About Us
Welcome to the St. Joseph’s School Takapuna PTFA (Parents, Teachers and Friends Association).
What is the PTFA?
The PTFA is a group of Parents, Teachers, and Friends whose children are students at St Joseph’s Catholic School Takapuna. We provide our time to help build a sense of community and lead fundraising initiatives.
Each year the PTFA organises events that help bring our community together such as; School Disco, Quiz Night, Sausage Sizzles, School Picnic, Fun Runs and much more. Several of these events also help us raise funds that are gifted back to the school to help out with funding the “nice to have’s” like playground improvements, technology, school sports uniforms, and improving our outdoor learning environment etc.
To view the St. Joseph’s School Takapuna PTFA constitution, please click here.
To view our St. Joseph’s School Takapuna PTFA Code of Conduct, please click here.
Who is on the PTFA?
At our AGM in March 2023, the following roles within the Executive Committee were elected:
- Chair - Karen Roncon
- Treasurer - Annabella D’Lima
- Secretary/ Website Admin – Jo Berry
- Exec Committee – Sarah Lee
- Exec Committee – Natasha Luxford
The executive committee is supported by a broader group of parents, whanau and teachers who volunteer their time to help make our school just that little bit better and brighter for everyone within our community.
To get in touch with the PTFA, please email pta@sj.school.nz
How can I get involved?
The PTFA meet on the 2nd and 5th Monday of every term, at approx. 7:15pm in the staffroom at school or via Zoom. Meetings are to discuss what’s happening in our community, plan for how we can bring our community together and achieve our fundraising goals, and review how our previous initiatives went. A staff representative and a Board Member give us an update (if required) of what is happening within the school. It's a great way to be involved and up to date in your children's school life!
If you are a parent, whanau member, or caregiver of a St Joseph’s Catholic School student, there are a number of ways that you can get involved, including:
- Join the committee
Come along to a PTFA meeting and help be part of our organising committee. It is also a great way to meet other members of our community. Just turn up to a meeting, or email pta@sj.school.nz for further information.
- Volunteer network
If you are happy to help out, but don’t want to commit to the committee, sign-up to be a PTFA volunteer by emailing PTA@sj.school.nz. We’ll add you to our volunteer network email distribution list so you can find out what initiatives are coming up and how you can get involved. You can also keep an eye on our Facebook page for updates.
- Support PTFA initiatives
We appreciate that you can’t do everything, all of the time. But if and when you can, please support our initiatives. While some events are focused on fundraising, many others are about providing opportunities to bring our families together but these only work if you come along!
- Offer your specialist skills or contacts to help deliver our buckets
A number of the initiatives we are fundraising for require specialist skills such as designers, builders, building supplies, paints etc. We are keen to support businesses from the school community where we can (even better if you are able to give us a great deal!), so please get in touch so we know who to come to.
- Donate your AirPoints or FlyBuys
One way to support the school without outlaying money is to exchange AirPoints or FlyBuys for Gift Vouchers and donate them to the PTFA (i.e. Mitre10 (Paint/ Wood/ Sandpaper etc), New World (Tiaki/ Pastoral Care initiatives)
- Donate an item directly to the school
Our PTFA fundraising website is updated with the ‘nice to have’ items we are fundraising for and provides the option for families to donate a specific item to the school
2022 fundraising initiatives
In 2021, the PTFA set-up “fundraising buckets” to support short, mid and long term goals for the school. These goals are set by the PTFA committee and the school Senior Leadership Team (SLT).
For every dollar fundraised by the PTFA this year, 15c will go to short-term goals, 15c to mid-term goals, 65c to long-term goals and 5c toward Tiaki/ Pastoral Care. This helps us get the quick wins that can be enjoyed in the immediate future, while also helping us fund the bigger mid to long term goals. The Tiaki fund has also been set-up to support pastoral care initiatives within our school.
Short Term Bucket - New targets set and actioned within the school year
Target: Circa. $12k
Current Total: $10k (83% of total)
- Repaint Ground Murals. These were painted approx. 3 years ago and are due for a re-paint. We are talking with the company who recently painted Milford School’s ground murals and used a paint with sand/ grit incorporated which is longer-lasting and reduces slips. (Play & Beautification – circa. $8k)
- Paint Pedestrian Zones. Currently the pedestrian zones in the carpark and front of school, are not clearly marked. We are looking at getting these painted in panels of school colours (think zebra crossing, to ensure children know where they can safely walk and parents know where they can safely drive). (Safety & Functional Improvements - $4k)
Mid-Term Bucket (to fund projects with a 1-3 year horizon)
Target: Circa. $15k
Current Total: $7k (47% of total)
Long Term Bucket (to fund projects with a 3-years + horizon)
Target: $120k+
Current Total: $20k (17% of total)
NB: Funding is not directly provided by the Ministry of Education for school playgrounds, so any repairs or replacements must be funded by the school community. If our playground is not replaced within the next 2-3 years, it will be deemed unsafe and closed until funds can be raised to provide replacement. We don’t want this to happen. We want our students to have access to a safe play environment that enriches their physical, emotional and social well-being.
Tiaki/ Pastoral Care Bucket
Current Total: $1.5k
The Tiaki/ Pastoral Care “Bucket”, is to support Pastoral Care initiatives at the school. We will be discussing this more at upcoming meetings to provide a service to our community. All money donated through the selling of donated items (i.e. uniform sale) will go to the Tiaki/ Care bucket in full.
Historic initiatives currently being implemented:
Music Bucket
Total Raised: $28.8k
The 2019 Christmas Concert, where we were fortunate to have Simon O’Neill and the ASO perform for us, raised a whopping $29k for the St Joe’s Community. This money was raised to support Music within the school. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 (and the school delivering the annual curriculum in 32 weeks, rather than 40 weeks), the Music programme delivery was delayed until Term 2 of 2021. Over the past term, the school body has enjoyed the Jelly Beans Programme and will continue to do so into 2022.
The money has been allocated as follows:
- Jelly Beans Music Programme 2021 - $9.8k – SPENT & ENJOYED Term 2, 2021
- Musical Instrument Purchases - $5k – SPENT 2021/ 2022
- Reserve for Music Initiatives - $4.2k
What did the PTFA achieve in 2021?
Term 1 2021:
- School Disco (donation to Parish of 350 items of non-perishable food)
- ‘Go Live’ of the PTFA (closed) FB page
- Purchased ANZAC Wreath for St Joe’s Students walking in the Takapuna ANZAC Parade
- Provided personalised Hand Sanitisers for the whole Student Body
Term 2 2021:
- Jester’s Pie Day
- JellyBeans Music Programme delivered to all students
- Helped support the school’s strategic planning process and Whanau breakfast
- Purchased new BBQ and cover
- Entertainment Book sales
Term 3 2021:
- Knowledge-a-thon (to support the inclusion of NZ History in the 2021 curriculum) – watch out for the learning list coming home next week, for study & fundraise over the holidays!
- Purchase of supplies for Ula Lole for our Y4 & Y5 1st Holy Communion students
- Organised Shipwrecked Quiz Night – cancelled due to COVID
- NB: A number of initiatives cancelled due to COVID/ Lockdown
Term 4 2021:
- Online Quiz Night (during lockdown)
- Online Funlympics (during lockdown)
- Provided 4 nominated families with MyFood Bag vouchers (Tiaki/ Care)
- Facilitated the purchase of our “Friendship Chair” which was generously donated by the Skinner Family. Delivered in April 2022.
- Purchase of supplies for Ula Lole for our Y6 graduates ‘drive thru’ ceremony
- Facilitated donations of 2nd Hand Book for library/ parish
- NB: A number of initiatives cancelled due to COVID/ Gathering Restrictions
What does the PTFA have planned for 2022?
The PTFA has had a busy start to 2022 and helped lead the following initiatives during term one:
Term 1 2022:
- Provided St Joe’s Hand Sanitisers for the student body
- Facilitate donations of 2nd hand Wetsuits & Rash Shirts for Waterwise
- Facilitated donations of 2nd Hand Uniforms
- Facilitated a Personal Products Drive for De Paul House
- 2nd Hand Uniform Sale (Tiaki/ Care Bucket)
- Hot Cross Bun Fundraiser with our friends at Bakers Delight (Milford)
- Mother’s Day Artwork/ Jewelry Fundraiser
- Formalisation of the PTA through a Constitution & Code of Conduct
The committee is also in the process of planning a fantastic range of initiatives for the remainder of 2022.
Terms 2-4 2022:
- JellyBeans Music Programme – Term 2
- Access to musical instruments to explore & learn
- A freshen up and re-paint of the Ground Murals
- Painting of a pedestrian and safety zones
- Discounts through a number of providers that give kick back to St Joseph’s, check out our website for all the details: https://stjosephspta.org.nz/pages/discounts
- Dad’s Pie Boxes – Box of 12x 200g pies in 12 flavours for $45 (school makes $16 per box)
- Surti Samosa’s – Bag of 10x Samosas in 3 flavours for $25 (school makes $12 per bag sold)
- St Joe’s at the Movies – Sunday, 3rd July 2022
- Winter Disco “Glow in The Dark” - TBC
- Quiz Night - TBC
- Pie & Donut Day – end of term (Term 2, 3 & 4)
- Book-a-thon as part of Book Week
- Summer Disco
- Colour Run (Y3 to Y6) or a Wheelie-a-thon (Y1 & Y2)
- School Summer Picnic - TBC
Thank you
The PTFA could not achieve anything without the help of its dedicated committee members, and the support of our broader community – so thank you! Your support helps make our school a much better and brighter place and we appreciate all that you do.
Get in touch
Email: pta@sj.school.nz
To join our closed PTFA Facebook group search: St Joseph’s School (Takapuna) PTFA)
PTFA Fundraising website: https://stjosephspta.org.nz/