplace your child’s copy, all the lists will be available on our website.

School Readers - Please have a hunt at home for any readers that may have fallen under beds, the sofa, in

your craft corner or book shelves. There are a few that haven’t come back, so we would greatly appreciate you all having an extra look at home and returning all readers to the teachers. Thanks. Libby Watherston

Building Update: Just the finishing touches now … final paint touch ups, fire and security checks, hand rails

and step strips. Next Wednesday the toilet block will come down which will enable the ramp to be built so that we can get a Certificate to Occupy.

Summer Learning: Years 0-6 students’ Sunshine Classics on-line accounts will be accessible over the

holidays. All teachers will assign books and activities for the students to continue their reading so we can help avoid the summer slide. Please see teachers if you need further information. Nicole Buckley

Manaiakalani Summer Learning Journey Summer Learning Journey Blog Intro Your child (Yr 4+ after 1 year’s Cybersmart and 50 blogs) has an opportunity to participate in Manaiakalani’s Summer Learning Journey over the school holidays. Research has shown that students who take part in the Summer Learning Journey return to school after the summer break ready to learn. They achieve better results in reading and writing than students who do not participate. All students who participate will receive a certificate and a digital badge for their blog site. There are some great prizes up for grabs for our most active bloggers. It's also full of fun! Nick Gray

Canterbury Primary Schools Athletics Last week Joe, Mace, Nate and I went to Nga Puna Wai to compete in the Canterbury Athletics. The boys were competing in Shot Put and Discus and I was competing in Long jump. Nate did very well in Shot Put and came 3rd, Mace came in the top 10 of the Discus, Joe came 2nd in Shot Put and 4th in discus. I did very well but did not place. It was a very challenging experience for the four of us but it was fun. Kata Sumner (Yr 8)

I went to the Canterbury Athletics Championship on 3 December and my events were Shotput and Discus. I was 4th in the line at Discus and everyone kept throwing the discus at the net, but I threw way out. I was in the lead until this small kid had his turn and he threw way further than me. We had our second and third throws, then the top 5 got to have another go. I finished 4th. I went to my Mum and had my lunch. I heard Year 6 Shotput so off I went. I threw a no throw, a waste of time waiting for my turn! I was waiting for my second turn and I threw 9.70. I was in the lead until this guy threw 10.08 but at Zones I threw 10.89. I was still in the top 2. We had our 3rd turn then the top 5 had another turn. First place was called ... which wasn’t me, and then 2nd place... which was me! I was 2nd in Shotput at the Canterbury's! Joe Sagote (Yr 6)

Adventure Friday Last Friday the Year 8 students got to go out for a day of fun activities around Christchurch as COVID had stopped our Wellington day trip. First, we went Go-Karting, it was very fun

and amusing! There were a lot of crashes and spinouts. Next we headed to the Elephant Park to hang out and play before we went to the Harewood Tavern for lunch. It was really delicious, and we got to talk about the leavers’ dinner, which was super exciting. After lunch we headed to Adrenaline Forest. It was quite out of our comfort zone but everyone did really well. We are super grateful and we appreciate all of the time and effort Miss Holland and Ms Daines put into it. Year 8 Students

Faith Facts: The second purple candle on the Advent wreath is lit as a symbol of Faith in God. This

candle (the Bethlehem Candle) reminds us of the journey of the Holy Family. The third candle (the

Shepherd’s Candle) which is pink or rose (or sometimes white) represents Gaudete Sunday and the joy

that the birth of Christ brought to the world. (Gaudete is the Latin for rejoice.) Angel Moore (DRS)

School Office: We will be open from Monday 27 January 2020 (8.30am-2.30pm that week), but the

staff and I will be undertaking Professional Development off-site for some of that week.

The staff and I wish you all a holy and joyful Christmas and a safe, relaxing holiday. May the spirit of Christmas and the joys that it brings be with you all through Christmas as we celebrate the birth of Our Lord.

God Bless/Atua Whakapai/Fa’amanuia le Atua

Deb Daines Principal principal@nbc.school.nz

2021 Term Dates Term 1 Monday 1 February – Friday 16 April Term 2 Monday 3 May – Friday 9 July Term 3 Monday 26 July – Friday 1 October Term 4 Monday 18 October – To be confirmed: Staff-only Days – and that will determine our last day.

School Closed: Monday 8 February - Waitangi Day observance Friday 2 April - Good Friday Monday 5 April - Easter Monday Tuesday 6 April - Easter Tuesday Monday 7 June - Queens Birthday Monday 25 October - Labour Day Thursday 11 November - Staff-only Day Friday 12 November - Show Day

Catholic Parish of Christchurch East Assistant Parish Priests: Fr Peter Costello/Fr Paulo Filoialii parish@catholicferrymead.org.nz

Christmas Mass times at St Mary’s Church Christmas Eve 7 pm family Mass Christmas Day 10.30am

St Mary’s Sunday Mass 10.30am (The Samoan Mass is at St Mary’s on the 2nd Sunday of every month at 12.30pm)

Attendance Dues: The Bishop has increased Attendance Dues for next year to $105 per child per term. The Attendance Dues bank account number has changed. Please make sure you change your automatic payments to the new Westpac number 03 1592 0207535 24, using your family name and account number for the references.

Community

The Community Dental Service will provide dental care for children enrolled with our service during the school holidays. Clinics will offer treatment and relief of pain sessions by appointment only. Please call/email our Contact Centre which operates 8am-4.30pm Monday to Friday (closed 25 December to 5 January). The following Clinics will offer appointments between 8.15am-4.45pm for school-age and preschool children: Woolston Clinic 11 Hopkins Street, Hornby Clinic 2 Hei Hei Road, Northcote Clinic 24 Tuckers Road, Timaru Clinic, Level 1 18 Woollcombe Street. If your child has dental pain because of an accident, please contact your dentist in the first instance. To book an appointment call 0800 846 983 or email commdental@cdhb.health.nz

Start of Year – 2021

Please Read and Action Your Time: Monday 1 February or Tuesday 2 February is the day for you to come with your child/ren to individually meet your child’s teacher, at a pre-arranged time, to discuss the aspirations, issues, and goals that you want for your child in 2021. The appointments for Yr 0-6 children are 30 minutes; for Yr 7&8 children 20 minutes.

Your feedback indicated that you found it valuable to be able to speak with the teachers individually to start the year off well. It is an expectation that all children will meet with their teachers and will be marked as present on the roll.

• Appointment times will be throughout the day for you to do this – see below to make your booking.

• Your children can come in mufti for the visit.

• Children are to bring their stationery.

• At the interview you will receive a class timetable and the classroom practices that will be followed during the year.

• Please arrive early (15 minutes before) for the appointment to give you time to complete the annual forms (Introducing Your Child, Gives Us 5, Hauora/Wellbeing survey, Student Update) in the School foyer (our old library) or you may wish to download these forms from our website and fill in beforehand.

How to book your appointment time on our Skool Loop App for Monday 1 February or Tuesday 2 February

The online booking system will be available from 9am Monday 14 December. If you don’t have online access, please see your child’s classroom teacher. This is a first come/first in system, so go ahead book your interview.

See the previous page for instructions to download the Skool Loop App. See the next page for instructions on how to book an appointment on the Skool Loop App.

Wednesday 3 February 2020 8.20 am Gates open 8.43 am Music plays 8.45 am Virtues Assembly

• All pupils in uniform.

• All pupils will have met their teacher.

• All pupils’ stationery will be in their classrooms so they can start work.

Classrooms and Teachers for 2021 Years 7/8 Miss Paige Holland (and Mrs Megan Stewart) Rm 9 Years 5/6 Mr Nick Gray Rm 1 Years 5/6 Miss Helena Pownall Rm 2 Year 3/4 Miss Rachel Esselink Rm 5 Year 3/4 Miss Rosey Hart Rm 6 Year 2 Miss Libby Watherston Rm 3 Year 1 Mrs Cath Blackmore Rm 4 NE Ms Jen Tyro Rm 7 The Library is in Room 8. The old library is called the School Foyer Class lists will be on the School Foyer windows on Monday 14 December.

Feast Day Celebration A great day at Jellie Park celebrating our Feast Day. Kids

swam and splashed and slid their way through the sunny day. Big thanks to all parents and families who came and supported us. We had such wonderful and positive feedback from Jellie Park staff and the bus drivers about our children’s respectful and fantastic behaviour. Well done NBC, keep up following our School Footsteps! We were very proud to take you out and have you all representing our school. Nicole Buckley

For you to action

NBC is now live to use the SKOOL LOOP app as our first means of communication for All Emergencies and NBC response, eg Lockdowns, Earthquakes, COVID updates, plus more everyday communication (see the list below).

Please download the app to your phone today so you get the vital information and other services it provides.

• Our newsletters are already on it!

• You can now send an absence notification through the absentee form or through the direct contact button this way if you wish.

• Contact us through the app.

You will book your child’s beginning year conference through this app - we’ll tell you when and how you can book. Next year (2021) we will add our • School calendar.

• Group contacts for all classes - so you will receive notices from your class teachers .

School notices, cancellations, etc. will come through this app.

We will still use Facebook for Nick’s live streaming of events and other social media communication, but our need to know information will be through the Skool Loop app

The Skool Loop App. NZ 0800 238 379 www.skoolloop.com