Our Community
St Joseph’s School is a Catholic school in Fairlie township. Fairlie is a community of approximately 950 residents serving a rural population of approximately the same size.
The township has developed over the past years with the growth of the local ski fields, the development of dairy farming and the tourism industry. Fairlie is well serviced with a variety of educational establishments, a medical centre, emergency services, a range of retail shops, excellent eating places and many sporting opportunities through clubs and local resources.
The Easter Mackenzie Highland A & P Show is one of the largest one day shows in the Southern Hemisphere. All age groups of the community play an important part. Children from St Joseph’s School exhibit art in the schools section and compete in the Country Kidz Agricultural Competition. The children entertain the Friendly Club, and celebrate Catholic Education day biannually with other Catholic schools in South Canterbury. Catholic Feast Days are celebrated every year with some of them involving both the school and community, such as St Patrick’s Day.
We join with our local Mackenzie schools for combined Swimming Sports, Cross Country, Athletics, and more recently small school visits and events. Our school is a part of the Mackenzie parish, which works collaboratively to form and nurture the faith of our children and their families. Our children are actively involved in the parish through altar serving, reading and participation in Mass.
Mackenzie Kahui Ako - Te Manahuna
Our school is a member of the Mackenzie Kahui Ako - Te Manahuna Community of Learning).
Our teachers are working collaboratively within and across the Kahui Ako to improve outcomes for children in our community. Our commonalities are O - Ownership, U - Unity, R - Relationships.
For more information on Fairlie and the Mackenzie district see these links:
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Fairlie Accessible (Community Newsletter)
If you are new to the district, we suggest you make yourself known to the Fairlie Resource Centre (Heartlands) or join the various community Facebook groups available (Fairlie Community or Lake Tekapo Trading).