SPECIAL CHARACTER AND

CULTURE AT ST MARY’S SCHOOL

WANGANUI

WHAT DO WE THINK SPECIAL CHARACTER IS?

WHAT DO WE THINK SPECIAL CHARACTER IS?

WHAT DO WE THINK SPECIAL CHARACTER IS?

WHAT DO WE THINK SPECIAL CHARACTER IS?

OUR NEW OFFICE BLOCK SHOWS OUR SPECIAL CHARACTER…

These windows of the new office block has St Mary’s Catholic Belief and the Charism Statement written on the windows for everyone to see and remember.

We are named St Mary’s after Jesus’ mother Mary. We have a statue of her in our entrance way. Our new office block has a really big cross window on the front that can be seen from the road. It shows we are a special character school.

OUR HOMEWORK PROJECTS HAVE SPECIAL CHARACTER TASKS…

This cross sits on our office bench and was made by one of our Year 8 students last year.It was made from stones, a heart mirror, cardboard and a frame and each part represents something to do with God’s Kingdom or his love for us.

WE HAVE A MEMORIAL GARDEN…

Last year we planted trees in memory of Mrs D’Arcy Brain who was one of our teachers for many years who sadly passed away from cancer. This will become a quiet reflection area.

OUR SCHOOL LIVES BY OUR SIX RESPONSIBILITIES…

WHAT ARE THE SIX RESPONSIBILITIES?

They are like our school ‘rules.’ We live by them and they can be seen

throughout the school. Each student marks themselves against

the Six Responsibilities and sets a goal to achieve. The teacher then conferences with the student.

When we get to Step 6 we write our own steps because we are a role model in the school.

They are the expectations we have for ourselves at school and in the community.

OUR SPECIAL VALUES…

We care for and respect everyone throughout the school. The seniors and juniors always buddy up and the seniors enjoy helping out in the JLC, especially with the iPads! We know who each other are throughout the school…we are one big family!

WE HAVE SPECIAL PRAYER TABLES SET UP IN EACH CLASS…

Every class has a special prayer table which is the most important part of our classroom.

OUR SCHOOL HOUSES…

We have four houses which are St Patricks, St Josephs, St Clares, and St Annes. Each teacher and student is put in a house. We do lots of house days where we have fun, raise money and enjoy looking after the juniors.

HELPING OUT OTHERS… We ran our own Relay for Life one day at

school and raised over $400 for the Cancer Society.

We have a garden that we grow vegetables for the Wanganui Soup Kitchens.

We raise money and collect cans of food for people in need in our school and in the community.

OUR SPECIAL STATUES…We have statues of Mary throughout the school to show who our school was named after.

WE HAVE LOTS OF CULTURES… We have 8 different culture groups:

Cook Island MaoriFijianFilipinoSamoanNZ EuropeanGermanNZ Maori Indian

THANK YOU We have really enjoyed finding out

about our Special Character at our school.

We also enjoyed your letter and hope you find out about your school’s Special Character too.

We hope this helps your study.

Made by: The KnowledgeNet Team at St Mary’s School (years 5-8 students)