Principal's Message
Kia Ora Koutou
This morning I was reading a NZ Herald article titled ‘Tauranga Netball threatens to revert to Covid restrictions over adults’ aggressive sideline behaviour’, which painted a very sobering picture of a New Zealand weekend staple. This afternoon you would have received a letter from the Board Chair talking about the same thing in our backyard, so I hope you have taken the time to read it.
John Parsons
John is a Cyber Safety and Risk Assessment Consultant, and we have been fortunate to have him deliver his messages to the students and parents on two occasions now. He is all about Child Protection, his deliveries are age appropriate, and he tells the stories we need to hear. It was gratifying to see you as parents making the time to come along on a cold evening to be a part of his workshop.
John’s live performance is compelling, and his concerns are compelling enough that if you could not make it to the workshop, he and we remain committed to keeping you informed about child protection by providing the resources below.
Books by John Parsons: www.citizen21.co.nz/books
Videos By John Parsons:
• SEXTORTION https://www.facebook.com/johnparsonsS2E/videos/688962838844771
• LEAVING PRIMARY SCHOOL https://www.facebook.com/johnparsonsS2E/videos/611498169867650
• TRUSTING GUT FEELING https://www.facebook.com/johnparsonsS2E/videos/934567347129643
• TEENAGERS AND FUTURE PROOFING FOR EMPLOYMENT https://www.facebook.com/johnparsonsS2E/videos/592289241813040
• LIVE STREAMING: UNDERSTAND THE RISKS FOR CHILDREN https://www.facebook.com/johnparsonsS2E/videos/244747619971043/
• BEDROOM, BATHROOM, PYJAMAS https://www.facebook.com/johnparsonsS2E/videos/1112030665810052/
• HOW TO DEAL WITH ANTI SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR https://www.facebook.com/johnparsonsS2E/videos/643131269822891/
• CHILDREN & ONLINE GAMES - A NOSY PARENT IS A LOVING PARENT https://www.facebook.com/johnparsonsS2E/videos/653756001863893/
• CIRCLE OF LIGHTHOUSES https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=256299468768773
• FAMILIES THAT EAT TOGETHER HEAL TOGETHER https://www.facebook.com/johnparsonsS2E/videos/2866705640318593
• Filming, shaming people and distributing harm online. https://fb.watch/jf_pnWrZ2V/
• TVNZ: Metta/Facebook deploy safety messages. https://fb.watch/gY5ItrQX-k/
As we venture into the weekend, stay warm and stay safe.
Ngā Mihi
Kiri
Around School
Boarding Note
This week has been all go in boarding! We celebrated National Boarding Week with tours of boarding for daygirls and staff; House Dinners and Quiz nights; sessions at the gym with Mrs Fair; and last night a large group of boarders went to the movies. What topped off the week was the lovely comment from the Regent staff regarding how polite our girls were. A great end to our week of celebrations.
Enjoy the exeat weekend and please note that both Main House and Hampton House reopen at 7pm on Sunday night.
Jo
Winter Quad
Our first teams competed in the annual Quad tournament on Sunday and Monday. This featured Nga Tawa, Iona, Woodford (hosts) and St Matthew’s. As you can see from the table, we were extremely successful.
Well done to our first teams, Hockey, Netball and Football for this result. Many thanks to the Coaches and Managers for their support of our teams. Also, thanks go to the parents who made the journey to watch games. A great result leading into the end of the season and building to Tournament Week.
Girls Who Grow
Girls who Grow was born out of a weekend at Lake Hawea Station where we took industry leaders, entrepreneurs and visionaries away to NZ's only Climate Positive Farm to curate a program for our next generation of female leaders, change makers and environmental guardians in agriculture and farming.
Girls who Grow was born out of a weekend at Lake Hawea Station where we took industry leaders, entrepreneurs and visionaries away to NZ's only Climate Positive Farm to curate a program for our next generation of female leaders, change makers and environmental guardians in agriculture and farming.
In September last year, we were grateful for the opportunity to join CreativeHQ's GovTech Accelerator to dig deep into the problem we were working to solve and design a solution to spark the imaginations of young women all over New Zealand by changing the narrative aligned to food and fashion and how they could be part of the solution. We presented Girls who Grow at The Beehive in December and have been activating our pilot program in Otago this year.
The work of Girls who Grow is activated through Imagination Centred Workshops in Colleges across New Zealand, 1 day Imagination Challenges working on real world problems, On farm Lunch and Learn educational experiences bringing the Future Farmers NZ manifesto to life and 3 day immersions to connect young women and their parents to the land to craft out a meaningful and values aligned pathway.
So here is where we need your support
Girls who Grow will be live on One Good Kiwi launching today (Tuesday 1st August) for the entire month giving us the opportunity to secure further funding to be able to continue our work in Otago, Wellington and the Greater Wellington region, Christchurch and Canterbury in 2024.
We are on a mission to engage thousands of young women, activate scholarships to support them on their journey and create meaningful education that aligns to Climate Positive Agriculture and farming in New Zealand.
So we would love your support in 3 steps
- Download One Good Kiwi from the App Store or Google Play
- Give your luscious green coins to Girls who Grow and other projects you connect with on the platform
- Share the experience across your social media, office intranet, friends, family and others in your network that know the importance of nourishing the hearts and minds of our next generation of leaders.
One Good Kiwi are giving everyday kiwi's the chance to give to the things that are important t them with $1.2 million contributed over the next 12 months.
Thanks for your support and we look forward to you being part of our journey
Catherine van der Meulen & Aimee Blake - co-founders of Girls who Grow
School App
If you are new to St Matthew's Collegiate, or have yet to download, please follow the link to install our school app https://schoolappsnz.co.nz/install
For current families, please update your subscription groups by clicking on the cog in the top right hand of the screen. It will take you to the groups for you to change.
Key Dates
- Friday 11th August - Senior College 2024 Subject Information
- Friday 11th August - Foodbank Appeal
- Saturday 12th August - Exeat
- Sunday 13th August - Exeat
- Saturday 19th August - Senior College Dinner Dance
- Thursday 24th August - Year/Sport/Cultural photos
- Sunday 27th August - Cooper House Chapel
- Saturday 2nd September - Exeat
- Sunday 3rd September - Exeat
- Sunday 10th September - Sheppard House Chapel
- Thursday 21st September - House Music event
- Monday 9th - Friday 13th October - Y11 Derived Grade Exams
- Saturday 21st October - Exeat
- Sunday 22nd October - Exeat
- Monday 23rd October - Labour Day public holiday
- Sunday 29th October - Wake House Chapel
- Thursday 2nd November - Last day for Y11-13
- Thursday 2nd November - Senior College Prize Giving
- Monday 6th November - NZQA Exams begin
- Saturday 2nd December - End of Year Prize Giving
2023 Term Dates
- Term Three - Monday 17th July - Friday 22nd September
- Term Four - Monday 9th October to Saturday 2nd December