St. Michaels Catholic School Rotorua

The school staff have recently undertaken extensive professional development based on the special nature of Catholic education. It is the special character of St Michael’s Catholic School that makes this school enjoyable to work in and to send one’s children to. To me personally, the recent professional development proved how good Catholic education is in today’s world.

On behalf of the staff I wish everyone a safe and enjoyable Easter holiday. School opens on the 19th of April for the start of the second term.

The first term has been very productive in terms of learning and providing opportunities for learning opportunities outside of the classroom. Our school swimming team came 3rd out of the Catholic schools in the Waikato / Bay of Plenty region and our sports teams have made a number of finals in their respective sports.

It is great to see all the children back at school. In my conversations with the children I have heard many interesting stories about the holiday break. For some reason the Christmas presents is one theme that shines through all the conversations. 2010 promises to be an exciting year. As a school community we have already planned a number of relevant and interesting learning programmes.

The school office will be open on Thur and Fri (28 / 29 Jan). Mrs Bartle will be available for school accounts / girl’s uniform / enrolment purposes and any questions about the 2010 school year. Please feel free to contact either Bronwyn or myself to discuss enrolment options. I am personally available to show parents through the school at any time from Mon 24 Jan – Fri 29 Jan.

The Parish office is now open and Fr Aidan is available to issue preference cards for enrolment purposes at St Michael’s Catholic School. Please contact Andrea to make an appointment to meet with Fr Aidan. The office number is 348 0289.

Our school’s entry into this year’s Christmas Parade was of a high standard. It was great to have the support of our community to put the float together on the day.

I am pleased to announce next year the Hamilton Diocese will enhance the buildings and property of St Michael’s Catholic School.
Improvements / upgrades will occur in the following areas:
Remodel / refurbish Mrs Brits Room.
Hall improvements / repairs.
Drainage to the field.
New caretakers shed.

Earlier this year I attended a meeting with Bishop Denis. Bishop spoke about the impact on communities from the current economic recession and asked if those involved in Catholic social services and education could develop a plan to support the wider community. Bishop Denis spoke of the good work done by St Josephs (Morrinsville) with a vegetable garden that they established with the purpose of donating the grown food to local support agencies.
Immediately after the meeting Marion and I talked to Claire Ryan (St Vincent’s de Paul) about how St Michael’s Catholic School and St Vincent’s could further work alongside each other promoting the Catholic character. We listened as Claire shared how food donated by our school community had benefited the wider community over the last year.
In further conversations with the staff we realised how beneficial and easy it would be to establish a vegetable garden on the school grounds. The intention is that food grown by the school will be donated to St Vincent’s de Paul to distribute to the community.
At the moment our Young Vinnies will help with the weeding and watering of the vegetables. If you are interested in helping our children with the garden please contact Mrs Bronwyn Bartle in the office.

Today (Thur 22 Oct) Fr. Aidan celebrated a Mass here in our hall. Fr Aidan spoke about the importance of forgiveness and living a good life. It is always a privilege and honour to have a Mass in our hall. Today’s message reinforced our Catholic faith about living good lives, being good people and acknowledging our mistakes to ensure that we can heal damaged relationships. Thank you Fr Aidan for your support.