Acting Principal's Message
A warm welcome back to term 4. It was lovely to see such a happy and positive start to the term as the girls caught up with one another after the break. While we might imagine that we start winding down now, in reality, it is a really busy, action packed, 8-week term.
On the academic front, Year 11-13 have been sitting their Derived Grade Exams and later in the term there will be junior exams, year 10 NCEA numeracy and literacy exams and asTTle testing for the year 7 and 8 students. Apart from the academic focus, we also look forward to a music festival, socials, Wake’s house chapel, UCOL taster day and work experience for year 10, all sorts of subject trips and sports fixtures, Duke of Edinburgh Award weekends away, carol service and prizegiving
If you haven’t yet got your tickets for Emma Wright’s presentation about raising body confident kids; “BODY CONFIDENCE in the MODERN AGE” there are still some available. Body Confidence. We look forward to seeing you on October 26th from 7-9pm.
Another date for your diary is either 31st October or 1st November when our students will be ready to entertain you with their performance of “Moana”. We would love to have your company and support for these evening performances. Tickets are available at the door for a koha entry.
I enjoyed a lovely sunny afternoon yesterday at the sports bowl where the year 10 PE class, having taught the Intermediate students the skills needed for field and track, ran an athletics event in preparation for the interschools athletics competition.
Today, we held our Orientation Day where girls who will be joining us for the first time in 2024 were able to enjoy a range of activities and mix and mingle with girls currently in year 7 and 8. This has been a great opportunity for them to demonstrate their understanding of our school value “Inclusiveness”.
I hope you all have a lovely weekend
Mrs Sandie Sherwen
Around School
Boarding Note
This week the focus has been preparing for derived grade exams. In both Main and Hampton houses, all Year 11-13 girls have had a study schedule in place, but as we get closer to the end of the week and the sun comes out, the option of revising with your peers in a quiet sunny spot naturally appeals. Well done boarders, you have had a productive week of study.
Despite some cooler days during the week, some hearty souls have made the most of having the pool up and running once again. Although it is difficult to see in the background, tennis lessons are happening on the courts, and out on the main field the Sports Department is running an in-house touch competition. It is great to see our boarders and daygirls making the most of what is on offer after school.
Final reminders
- Free Meningococcal vaccinations for boarders 15 years and older are available at school next Thursday. However, parents must complete a consent form and return it to the school office by midday on Monday. Please email tracey.watt@trinityschools.nz for this form.
* Please note that 13–14 year old boarders must see their GP for this vaccination. Sorry for the inconvenience.
- Next weekend is Labour Weekend, and it is the one and only exeat for the term. Both boarding houses will close Friday at 5pm and will reopen on Monday at 7pm.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Jo
Hockey Wairarapa Awards
Congratulations to the following nominees -
- St Matthew's Collegiate 1st XI - Team of the Year
- Ella Stratford - U15 Player of the Year
- Kate Speedy, Isabella Kennedy and Emma McLeod - Female Colt of the Year
- Bella Shearing - Female Primary Player of the Year
- Scott Kennedy - Coach of the Year, Contribution to Hockey and Paul Sargeant Award
Year 10 PE
Yesterday the Year 10 PE class lead an athletics day for our Year 7/8 for the Sports Department to select people for the primary inter school athletics coming up. Year 10 have been working on leadership, teamwork, and how to lead an activity as part of their current PE rotation.
Orientation Day
Today we held our Orientation Day for the new students joining us next year in Year 7, 8 and 9, along with our existing Year 7 and 8 students. It was a great day with plenty of socialising and a bit of testing.
Friends of St Matthew's
Rathkeale Fete Stall
The Friends of St Matthews will have a stall at the Fete promoting our Kitchens and more Wairarapa Tour that is next March. Very exciting we have a major sponsor lined up already. If you would like to help on the Rathkeale fete stall for an hour please contact Viv on 027 535 8805 so you can be added to the roster.
Tickets for the Kitchen and More Wairarapa Tour will be on sale from the 4th November - so think of that person who is tricky to buy for at xmas - but would love a day out in March – A ticket solves this xmas gift !
We require a raffle items to entice and catch the eye of punter at the Fete. Please donate one item per family for our basket of goodies raffle. These items can be left a the St Matthews office from today.
Stuck for an idea, here’s some ...........
- A non perishable grocery item that you would feel excited to see in a raffle.
- Something that relates to our kitchen / home tour – Briscoes, Bed bath and beyond, Farmers etc all have small nifty xmas gift ideas
- Thinking of summer what would be great in a raffle basket for your summer holiday – check out the chemists.
The Coronation Bench Seat
This bench seat is placed under our Queen Elizabeth coronation tree. Please enjoy this opportunity to sit and reflect in the grounds on your next visit. The students are enjoying this seat already.
Friends Fees Raffle
Congratulations to the following families who have been drawn for the Friends Fees Raffle. The credit will go through on the September billing.
Term 1
- Anahera Harrris-Haami
- Isabelle Judd
Term 2
- Lily Boggs
- Jasmine Tang
Term 3
- Brianna Benkie
- Addison Duckett
From the Uniform Shop
SENIOR SKIRT ORDERS required by 20th October!
Orders for new Senior Skirts and White winter blouses need to be received by the end of next week, 20th October. There is no commitment to buy ordered uniform, but it means that the correct sizes will be in stock in term 1 if you find that there is no suitable 2nd hand available.
PRICES: Grey summer blouses @$102.00, White summer blouses @$82.00, Shorts @$90.00, Blazers @$317.00, Cardigans @$132.00, Senior Skirts @$165.00, Zoggs Togs: women’s @$45.00, girls’ @$38.00
Uniform Shop opening hours: Tuesdays & Thursdays 3pm – 4pm during term time, or at other times by appointment. Please contact Juliet with any enquiries or orders: smcsuniforms@trinityschools.nz
Emma Wright
Heads up!! Just over one week to get your ticket.
Author and eating disorder survivor Emma Wright is an internationally recognised public speaker.
She is coming to Masterton to help parents, teachers, and coaches understand how to raise our kids to have a healthy relationship with food and our bodies in the modern world.
Body image is one of modern children's biggest challenges, with 90% saying it’s an issue for them. Emma's talk will give you practical tools and strategies to help your child care for and their body well without overthinking food.
Event details:
- Who: Parents, teachers, coaches of 3-17 year-olds
- Where: St Matthew’s Collegiate School Hall
- When: Thursday 26 Oct 7-9 pm
- Price: Free with koha for refreshments
LINK: GET YOUR TICKET HERE
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
- Saturday 21st October - Exeat
- Sunday 22nd October - Exeat
- Monday 23rd October - Labour Day public holiday
- Thursday 26th October - Emma Wright Presentation
- 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 Four - Monday 9th October to Saturday 2nd December