No 3 1 March 2019

 

 

 FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Dear Families

Welcome to our newsletter for Week 5 of our school year. It is my pleasure to share with you the wonderful happenings around our school community over the last two weeks.

PTA Welcome Picnic

Last Thursday 21st February, the PTA Welcome Picnic was held on our top field. It was a glorious warm evening where families enjoyed one another’s company while our children had a fantastic time on the water slide set up on the side of the field. The PTA provided sausages as well as selling drinks and iceblocks. Thank you to those families who came along to enjoy the evening and to Michaela Telfer and her team at the PTA for their support of what was a great event.

Dedication Mass for Catholic Educators in the Auckland Diocese

Tuesday 26th February saw all involved in Catholic Education in the Auckland Diocese, from Early Childhood, through Primary and into the Secondary Sector invited to gather at Christ the King in Owairaka for a beginning of the year Mass officiated by Bishop Pat. As part of this Mass, educators in the Diocese were acknowledged for gaining qualifications related to Religious Education. We were proud that Angela Lim and Michelle Barnett received certificates for obtaining full registration as teachers in Catholic schools, Andrea Begunk and Audrey Maratas received certificates for Classroom Practice Level 1 with Andrea also acknowledged for completing the Living Life to the Full professional development programme. I was also proud to receive an endorsement of leadership level of Religious Education on the night. I would like to acknowledge these and all of our teachers and support staff for their commitment to the special Catholic Character of our school, something that sets us apart from other local schools and is our very reason for existing.

Interschool Cricket Competition

Yesterday, our Year 5 and 6 Cricket team competed in the Howick Pakuranga Principals Association Interschool Cricket Competition held at Lloyd Elsmore Park. Mr Barry Vernon has been working hard with the team to prepare them for this day of competitive cricket.

Results were:

WIN :  Our Lady Star of the Sea  125  –  Howick Primary  34

WIN :  Our Lady Star of the Sea  61  –  Macleans Primary  35

WIN:   Our Lady Star of the Sea  80  –  Point View Primary  21

Congratulations to Adam Bousader, Ryder Brownrigg, Hugo Dougall, Like Dougherty, Matt Menezes, John Pieters, Aiden Stackpole, Cole Tomkies, Connor Waters and Daniel Wellm for their hard work, sportsmanship and fabulous wins over the day. Special thanks to Barry Vernon for his organisation and support of the team.

Meet the Teacher Evening

Thank you to those families who came along last night to our meet the teacher evening. The insights gained from these meetings at the start of the year are invaluable to our teaching staff in building a deep understanding of each student in their care and further establishing connections between home and school.

Professional Development Update

Our year has begun well with teachers and students engaged in teaching and learning programmes working to meet the needs of our learners, experiencing the joyfulness and reward of learning together, challenge, collaboration and hard work.

We have been fortunate to secure the services of a professional development provider in the area of Mathematics this year. Our teaching staff attended the inception of this journey at a teacher only day before school began this year and have had the benefit of working alongside the provider over several days last week. This professional learning will continue throughout the year as our teaching staff engage in ways to build on the strong practices that are in place at our school already.

To support the area of Mathematics we also had the benefit of professional development this week in the establishment of the Maths Whizz online learning tool which our Year 3 to 6 students will be using this year to support the Mathematics teaching and learning curriculum.

We have also continued our Digital Fluency professional development for teaching staff from last year with an external provider, further supporting our teachers in ensuring that digital tools are being used in meaningful ways to enhance the teaching and learning programmes in place across all curriculum areas.

Congratulations on 40 Years of Service Fr John!

On Sunday 24th of February, our Parish Priest, Father John celebrated the 40th anniversary of his ordination. This special occasion was celebrated by parishioners and his family at Mass on Sunday morning followed by a morning tea in the parish centre. Those who attended the beautiful Mass celebration heard readings chosen by Fr John for the occasion, reminding us all of the deep joy of belonging to the family of the Church and the endless forgiveness and readiness of our Lord to embrace us in our humanity and in our desire to continually strive to live as Jesus taught us to. We congratulate Fr John on his 40 years of service to the Church and wish him all of God’s blessings in his ministry.

New and Improved Parish Website

Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish’s new and improved (and still work in progress) website is available on the existing link www.howickcatholic.org.nz. You will be able to access information like mass times, etc., as well as some exciting new features and links. Please don’t hesitate to email the contact link in the website with your feedback and comments.

Follow this link to this Sunday’s readings here:

https://www.catholic.org/bible/daily_reading/?select_date=2019-03-03

Wishing you all a happy, safe and blessed fortnight ahead as we head into the beginning of Lent next week.

Ngā mihi nui

Louise Campbell
Principal

 

DIRECTOR OF RELIGIOUS STUDIES (DRS) REPORT

Pope Francis May 2013

The Ash Wednesday Liturgy next week in the school hall is our school community’s celebration of the beginning of the Lenten season. It is the time for us to consider how we respond to God. Lent is more than just saying ‘I’m giving up chocolate’ or ‘I’m giving up TV’ or going without something for 40 days, proving our strength in will power and then going straight back to it at Easter. Lent is a time of change, of ‘cleaning up.’ The Church encourages us to spend more time talking and listening to God through prayer; to share what we have with those who are less fortunate and being of service to others; to go without the things we might want but don’t really need; to improve our spiritual well being. Here are some suggestions which others will benefit from as well as ourselves.

• Fast from anger and hatred. Give our family an extra dose of love each day.

• Fast from judging others. Before making any judgments, recall how Jesus overlooks our faults.

• Fast from discouragement. Hold on to Jesus’ promise that He has a perfect plan for our life.

• Fast from complaining. When we find ourselves about to complain, close our eyes and recall some of the little moments of joy Jesus has given us.

• Fast from resentment or bitterness. Work on forgiving those who may have hurt us.

• Fast from spending too much money. Try to reduce our spending by ten percent and give those savings to the poor.

St Ignatius suggested we spend time at the end of each day asking ourselves ‘when did God speak to me today and how did I respond?’

2018/2019 Sacramental Programme

Families who are enrolled in the 2018/2019 Sacramental Programme are reminded that the Confirmation sessions begin with the first parent session, Thursday 7 March, and the first children’s session at the 5:30 p.m. mass Sunday 10 March. These sessions are for students who are currently enrolled in the programme. Contact the parish office for more information.

Making sense of the Profession of Faith – The Creed

Father John will be leading a series of short talks following the stations of the cross in the parish church every Friday in Lent. More information is on the parish website https://olsos18.weebly.com/

Manaakitia te katoa

Share your gifts with others

Prayer Intention:    E te Atua o te aroha, God of love help us to turn our hearts to others who need our love and support to rebuild their lives.

Detta Fairweather

DRS

 

NEWS FROM THE CLASSROOM

Lead like Jesus to bring Joyfulness to others 

I bring Joy when I help my mum wash the dishes and sometimes I help my daddy wash the car.

Kaisyn Dang  –  Room 4

I bring Joy when I bring someone to the sick bay when they fall over.

Dylan Tan  –  Room 4

I bring Joy when I hug my mum, help with the laundry and smile.

Jamian Chan  – Room 4

 

NEWS FROM OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM

ORIENTEERING

After school on Tuesday 19th February our orienteering team attended the first event for the 2019 Orienteering Sprint Series at Farm Cove Intermediate. Congratulations to  Zoe Lee, Emily Chan, Wesley Lau, Noah Kato, Aaron Santoso, Rod Allen, Joseph Chen and Austin Yao for taking part, especially to first time Orienteering participants Zoe, Noah, Joseph and Austin.

All of our team members completed the tough course, supporting one another when lost, encouraging each other and guiding each other to completion. Our values of courage and resilience were on display. Thanks to Paw Chu Tay for organising and to the parents who remained until the whole team had finished, also offering their support and team work!

The team’s second event on Tuesday 26th February at Sancta Maria College netted some great results with Aaron and Emily coming in first in their division, Wesley and Zoe coming second, Austin fourth and Rod fifth. Congratulations once again to all involved!

‘Orienteering’   by Wesley Lau  –  Room 23              

This was it, my turn was finally here.  I approached the box to collect my map of the school.  I grabbed my sheet of information and studied it carefully.  I waited for permission to place my little red and black sport ident into the start control.  When the signal came, I put my sport ident inside the blue control and made a run for it. Finding my way around wasn’t an easy task, especially as I had never been to Farm Cove Intermediate before.  After 25 minutes of running around, I sprinted with extreme speed towards the finish control. All my sweat was flying off my black hair onto the fresh green grass. My cheeks were bright pink and I breathed deeply filled with exhaustion.  I could hear the loud footsteps of Noah Kato and Joseph Chen behind me. It made me think, how fast are they? Then, out of the corner of my eye, I could just see Noah catching up, I pushed myself to the limits and beyond. I came to a complete stop in front of the table with the finish control and nearly toppled over it.  The ident went in and out. We had completed our first orienteering course with flying colours. Everyone did excellent for this orienteering course. I wonder what adventures await us next week. How will we do? Will we be able to beat our astounding scores?

Farm Cove – Week 1

Sancta Maria –  Week 2

 

INFORMATION CENTRE

Introducing our fantastic Student Librarians for 2019

Marli O’Hagan (Head Librarian), Emily Chan (Head Librarian), Elsa Cai, Cadence Kelly, Jett Hudson, Audrey Shi, Sonya Yu, Kadyn Serrao, Wesley Lao, Lucas Lin, Lara Oliver, Leanna Park

Everyone has been enthusiastically learning about the organisation and procedures in the Information Centre and they are already organising their first competition of the year!

Well done! We’re looking forward to working with you – Mrs Bell and Mrs McKay

 

Throughout the year we need extra help in the Information Centre.

The covering and mending of books is regular and ongoing and at certain times extra hands are needed e.g. Book Fair Term 2, stocktake Term 4, author boxes last week of every term, summer reading bags Term 4).

If you are available on a regular or one off basis we’d be grateful for your help! Please make contact with Bronwyn Bell [email protected] or Jane McKay [email protected]

 

Parent borrowers – you can borrow books too!

Parent Choice Collection

We have a very comprehensive Parent Choice collection (180 books), covering topics such as feelings, health, grief and parenting.  

Parents are welcome to borrow from this collection.  

Pop in and pick up a borrower form to complete or email Mrs Bell [email protected] and we can add your borrower details to the library management system.

 

STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT OUTSIDE SCHOOL

 

NEW ZEALAND ICE SKATING SQUAD

Congratulations to Marina Chen from Room 19 who has been selected as part of the New Zealand Ice Skating Squad Team.  She is currently training hard and doing her best to progress so as to be able to represent New Zealand. We wish Marina well and congratulate her on her success.

AUCKLAND MOUNTAIN BIKE ACADEMY
Congratulations to Jason Cooper from Room 18 who has been selected as part of the Auckland Mountain Bike Academy that is for years 7 to 13. Jason so impressed the selectors that they made a special dispensation for him to allow him to join, making him the only primary school rider in the team! Well done Jason – we are very proud of you and will watch this space for more news of your success.

 

HELPING HANDS

Helping Hands has been part of Our Lady Star of the Sea’s culture for quite some time.  It is where our school community comes together to help those in stressful situations i.e. a parent or grand parent being very ill, a family bereavement or a new born baby to the family.

We would like those in need to know we care!  If you would like to be a part of this wonderful group of caring people who are called upon once or twice a year to either make a meal, bake a cake, transport children to/from school or utilise your gardening skills please fill out the form (click the word ‘form’) and return to the office.   Please add your contact number.

As we all know – “we are in this together”.

If we can assist your family or if you hear of any family in our school community please let the office know.

Thank you

Helping Hands Team

 

Bell Times and Routines

8.30am	Hand Bell – children can enter class only if teacher in room
8.45am	School Commences
8.45am – 9.00am	Prayer
10.40am – 11.00am	Morning Tea
12.30pm – 1.20pm	Lunch
2.45pm	School Concludes

 

Late for School

If you are held up and late for school please bring your child to the office first to sign in and then go to the classroom. After signing in, a slip is printed and the slip is required to be taken to the class teacher.

A reminder that children who catch the bus down to Sancta Maria College Campus in the afternoon need to be collected as soon as possible.  Some of our children are being left unsupervised for a length of time.

FRIENDLY REMINDERS

Drop off and pick up

Please be courteous to all when you are dropping your child off or picking them up after school.  We have been disappointed to hear that not everyone is showing respect to other parents. We all need to be good role models and at our school we do this through our shared values of Service, Respect, Courage, Resilience and Justice.  THERE IS NO DROP OFF OR PICK UP IN THE SCHOOL GROUNDS.

If your child is absent from school for any reason you must either complete an online report an absence form or phone the office and leave a message or use the school website ‘Absence’ line. Please leave a specific reason for the absence i.e. if the child is sick please specify the sickness e.g. cold, vomiting etc. If the child is absent from school due to sickness for more than three days, a medical certificate is required. For any holiday or overseas travel please email our  Principal Mrs Louise Campbell at [email protected]

Car parking
Please be considerate when street parking near the school. We have received complaints from neighbours regarding parking across driveways.  We have been working with Auckland Transport and you will notice that the extra yellow no parking lines have now been removed.

Lost Property
The lost property cupboard is by Room 1 entrance. You are welcome to check this at any time as it is open all day.

Uniform shop
Open every Thursday 8.15 – 8.45 a.m.  (please note earlier opening and closing times)  and 2.30-3 p.m. (during school term)

Bizzybodz
Before and Afterschool care – 021837977 for bookings