Star Board Term Four Week Five

Principal's Message

Kia Ora Koutou

What might mean a Lot to our Kids

While these gestures may seem trivial to adults, they go a long way with our kids. Here are a few simple things that will make your young (and maybe not so young one) smile.

With life changing in the Gill household at warp speed we have had occasion to sit and talk about the things our kids have hung onto as special for them from their child and teenage- hood; and now as adults.

Kids want to feel special, noticed, cared for, and loved. They already know you care, but some actions like these I am about to share form my own past and from searches I have made may be useful for you. They are further proof for our young ones that they are important and beloved by the adults in their lives.

Every now and again I wear to work the laced bracelet my son made me. I also sometimes send my daughter a text, when she is feeling a little discouraged “you have got this girl” (if you do this during the school day please do so before 8am, or after 3:10).

I have two children, and every now and again I spend all my time with one of them. Cal and I went to lunch at Gear Homestead, and because he had me all to himself, we could focus on where he was at and the things special to him.

We play lots of Board games and my son especially really loves the competition. Even when we are all really tired, we get stuck in and show as much enthusiasm in the games as he does.

Might sound naff, but I gave my daughter a dress in the same fabric as one I have. She seemed to get joy from that (she did say to avoid wearing it on the same days).

When their rooms looked like they had been hit by more than one tsunami, I closed the door and let it go. We also used to give them as kids a chance to fight their own battles on the playground before intervening. We do that now because they have to know how to stand, and how to get up after a fall.

I love when my kids teach me something (seems to be more frequent now), then I tell them what good teachers they are. I do not want that to ever stop.

The biggest kick for your kids, for anyone in fact, is when you let them overhear you saying something wonderful about them.

Your history is important and one of the biggest things for us, for obvious reasons, is the time we have been taking to share our old diaries, photos, and letters from when we were younger, and they were younger.

I hope this resonates or provides some ideas. It has given me joy just to write it.

Accord Days

Remember there is no school on Monday 21st or Monday 28th because these are the NCEA Accord Days for the Wairarapa Secondary schools. So, we will see you on the Tuesdays of both these weeks. Any national exams will proceed as normal as scheduled for the 21st. There are no national exams on the 28th.

Ordination

We extend our best wishes to Reverend Mannie Marara and Reverend Lorna Gray who are both being ordained this weekend.

Have a great and safe weekend

Ngā Mihi

Kiri

Around School

Boarding Note from Jo Booth

It’s cool to be kind

I read this somewhere and thought that was a statement to go in our school newsletter. Although in boarding we are always encouraging boarders to be kind, sometimes they are not. It can be difficult living with someone if you have a spat. And then you have to spend the whole day with them then …go back to living with them again. Boarding compels us to learn to live together and being kind is one way and an easy way to do that.

And here as teenagers is the opportunity to develop some very important lifelong skills. You can choose to sit down in a heap and cry, or do you think “actually I’m better than that” and do something about it. Getting advice from an older person is always a good idea. Your friends might think it’s narking (personally I hate that word), but if we don’t know what’s going on, how can we help you?

We all need to help our teenagers to be resilient and independent, but also know that it’s OK to ask for help if and when you need it. The key is to keep talking with teenagers, and if there is anything we can do to help, please let us know.

We look forward to our Boarders Christmas Dinner on Thursday 1st December.

Jo

Hospice Collection

St Matthew’s is a school that is part of a community. Service to our community is a special part of who we are, and it has been wonderful to have had the opportunity to show that today with our year 9s collecting for Hospice Wairarapa.

Under the guidance of the year 9 Dean, Lucy Clearwater, our girls were delivered to key points to assist in gathering donations to support Hospice Wairarapa.

As stated in their website - Hospice Wairarapa offers a wide range of programmes and services to support the terminally ill and their families throughout our region, helping them to make the most of their lives so they may live every moment in whatever way is important to them. They have a Memorandum of Understanding with the Wairarapa DHB to complement the medical services they provide under their Kahukura Palliative Care Service umbrella. They also work alongside other organisations assisting patients with a terminal diagnosis, such as the Cancer Society, and other organisations such as respiratory or neurological support groups.