Author: Jacquie Tetlow

Enrolment
Information
2020

“The teachers and school community have a well-established shared understanding and commitment to the students achieving well, within the school’s special character. Students benefit from the caring relationships they have with their teachers and with each other. They know what is expected of them as learners and learn in settled classrooms. Teachers use a variety of effective strategies to engage all students in purposeful learning.”
Education Review 2019

Email: principal@st-marys.school.nz or secretary@st-marys.school.nz
Website: www.st-marys.school.nz
Together we strive to become confident, creative, lifelong learners who follow Christ.

WELCOME TO ST MARY’S DUNEDIN
Welcome to St Mary’s School Dunedin. We are a family focussed school. Our school caters for learners from New Entrant until Year Six. At St Mary’s we pride ourselves on meeting the learning needs for all children. We have well-resourced learning spaces both inside and outside of the classroom. Our teachers are experienced in multi-levelled classroom teaching and in meeting the needs for a variety of learners. At St Mary’s our goal is to ensure that your child is given every opportunity possible to develop and grow through our inclusive and holistic curriculum. We prepare our learners to be resilient, happy problem solvers, who are confident to meet the challenges that life brings.
Thank you for considering St Mary’s for your child’s education. If you have not already made contact with the school please phone us on 476-4277. We would love to have the opportunity to show you around the school and discuss your child’s educational needs. You may prefer to bring your child during class time, to see how our programme functions. This would be welcomed by all staff.
Even though we are a catholic school there are opportunities for non-catholic students to be enrolled. All students need to be enrolled by our Parish Priest, Father Fredy Prementilla, but this enrolment can be completed with the support of our Principal.

Our Cultural Diversity
At St Mary’s we acknowledge and affirm the unique position of Māori as Tangata Whenua of Aotearoa and in the dual heritage of New Zealand, . In recognising the unique position of Māori as Tangata Whenua, St Mary’s will take all reasonable steps to provide instruction in tikanga Māori and te reo Māori for all our students at an introductory level.
To achieve this, the school will:
Integrate and teach tikanga and te reo as part of class programmes.
Consult with the parents of our Māori (and Pasifika) children regarding the programme of learning.
Promote the theme of New Zealand as a multicultural community with a bicultural heritage.
We also recognise the cultures that all children bring to our school and will celebrate and acknowledge cultural practices from these places. We will consult with our families to include this is our school wide celebrations.
The school’s plans and policies will be implemented in ways that are sensitive to the diverse cultural backgrounds and values of individual children and their families.

Discovery Time Transition Programme
Our hill location means that children come to our school from a number of early childhood experiences and situations. At St Mary's we believe that making a good start at school is important to your child's experience of school. We have seen how children adapt more readily to school when they have been given the opportunity to integrate into classroom procedures gradually. Our transition programme is founded on this belief and is not a one size for all as we understand that every child is unique and will require their own pathway to school. Our discovery programme allows families who are considering enrolling at St Mary's a great opportunity to see what schooling is like at St Mary's.
Our Discovery Time Programme is held Thursday afternoons from 1:45 pm till 3:00 pm.
Your child is invited to join the Discovery Time programme as soon as they turn 4, please contact the school office to register or if you would like more information.
Starting School
Building on our discovery programme and its pathway into school, we also encourage school visits. These usually begin six weeks before your child is due to start school, however we will work with you to make transition into school as smooth as possible.
It is also a really good idea to bring your child to the playground at the weekends or after school so they get familiar with the surroundings of the school before their first visit.
If you would like more information about school visits or have any questions, please contact us.
If you would like more information about school visits please contact the school office.

2020 SCHOOL TERM DATES
Term 1 Wednesday 29 January to Thursday 9 April
Term 2 Tuesday 28 April to Friday 3 July
Term 3 Monday 20 July to Friday 25 September
Term 4 Monday 12 October to Friday 11 December

HOLIDAYS
Waitangi Day - 6 February (Wednesday)
Otago Anniversary Day - 25 March (Monday)
Good Friday - 10 April (Friday)
Anzac Day - 25 April (during school holidays)
Queen’s Birthday - 3 June (Monday)
Labour Day - 28 October (Monday)

THE SCHOOL DAY
School is open from Monday to Friday unless otherwise advised. Parents are asked to phone the office before 9.00 am if children are not attending school or are coming late. This is important for the aspect of children’s safety. Unexplained absences are followed up by the school secretary. Please collect children by 3:15pm as there is no supervision for them after this time.
School Access Points
Cromwell Street (supervised)
Mount Street (unsupervised)
Taieri Road (unsupervised)

SCHOOL CONTACTS
STAFF MEMBERS
Corinne Guthrie Principal/Teacher in Room 3 (Years 4-6)
Christine Donnelly Teacher in Room 3 (Years 4-6)
Belinda Dillon Teacher in Rm 2 (Years 1-3)
Irenee Hollard Teacher Aide/After School Supervisor
Karen Crawford Office Administrator
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Chairperson Caroline Walker
Principal Corinne Guthrie
Staff Rep Belinda Dillon
Proprietor Reps Father Fredy Permentilla, Susan Kubala.
Parent Reps Stephen Finlay, Nikka Barcos, Kyle Milner, Lynneth MacDonald
The Board of Trustees meet regularly and the school community are invited to attend. It is made up of elected parent representatives, representatives of the Bishop and staff. The Board governs the school, working alongside the staff and school community.

COSTS AND SCHOOL UNIFORM
HOW MUCH ARE THE SCHOOL FEES?
This varies a little from year to year. For 2020 St Mary’s has opted into the Ministry of Education donations scheme and will not be charging its whanau for activity donations. Voluntary donations are always welcome and can be claimed back from the Inland Revenue.
If your child decides to be part of a sports team, sports subs of between $30 - $50 (usually) need to be paid. This varies depending on the sport and how many are in each team.
HOW MUCH ARE THE ATTENDANCE FEES?
Attendance Dues (fees) are set by the Dunedin Catholic Doicese are invoiced directly to you by their office. Attendance dues cover costs for the land and building of Catholic schools because while the Government meets the ownership costs (land and buildings) of state schools from general taxation, the Catholic church has to meet the ownership costs of its schools from those who attend them. These costs include purchasing land, building and maintaining school facilities and insurance.
UNIFORM Boys
Grey shirt
Grey shorts
Grey socks
Girls
White blouse
Pinafore or Catholic tartan Skorts
White socks
Both
School polar fleece (available at the school office) or blue school jersey
Black school shoes
Summer-Terms 1 & 4
Girls may wear Catholic tartan skorts.
Blue Sunhats must be worn.
Black or brown sandals may be worn.
Winter- Terms 2 & 3
In the colder winter months plain navy long pants may be worn by any student. Girls may wear navy tights. White (girls) or grey (boys) skivvies or long sleeved thermals may be worn underneath shirts.

OUR HISTORY
In 1910 the Catholics of Kaikorai bought a section in Taieri Rd on which to build their Church and in June 1912 the foundation stone was laid by the then Bishop of Dunedin, Bishop Verdon. In a few short months the church was completed and opened on December 8th the same year. Unfortunately the Bishop was on a visit to the Hot Springs so the ceremony was performed by Rev Fr Coffey. For a number of years Father Coffey travelled from Rattray Street to St Mary's by horse and trap on a Sunday morning to say Mass. The entrance from Taieri Road was much wider in those days and Father was able to bring the horse and trap into the grounds and tie up the horse where the hall is now. Then Father became the proud owner of a Model T Ford which he used to drive into the church yard. However history relates he was not so happy when one morning he drove it over the bank, the same history does not say if anything apart from his pride was hurt.
In February of 1913 the Dominican Sisters came to teach school in the back half of the Church which was curtained off. There was a promised attendance of 40 children and 32 were listed as first day pupils ranging in age from 5 to 10 years.
The Dominican Sisters, for the first time made use of Cable Cars from the Octagon up Stuart St, to the terminus at the Nairn Street cable sheds, which meant that the Sisters had to walk up Taieri Road in all weathers. As a result sometimes the Sisters arrived badly weather beaten. In 1929 the lower school was blessed and opened by Bishop Whyte, and in 1953 Bishop Kavanagh opened the upper school. A third classroom and an administration block were added in 1980.
Molly Lane became the first lay Principal in 1978, and the last teaching sister left the School in 1979. Today the staff members are all lay teachers who aim to preserve its special character.
2003-2005 saw an extensive rebuilding programme. We now enjoy a new administration block, refitted classrooms, new resource areas library and toilet block. We continue to use the lower school hall for assemblies and other activities. The upgrades reflect the support and advice received from the Board of Trustees and the Diocese of Dunedin.