Recent News

2009

Battle of the Bands : The 3rd week of term four was time for the Battle of the Bands. Our yr 7/8 band did extremely well as we lost our lead guitar player only two weeks before teh competition! Well done to William Horua who stepped up and learnt the songs very quickly and played the 12 string. The rest of the band is made up of Rosa, Krystal, Crystal, Natia and Teresa on vocals, Olly-ann on lead guitar, Molly on bass, Luese on keyboard and David on Drums. The band was called Fingerz - which is the nickname of the girl that was on lead guitar before she had to go to another school. We were thinking of her on the day and wishing she was still at St Michael's. If I can work out how to put a video on I'll do that soon!

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat. The last week of term 3 saw our major production of Joseph. It was a lot of work but great fun. The children really enjoyed dressing up and showed off their amazing singing skills. Well done particularly to Teresa Pusa who played Joseph. Click here for a few photos.

Year 7/8 Inter school cross country. Congratulations to the 15 students who competed in the cross country. Click here to see the Upper Hutt Leader article featuring Luis front and centre! Click here to see photo.

Y7/8 Interschool Cross Country

A group of us were part of the St. Michael's School cross country team to compete at Trentham Memorial Park in Upper Hutt on Thursday 28 May.

All of us were very nervous before the race because we had heard that there was going to be lots of kids there racing. As soon as we got to the big race we got into our running gear and we were able to have a look at the course we were going to run. It didn't look very far, but while running it we all found it very tiring.

None of us got a top ten placing but we did have a lot of fun.

By Waimarie Year 8 & Luese Year 7
Thomas Aquinas

Tumeke Taita Festival. Saturday 14 March saw the annual Tumeke Taita Festival. St Michael's had a stall where we showed off some of the things that are important to our school. We sold fruit salad to show how important fruit is to us, we sold calico shopping bags to show how important we see the environment is, and we sold compost from our own compost bins to show how we put caring for the environment into practice. The choir and the poly groups both performed - well done to those children who worked hard with only a couple of weeks notice! You can see the photos here.

In week 3 of term1, (16thFeb) the junior school visited the Koraunui Marae in Stokes Valley. They were welcomed on and taught all about the history of the wharenui.
Whaea Charmaine was our kaiako and she explained all about the carvings and the tukutuku panels. The children enjoyed the action songs and the stories she told us as well.
They also had an opportunity to design and colour on a korowai (cloak).
The highlight of the visit was when Whaea Charmaine drew a moko on every child.
We finished with a farewell song and left the Marae with so much more knowledge about Maori protocol. See photos here.

2008

Cultural Day 2008. We started the day with a Mass which was lovely. Thanks to Mrs McVey and teachers who helped put it together. After morning tea we had our Cultural Day Concert with acts ranging from Poly Group, junior and senior choir, Banjo Boyack with his Nano Nagle assistants, Eirene singing, Ranya doing an Indian dance, Petrina doing a jazz dance, Matta playing the piano, Fa'aiuga Kalatiola and Danielle doing a Samoan Siva, the Tonise family also doing a siva and the band sang their songs. It was a lovely day finished off with some games in the afternoon. Click here to see photos of the concert.

Touch Tournament We had three teams competing in the interschool touch tournament at Fraser Park. The teams played really well, and congratulations to Theresa S, Shalom T and Sione who were players of the day in their teams.

Paddy Market The Paddy Market on Oct 31 was a great success. Congratulations to the senior school pupils who worked so hard to get all the stalls running. It was hard work! We raised $1700 for the missions which is fantastic.

Battle of the Bands October 23 saw the annual battle of the bands. It was hosted by Avalon Intermediate, and held at Naenae college. Our band have worked hard to get their songs together, and their hard work paid off as they came second! What a great day. Click here to see the Hutt News article.

Koraunui Marae Open Day. In September our Poly group joined with several other schools at the Koraunui Marae in Stokes Valley. They wore their new outfits which looked fantastic, and were definately a highlight of the day. Click here to see the Taita Times article.

The annual Mid Winter Swim was held on Sunday July 20. We decided as it was our 10th year that we would have representatives from each year. Well done all those who braved the cold! We even managed to get into the Dom Post this year as well as the Hutt News. See other photos here.

Cross country: Congratulations to all the children who participated recently in the cross country. Yr 7/8's who represented the school in the inter-school cross-country were Lufina, Molly, Waimarie, William, Kena, David, Theresa, Petrina, New Year, Reuben, Sione and Shalom. Yr 4/5/6's were Faga, Jonathan, Fatai, Sulami, Tamara-Jean, Danielle, Fa'aiuga, Shruti, Katrina, Cahan, Sam, AJ, Luese, Uelese, Ma'anaima, Teresa, Malili and Malo.

Special congratulations go to Luese, Fa'aiuga and Jonathan who have made it through to the interzone cross country competition!

Y4-6 TRIATHLON

On Wednesday 8 April a group of us went to Delaney Park in Stokes Valley to compete in the Year 4-6 Interschool Triathlon. The schools competing were: Pomare, Taita Central, Tawhai, Koraunui, Tui Glen and us.

The Year 4's went first in swimming, then biking and then running. Next the Year 5's went and then the Year 6's went after us.

After our enjoyable day we all gathered up together and had a pat on our backs because we did so well. We might even do it again!

By Danielle
John Bosco
Yr 5

Graduation: Congratulations to our 5 staff who graduated recently with their BA's in Education. Linda, Dale, Fia, Maureen and Lynne all donned the gown and hat and took part in the graduation ceremony at Victoria University. Well done all of you. Photos here.

2007

Moko Idol 2007. Congratulations to Rosa, Petrina and Krystal who all made it through to the fianls of MOko Idol this year.They have worked hard and prepared two excellent numbers, which they performed at the marae in Wainuiomata. They all now go on to perform as part of the Moko Idol group at 'Te Ra o Raukura' at Te Whiti Park, on Waitangi day. Thanks again to Shazz and the Moko Idol team for making this great event a reality. Newpaper clips here

2007 Battle of the Bands. October saw the annual battle of the Bands competition - this year held at Naenae College. Congratulations to Etanah, Poni, Keke, Jordan, Ngaire, April, Viola and Junior who worked really hard to get our two songs together. Thanks also to the group of 'roadies' who have helped get all the gear out for the last couple of months. Click here to see the Hutt News article featuring Etanah.

Iron Brion Roadshow. We were very lucky on Thursday 19 July to have the Iron Brion Roadshow come to St Michael's. Iron Brion and his friends entertained the children as well as giving them the message about healthy eating. This was followed by a free freshly made hamburger! Thanks to NZ Beef and Lamb for putting on the show, and to the parents and teachers who helped make 150 hamburgers! See photos here.

Mid Winter Swim was held on a beautiful day (8 July), and an intrepid group of staff turned up to take the plaunge for the 8th time. Thanks to all involved - we won the best group entry dressed as Team NZ/Alinghi. We even managed to make the front of the Hutt News - see newspaper article here, and general photos here.

Ronald McDonald came to school on June 7 and talked to the juniors about road safety. Thanks Ronald.

Yr 4/6 Cross country interschool was held in June. Congratulations to Luese who go through to the InterZone competition

Yr 7 and 8 Health and Drama Course. Click here to see Manuele Pereira's report. Click here to see photos

Te Ra o Raukura - Feb 4. Congratulations to Etanah and Laine who performed at Te Ra o Raukura as part of the Moko Idol competition. There was an enormous crowd, and they both did extremely well.

2006

A VERY SUCCESSFUL CULTURAL DAY November 21

Last Tuesday's Cultural day was a huge success with all our families involving themselves one way or another. The Mass was celebrated by Samoan, Tokelauan, Tongan and European Priests and involved children from almost all the cultures within our school. The presenting of gifts form all the different cultures, at the beginning of the Mass with an explanation of why they were important, was a lovely way to start the Mass and set the scene for the rest of the day.
Thank you to all the parents who helped and joined in during the day, to Toni and the room 6 helpers for the great sausage sizzle and all the staff who worked so hard to make the day a great success

2006 Intermediate Battle of The Bands : On October 19th the band went up to Maidstone Intermediate to perform in the Battle of the Bands. They sang "You're My Baby" by Pretty Ricky and "Play that Funky Music". The competiton was incredibly tough, and they played extremely well.

St Bernard's Contributing School's Concert : October 18th saw the inaugural St Bernard'sContributing School's concert. Our band, Poly group and choir all performed and were a credit to the school. St Bernards, St Bernadette's, Our Lady of the Rosary, Sts Peter and Paul and St Claudine's all took part. Thanks to the parents who helped with transport.

Artsplash 2006 : At the end of term 3 the choir once again participated in Artsplash. They learnt lots of songs, and, as always, did us proud.

Heart Foundation Jump Rope for Heart : At the end of term 3 we had a fundraiser for the Heart Foundation with Jump Rope for Heart. All the children participated and we raised a lot of much needed money for the Heart Foundation.

2006 Mid Winter Swim : On July 1 an intrepid group of staff. students and friends braved the cold waters of Petone beach for our 8th Mid Winter Swim. We went as Matariki and the 6 stars - Tupuarangi, Tupuanuku, Wai-ti, Wai-ta, Waipuna-rangi and Ururangi. Thanks Bernadette H, Molly, Arthur, Mrs Provoost, Becca, Mrs Coffey, Rose and Mrs Rangiwhetu.

Paddy Market : In the last week of term one we had a very successful Paddy Market. All the children participated, and the room one children worked especially hard. Well done everyone. Proceeds to charity.

8th May : Our Trip to Young Leaders Day
On Monday the 8th of May, the two heads (Olo Tafili and Diana Aukuso) and two deputy heads (Raymond Horua and Brooke Hanlon went to an event called the Young Leaders Day at the Events Centre in Wellington. It included various guests speakers like Norm Hewitt, Linda Vagana and Dr Mark Orams. They all had stories to tell how they got to become what they are today. Our favourite guest speaker was Norm Hewitt. Norm Hewitt inspired us because he told us what he did to get to the top and win the Dancing with the Stars competition, and alos what inspired him to do more than he expected.

Yr 7/8 Interschool Swimming Sports : Report by Helen Aiga and Kasey Hoani.
On Monday 3rd April 5 students from St Michael's School competed in the interzone swimming sports at Naenae pool. Our team was made up of yr 7/8 students - Helen Aiga, Kasey Hoani, Afu Nehoa, Etanah Laulau and Luisa Wright. Helen said as soon as she got there she knew it was going to be a huge challenge for her and all the other students. Even though we didn't win the whole competition or come first in our heats we're still winners!

Yr 4 - 6 Athletics Day : Our team of athletes went up to Koraunui School in Stokes Valley to compete with our cluster of schools. Well done those children who were chosen.

Karori Wildlife Centre : The whole school went into the Karori Wildlife centre to learn about our native flora and fauna. Thanks to the excellent staff at the centre.

Andrew Chinn concert : In March we were very lucky to have Andrew Chinn visit the school. he ran workshops with all the children and taught them lots of fun songs with actions. In the afternoon we had an excellent concert with many of the children up on stage. What a great day.

Capital E Recycling Show: Wednesday 23 Feb the junior school went into Capital E as part of their study on recycling.

Monday 20 Feb : Full Circle Recycling visit. We had the people from Full Circle come and speak to the whole school about recycling. They showed us what happens to the recycling and gave us hints about what you can and cannot recycle.

School Mass : On Wednesday 15 Feb we celebrated our first Mass of the year. We welcomed all the year 8's who will be the leaders of our school this year.

Jan/Feb Moko Idol/Te Ra o Raukura : During the holidays Ta'ase Pusa was working hard as our representative in the Moko Idol show. She spent 3 weekends rehearsing - including a 2 night noho at the Wainuiomata Marae. On Saturday 5 February she performed on stage at the Te Ra o Raukura festival in Waiwhetu.

2005

Saturday 18 June : The staff and friends once again took part in the mid-winter swim. 7th year in a row! Click here for a photo.

Friday 27 May : The first of 3 Meningitis Vaccinations were administered today. We were very impressed with the behaviour of the children and how well they took their injections. Thanks to the nurses who's proffessional attitude and speed helped make this as easy as possible.

Thursday 26 May : Jonathon Collins Trophy. We were joined by St Brendans, Our Lady of the Rosary, St Bernadettes and Sacred Heart Petone to play rugby and netball. The cup was won this year by Sacred Heart - congratulations to them and all the students who played. See two reports from senior students here.

Pacific Island Healthy Eating Seminar :Some room 8 and room 12 children attended this event at the Lower Hutt Horticultural hall on May 11. They were entertained and took part in various activities as well as being part of a concert later in the afternoon. A very busy day for little children. They did very well.

QUEEN MARGARET VISIT
Last Thursday the school was visited by 90 year 9 girls from Queen Margaret College. Queen Margaret are our sponsors for the Duffy Books. There year 9 girls raise over a thousand dollars each year to provide our children with Duffy Books, four times a year. So that they could get to know the children they were raising money for, they visited us for a "book afternoon". They ate lunch with the senior classes and then spent time in the afternoon reading to a junior child. All the children enjoyed the experience and I heard a number of Queen Margaret girls talking about becoming teachers as they were leaving!

Easter Liturgy : Also on Wednesday 23 was our Easter Liturgy. We performed at 1.45 to over 400 students from Taita Central, St Brendan's and St Bernadette's. We all came back at 7pm to perform again for the community. What a great turn out, and an excellent effort by the children.

Yr 4 - 6 Interschool Swimming sports were held on Wednesday 23 March. Our team did very well and were placed 3rd overall. Well done all.

Capital E on the Quay : On Friday 18th it was the juniors' turn to spend the day in Wellington. They saw the spectacular Secret Garden, followed by a play called 'Outlookers', and a modern dance show called 'Outside the Square'. Another great day and fantstic opportunity for the children. Thanks to Capitol E who provided the buses.

School Picnic : What a lovely day we had out at the Rimutaka Forest Park in Wainuiomata, on Wednesday 16 March.

Capital E on the Quay : On Friday March 11 the Rm 1 & 2 children went on a bus to see three shows as part of the Capitol E series. We had person who looked after us, and went to Shed 11 first to see The Secret Garden. It was fantastic. That was followed by a play of the story of Hinepau which the children really enjoyed. After lunch in the Civic Square with some of the actors from The Secret Garden as well as others entertaining us, we saw Apirana Taylor who entertained us with his music and story telling. What a great day.

Ash Wednesday was celebrated by a liturgy, where we all placed stones into a bowl to signify the sins we would like to leave behind us.

Shrove Tuesday : The day before Ash Wednesday is called Shrove Tuesday and to celebrate, some of the juniors made the traditional meal of pancakes.

Duffy Play : Duffy and his friends came to school and performed a play about Duffy and a pirate. As always it was very entertaining and the children thoroughly enjoyed it.

2004

Busking in Wellington : On Wednesday 1st December the Choir and Poly Group went into Wellington to sing at the Catholic Centre, Haines Recruitment Advertising and then went busking in Cuba Mall and at the Waterfront. We raised almost $800 for the camp. We actually discovered it was really hard work! Click here to see mpg's of the choir sing at Haines

First Communion Mass: Congratulations to our first communicants who made their first communion on Sunday 21 Nov. Thanks to all the children from rooms 1, 2 and 3 who came to support them.

Disco : The children had a great night on Friday 19 Nov at our end of year disco. Thanks to the fundraising committee who got it all together!

Community Cultural Performance : On Nov 3rd the Poly Group, Choir and Band took part in our local community cultural performance at Avalon Intermediate. Taita Central, Pomare, Avalon Intermediate and St Michael's all came together for a community concert. Thanks to the PISCPL team for organising this event.

Juniors singing at Aroha Home for the Elderly : Our junior school children went over to teh Aroha home recently and sang them our "food songs". They also all made Christmas Cards to give to the residents which was most appreciated.

Cultural Day : Oct 29 - What a great day we had - beginning with a Mass, followed by rotations of all sorts of activities and finishing with a concert put on by the Room 1 and 2 children.

BP Challenge : On Friday 15 Oct we had 3 teams in this event and all the teams did really well. Congratulations to our year 7/8 team who came 2nd in their contest

Koraunui Marae Open Day : Friday 15 Oct saw the Poly Group participating in the Open Day at the Koraunui Marae in Stokes Valley. They also watched Stokes Valley/Kamahi, Tui Glen, St Patricks, Pomare and Karori Normal Kapa Haka groups perform, as well as some other entertainment.

Naenae College Contributing Schools' Festival : On Tuesday 12 Oct, the band, choir and Poly Group all performed at Naenae College. The band sang "How Bizarre", the Poly Group did part of their Sa Sa followed by Hato Mikaere E, and the choir joined them to sing the Samoan National Anthem. Thanks to the teacher and fanau who helped get them ready and provided transport. Once again, our children were a credit to our school.

Duffy Assembly with Dallas Seymour and girls from QMC : At the end of Term 3 we were priviledged to have Dallas Seymour as our Duffy Hero. He spoke to the children about his love of reading, and even did a haka with the boys from the Poly group. Some students from Queen Margaret's also spoke about their fund raising activities for St Michael's.

Paddy Market : We held a fantastic Paddy Market on Friday 27 August. Thanks to all the parents/grandparents/families and church people who donated goods, and came to support us. Well done to the children too - they worked hard!

Artsplash : On Tuesday 3 August the choir went in to the Michael Fowler Centre in Wellington to perform in the Artsplash Concert. They were a credit to our school, and even took the bus being half an hour late in their stride! Well done choir people - you should be proud of yourselves.

The Bluebird Flipperball Tournament at H2O was held on Thursday 29 July. There were 12 schools competing from Lower & Upper Hutt. We played 2 games : Waterloo, which we lost 5-4 & the second was against Eastern Hutt which we lost 7-0. The teams played really well considering we are in C grade and both the teams we played are in A grade.

July 2 : Duffy Books assembly. We were once again lucky to receive more Duffy books for the children. Our Poly group welcomed the Hon Paul Swain (MP for Rimutaka) who spoke to the school, and 4 pupils from Queen Margaret's who are our sponsors for Duffy Books.

June 28 : The entire school were fortunate to be able to attend the Royal New Zealand Air Force Band concert at the Michael Fowler Centre. The children thoroughly enjoyed the concert - especially the drummers playing the rubbish bins, the YMCA song and the 'movie soundtracks' peice.

June 28 : The Choir and the Poly group made a special trip into Haines Recruitment Advertising to sing for them and to deliver a thank you card from the school for the six computers the company had recently donated. Thanks Haines!

June 25 : The St Michael's Vs St Bernadette's year 6 - 8 netball tournament was held. It was a great afternoon and all the children played with great enthusiasm.

June 22 : The senior classes were invited to go to Queen Margaret's College to see their year 9 productions. QM's even paid for the bus which was most appreciated. The students thouroughly enjoyed the morning, and were amazed at how much work the QM students had put into their productions.

June 15 : Ronald McDonald and his sock puppet came and entertained the junior school, and reminded them all to make it click, wear a helmet and be careful when crossing the road.

May 25 : Year 4-6 Interschool Athletics
1st places went to: Helen Aiga (vortex and long jump), Natalie Edser (high jump), Fa'asolo Lemoe (vortex and long jump), Loisi Manu (shot put)
2nd places went to: Faasolo Lemoe (sprint), Viola Alataua (vortex)
3rd places went to: John Siaosi (vortex and 300m), April Nanai (sprint), Ionne Sola (long jump), Etanah Lalau (long jump), Fina Lasike (shot put)
In the team events St Michaels was placed 1st in yr 6 girls vortex and 2nd in the yr 4 boys vortex, yr 4 girls vortex, yr 5 girls vortex, yr 5 girls long jump, yr 6 girls long jump, yr 6 girls shot put, yr 4 boys hurdles.
CONGTRATULATIONS

6 April : Choir perform at Aroha Home for the Elderly

April : Free Choice afternoon for all those who were not in the detention book for the second half of the term

Dec 8 - 12 Education Outside The Classroom week

December 3 Road patrol function

November 13 Year 7/8 North Zone Touch tournament. Well done to all the teams - particularly the Yr 7/8 mixed team who won their grade, the Yr 7 girls who came second, and the Yr 7 boys who competed well. The even was run by local Police and WTM Touch

November 7 The choir, Poly group, band, orchestra, and a dance group took part in the Taita Community Pacific Island School's Festival. What a credit to our school to have so many talented children. Well done to them all.

October 31 St michael's day mass and celebrations

October 24 BP technology challenge

October 17 Yr 3,4,5,6 Touch tournament

October 15 The choir perfomed at the annual Naenae College festival. Once again a credit to the school both in their behaviour and their talent.

October 14 Yr 8 Carrers day in Wellington

"The Last Kiwi" September 16/17 2003
What a great job the whole school did on the production! Every child had a part - sometimes more than one - and even the band and sound/lighting students doubled as witches, bears, soldiers, cards - you name it we had it. Almost 140 costumes in all!
See the photos on the photo gallery page.

Artsplash 2003 Tuesday 9 Sept
Once again our choir participated in Artsplash this year. The choir came early to school and dressed in the ie lavalava and tops, and we headed into the Michael Fowler Centre on a bus. The children were a credit to our school as usual, and at least one audience member thought we were the only school singing the harmonies for most of the concert.

WINNING RUGBY TEAM-Last week our year 7 and 8's took part in a rugby tournament involving teams from all over the Wellington Region. After six games they made it through to the quarter finals, beating St Joseph's Upper Hutt. They then went on to win their semi final against St Brendan's and played a tremendous game to beat Karori Normal 15-0 in the final. This is a great achievement and congratulations to all those involved. Thanks to Mano Flutey who helped coach our team, Eleanor Leala for her organization and all the parents who supported our children on the day.

St Bernards Performing Arts Concert
7 Aug
We took the whole school (minus some rugby & netball players) down to the Lower Hutt Little Theatre to watch St Bernards Performing Arts Show. The children thoroughly enjoyed performances ranging from the Pacific Island Group, Kapahaka, various bands, two choirs, a jazz band and a barbershop quartet. Well done St Bernards - a lot of work must have gone into this event

Sarah Trotman - an ex pupil - was recently profiled in a book called "Stand Up and Shout - Kiwi Success Unplugged". Here's what she had to say about St Michael's.
Where did you grow up and what values were instilled in you as a young person?
In relation to my early schooling, the best thing my parents did for me ... was sending me to a fairly low socio-economic school in Taita. I went to St Michael's and I think going to that school gave me the ability to relate comfortably with everybody, whether it's the Prime Minister, someone from the Auckland City Mission soup kitchen or a street cleaner.

Baptism - On Wednesday August 6 we had a lovely baptism mass for some of our pupils. Congratulations to them all.

Interzone Swimming Sports April 30
A couple of days ago on Wednesday the 30th, 3 St Michael's students went to a swimming sports called an inter zone at Huia Pool. The 3 students were Talolua Silafai, Helen Aiga and me - Jordan Whioke. We had to get in a zone and swim for our zone. They judged us in style and in speed.
Jordan Whioke - Rm 2

Catholic School's Day Wednesday 2 April
We all walked down to Avalon Park to celebrate Catholic School's Day with St Bernadette's. The rain held off and we had great fun playing games and having a shared lunch.

Naenae College Roadshow 27 March
On Thursday morning we joined with Pomare and Taita Central schools at the Taita Community Centre, to watch the Naenae College Roadshow. They entertained us with the choir, saxophone band, classical guitarists, rock bands and various songs sung in 3 part harmony. The children from all three schools thoroughly enjoyed the concert, and we'd like to thank Naenae College for putting on the show for us. We were also thankful to Hutt City (Ben Pomare) for making the Community Hall available once more.

St Michael's Catholic Primary School
3 Cooper St, Taita, Lower Hutt City, New Zealand.
Ph (04) 567 1514