Tuesday 24 January 2017

The Need to Know Post...

Hello everyone!!
My name is Mrs.Holmes and I will be one of the teachers in Rooms 18A and 18B this year...yes there will be two teachers.  It sounds like it will get confusing, but it won't. The other teacher is Ms. Ryan. 
We are both looking forward to meeting all of you!!

I guess you are all thinking about the first day and what to do and where to go, what to bring, where to wait, what do I do with the stationary, how do I leave gracefully??????? 

The transition to school can be a stressful time for parents, I hope this helps...


  • on the first day, go to the hall, Mr.Macmillan will welcome you and bring you to the class
  • if you have brought stationery; label it and bring it all to class on that first day, we will keep it at school.  You are welcome to cover it any way you please...or not
  • no need for a pencil case
  • make sure you have a a blue sunhat and that it is clearly named

  • invest in a decent sized school bag, they need lots of room in their bags for their things
  • pop on some sunscreen before you arrive at school, I have a tub in the class for them too: please let me know of any skin conditions
  • pack a good lunch, slice whole apples and oranges into quarters for them, try not to overload them on packaged treats, get them off to a healthy start and keep it that way
  • water is available at school, however, if you would like to send a water bottle along-you are most welcome. Please make sure you clearly label all belongings
  • we will do a little orientation on the first day so that children know where the toilets and drinking fountains are, please inform me if there are any toileting concerns
  •  in Week 2; children will bring home a reader and they can read it to you, sigh the Reading Log Book and return in their book bag the next day-EASY.  If your child shows any hesitation or reluctance to read then simply read the story to them.  Your child will also have access to a Reading Eggs account-more information will follow.
  • swimming will start in Week 2.  We will be swimming in the even weeks, in the afternoons. Children need to bring togs and a towel, no need for goggles. Children, have a go at getting into to your togs before you get to school
  • check out the school website and subscribe to the newsletter so that you are up to date with everything happening in the school
  • feel welcome to be in the classroom at anytime and ask as many questions as you need to
  • if you are thinking about sports in the first term-touch rugby will be starting very soon, keep an eye on the school newsletter on how to sign up
You can contact me anytime if there is something you wish to discuss or if you have any questions...my email is brigitteh@stmarysrotorua.school.nz and my mobile is 0226403495.

I look forward to meeting you all next Wednesday...see you all soon:)
Mrs H


Monday 23 January 2017

Bike to School Day


ST MARYBIKE TO SCHOOL DAY


9tTHURSDAY 9TH FEBRUARY COME AND JOIN IN!
BIKE TO
SCHOOL DAY IS
BACK IN 2017!
Meet Mrs Todd outside the Arawa Bowls club in Lytton Street between 8.00am and 8.20am on Thursday the 9th February and join a group of students and adults biking to school. All cyclists MUST be wearing a helmet.

Adult helpers will be required on the day. If you are able to bike alongside a group of students, it would be most appreciated.


Hi everyone. I will be updating the info on the blog shortly.

Sunday 22 January 2017

Information for Parents

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Information for Parents 2017
Contact Details   Phone 3481701  Fax 3481209  
Email: admin@stmarysrotoruaschool.nz
Staff email details can be found in the “Our School” section of the school website

Office Hours 2017: 8.30am - 3.00pm

School Website http://www.stmarysrotorua.school.nz. We have an A-Z Guide on our school website - check it out via the Quicklinks or Our School section. There is a great deal of information in the A-Z Guide which we hope you will find useful. We also have a calendar on the website for parents to know about upcoming events. Click on the date to view events.

Blogs - all our classes have blogs and a quick and easy way is to visit these via the class blog link on our school website. In 2017 we are moving away from having different tabs on the homepage. Instead, each blog posting should have a label assigned to it (eg weekly notices eg homework eg reminder eg RE eg student work etc). The reason for this is that we have a new school phone app. It will provide links to the blog but it does not easily provide links to the tabs that we have used on blogs in the past. Teachers are expected to post weekly notices to parents on their class blogs and are encouraged to also share some examples of what students are learning via the class blogs. Please check your child’s class blog each week. If you don’t have access to a computer please feel free to come and check the blog before school on a classroom device.

School Times -  Classes start at 8.45am and finish at 3pm. Children should not be at school before 8.15am. It is recommended they arrive approximately 8.30am so they have time to greet friends and get organised before class starts. Students are expected to have left the school grounds by 3.15pm, unless they are being supervised by an adult. Please ensure your child is at school on time as latecomers disrupt the whole class. Children who are at school unsupervised after 3.15pm have to sit on the office steps. We cannot take responsibility for students at school after 3.15pm and we request that you look at after school care options if your child is unable to leave by 3.15pm.

After School Programme - a programme is available at Glenholme School. Contact Maryanne Roling ph 3470709 or 0211215599 for further information.

Term Dates 2017     
Term 1 Wednesday 1 Feb - Thursday 13 April                                                        
Term 2 Monday 1 May - Friday 7 July  
Term 3 Monday 24 July - Friday 29 September
Term 4 Monday 16 October - Friday 15 December

School will also be closed on these Public Holidays - Waitangi Day 6 February, Good Friday 14 April, Queen's Birthday 5 June, 23 October Labour Day
Teacher Only Days - We will advise you of any Teacher Only Days as early as possible,
Swimming -  each class is assigned a swimming time and students swim each day in either the odd or even weeks of term ie week on, week off. Swimming is part of our curriculum and all children are expected to swim each day.
Attendance  - It is very important that children are at school each day, unless they are unwell. Please let the school office know by 9am if your child is not going to be at school. Our wonderful office lady is Maggie Dalton. She can be contacted in the mornings on 07 3481701  or fax 07 3481209. Absences can also be notified via the absence notification link on our school website ( found under Quick Links) or via our School App.

Parking  - Most parents use the Church carpark on Seddon Street ( please be considerate and respectful, particularly if you can see there is a funeral on at the Church). Some parents  use street parking on Carnot Street, Grey Street and Ranolf Street. Please don’t use the staff carpark at the Carnot Street entrance.

Newsletters - We have a weekly school newsletter which is issued on a Wednesday. The newsletter is sent out via email. If you are not already receiving a copy of the newsletter, or if you wish to add another address for it to be sent to please go to the bottom of our website home page to the sign up for newsletters section

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Twitter - We have a school twitter account that is used to communicate brief reminders or messages. You can view the information posted on this via the twitter feed on our school website or by going to www.twitter.com and following @StMarys_Rotorua.  

School App - We have a school app which is available from the App stores. It is called St Mary’s Catholic Primary School, It can be found in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store or via the link on our school website.

Lost Property It is very helpful to have all items of school uniform and sandals/shoes named. We have a lost property box if your child is missing something - it is located outside Room 6.

Library Books You child’s class is allocated a time to visit our school library each week. We encourage parents to also take their children to the Rotorua Public Library on a regular basis. Our librarian, Ruth would love to hear from you if you have an hour or two to spare.

Signing Students Out  Adults taking children out for any reason during the school day MUST sign their child out and in at the school office.  

School Bank Account for Online Payments
Bank and Branch: ANZ Rotorua   Account number: 06 0209 0229658 00
Please ensure you put the child’s surname in the reference section and include particulars what the payment is for.

Sport -  Trudy James is our part-time sports co-ordinator and we are blessed to have many willing, skilled and enthusiastic parents who assist with coaching and managing our teams. Most of our children play in  summer and/or winter sports teams. Trudy can be contacted on sports@stmarysrotorua.school.nz

We hope that you enjoy being part of the St Mary’s learning community.