Principal's Message
Kia Ora Whanau
Strike & Industrial Action next week
Secondary and area school teachers, nationwide have voted to strike for one day next Wednesday 29th March.
Teachers across the country will go on strike next week to secure better pay and working conditions. There is also a likelihood that from Monday 24 April, the first day of the next school term members will not attend meetings outside school hours. In the second week of next term, there may be a roster of different year levels of students home on various days for four weeks. Primary and Kindergarten teachers will not Strike.
If you can accommodate your children at home on the Wednesday, please do so. There will be limited supervision at school and there will be no normal instruction.
The Boarding House will accommodate boarders.
School is as per normal on the days preceding and following the Strike so students will be expected at school.
Broken Yellow lines
Theodore Roosevelt said ( curiousity should have you googling this man if you do not know who he is) “No person is above the law and no person is below it: nor do we ask any person’s permission when we ask them to obey it.” Long story short - two newsletters ago I wrote the following:
Yellow lines are not there to break up the dullness of the tarseal grey - they serve as a reminder to ‘NOT PARK THERE’.
It would appear that I am about to reiterate these words, and as Roosevelt said, I am not seeking your permission to ask you to obey these words of advice- that is predetermined by authorities greater than I.
It was not a matter of ‘if’ there would be an accident, it was a matter of ‘when’. This week, my words about following the laws of the road were completely ignored and parents parked on the yellow lines rendering it impossible for cars exiting the main driveway to see oncoming traffic. A student who had been helping in the school was trying to exit but could not see because of parked cars on the yellow lines. She relied on someone beckoning her out by signalling the way was clear- it was not clear. The exiting driver turned right and was immediately hit by a car travelling from the right. For the car on the road the airbags immediately deployed therefore writing off the car- and she was injured. For our student – she suffered minor injuries and her car was rendered undriveable. For both drivers the shock was evident but they were both ultimately as okay as one can be.
The big picture is that this accident would not have happened had the cars not parked on the yellow lines thus impairing the vision of the driver.
We will be coning this area and looking to change signage to mitigate future risk and keeping our girls, our community and the public safe.
My advice here is, just as in Beyonce’s song, that when you drive out of the school- especially at busy times- to turn out of our main driveway:
To the left, to the left
To the left, to the left
To the left, to the left
Relay for Life
I wish our teams well for their participation in this event. As the beneficiary of the generosity of others who give of themselves for such Causes - I applaud this undertaking.
As always have a safe weekend and I will see Batten families on Sunday night.
Nga Mihi
Kiri
Around School
Boarding Note
The term is certainly flying by with only two weeks until the holidays. Please encourage your daughter to take any extra items home she may not need between now and the end of term. In saying that, we are having a rock n roll themed dinner next Thursday so it would be good if girls can bring back a costume or item of clothing to wear.
Yesterday one of our lovely tutors Flora spent time outside with some of our younger students playing a game of 40-40. It is great to see the girls outside especially when the sun is shining. Going into Term 2, we would like to have more afterschool activities for our boarders. Please encourage your daughter to see what is happening and join in. She may learn a new skill, make a new friend and have fun along the way!
This morning I managed to catch Olivia Nation and Lucy Stevens heading out of Hampton House for school. Lovely to see you both looking forward to your day ahead.
Please note that next term the Boarding Houses reopen on Anzac Day which is Tuesday 25th April. All boarders (both full and part time) are expected to return between 3-5pm the day before each term begins.
Thank you - Jo
Kapa Haka
Jimbo and the Kapa Haka group practising poi yesterday. A massive thank you to Mrs Veale for making us a fantastic set of poi.
Athletics Championship Trophy Recipients
The Blundell House Cup
- 1st: Batten
- 2nd: Cooper
- 3rd: Sheppard
- 4th: Wake
Also worth noting is that a new record was set in the U14 4 x 100m relay by Sheppard
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
- Sunday 26th March - Batten House Chapel
- Wednesday 29th March - Secondary/Area Teachers strike
- Monday 24th April - Teacher Only day
- Tuesday 25th April - ANZAC day public holiday
- Thursday 4th May - Parent Teacher interviews
- Friday 5th May - Parent Teacher interviews
- Tuesday 9th May - Open Afternoon
- Saturday 20th May - Exeat
- Sunday 21st May - Exeat
- Saturday 3rd June - Exeat
- Sunday 4th June - Exeat
- Monday 5th June - Queen's Birthday public holiday
- Sunday 11th June - Sheppard House Chapel
- Saturday 12th August - Exeat
- Sunday 13th August - Exeat
- Sunday 27th August - Cooper House Chapel
- Saturday 2nd September - Exeat
- Sunday 3rd September - Exeat
- Saturday 21st October - Exeat
- Sunday 22nd October - Exeat
- Monday 23rd October - Labour Day public holiday
- Sunday 29th October - Wake House Chapel
- Saturday 2nd December - End of Year Prize Giving