Star Board Term Two Week Two

Principal's Message

Kia Ora Koutou

Let me start by acknowledging our amazing students. We had our Open Afternoon on Tuesday afternoon- and it was the best yet. I stopped counting at 200 people through the doors. What remains vivid of those arriving was the curiosity and pure interest in what we have here, and more the ambassadorial abilities of our young people to speak to all that is St Matthew’s. What better endorsement of a school then those who work here, and those who learn here and wear our uniform every day speaking with such pride about their places of work and learning.

As always, we are so fortunate for the support, we get from our parent community so thank you for Friends of St Matthew’s for being there on this night. For those wanting to know more about this group of volunteers, the Friends of St Matthews AGM on Monday 27th May at 6.30 pm in the Board room.

PUM

I sent this to you all yesterday. Following on from previous notice, The Executive of the Post Primary Teachers’ Association has directed all members to attend a round of regional paid union meetings (PUM) between 13 and 24 May 2024, held under the provisions of Section 26 of the Employment Relations Act 2000.

All teachers and principals who are members of PPTA Te Wehengarua and are covered by the Secondary Teachers’ Collective Agreement, the Secondary Principals’ Collective Agreement, the Area School Teachers’ Collective Agreement, or the Area School Principals’ Collective Agreement, will attend this meeting in this region on May 17 at Mākoura College from 1:00pm.

As a consequence, there will be limited supervision at school, and there will be no formal instruction. If you would like to collect your children, please do so from 1:15 in order for students to eat lunch. Please ensure the office is informed that you are signing your daughter out.

The Boarding house will remain open for boarders. Students will be expected to attend to sports games, sports practices, and cultural rehearsals on this day unless otherwise informed by the person in charge of that activity.

Cyclone recovery ongoing needs survey – please take part.

Wairarapa Recovery Office is running a survey on the ongoing impact of Cyclones Hale and Gabrielle for people, farming operations, businesses and communities in the Wairarapa. The Office was established after last year’s extreme weather events to coordinate recovery efforts across the three Wairarapa district councils.

Information from the survey will help ensure support and resources are targeted at the areas of most need in our region.

If you were impacted by the cyclones, click here to complete the survey by the closing date of Friday 31 May. It should take less than 10 minutes to do.

Your input will help everyone involved in cyclone recovery to continue to provide assistance in the most useful and meaningful way.

If the link above does not work try this https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/M2LLGWV

To the Mums and Mum Figures

Here is a poem that I would have sent to my mum … Angel Post totally counts.

Have a great and safe weekend, and a wonderful Mothers’ Day.

Ngā Mihi

Kiri

Boarding Note

On Tuesday both boarding houses were buzzing with our Open Day visitors. It was lovely to welcome so many into Main House and Hampton, and to hear our current boarding students proudly showing our visitors the ins and outs of boarding … in some cases a little too much information!

These girls below were the first group of Main House tour guides, but thank you to all boarders who stepped up and did a fabulous job of promoting boarding at St Matthew’s.

Earlier today we had three very special visitors to St Matthew’s. Kana Ishida (nee Abe) was an exchange student from Japan who came to St Matthew’s in 2011 for two terms in what was then fifth form (Year 11). Kana is currently visiting New Zealand with her husband Yasuyuki. Pictured with them below is former Director of Boarding Robyn Williams.

Enjoy the weekend.

Jo

Trinity Service

Last Thursday saw the Trinity Schools come together for our annual service and activities time. As always it was a real treat to see the students interacting. This year we were proud to host our brand new Assistant Bishop Rev Anashuya Fletcher. Highlights for me were learning the Jersalema and listening to the students sing in our chapel service. I am already looking forward to next year’s get together.

Rev. Wendy Smyth