Dear Families,

Welcome to our final newsletter of Term 2. It is hard to believe we have made it to the mid year point. I have said it many times; time flies when you’re having fun. We must have been having loads of fun at Our Lady Star of the Sea as the term has reached its end in what feels like record time.

Farewell Anne Marie Doyle Today we bid a fond farewell to our gorgeous Office Administrator Anne Marie Doyle. After just over 25 years of service to our beautiful community, Anne Marie has retired. We had a lovely send-off for her today, thanking her on behalf of our school for her years of service. She will be missed.

Parish | School Connect It is lovely to attend Mass at our Parish Church on a Sunday and see school families in attendance. The attendance at Mass is increasing steadily as people are becoming more confident about gathering as a community in this current covid climate. I encourage families to consider making the attendance at Mass as an expression of our lived faith a part of their weekend ritual as school and family partner together in growing active, connected young Catholics.  Click here to see the readings for this Sunday.

Pyjama Day Last Friday children were invited to wear pyjamas to school and bring a gold coin to support Ronald McDonald House. This cause resonates with many families who have had the benefit of support when their children have been hospitalised. We had a fabulous day in cozy pyjamas and are pleased to announce that we raised $516.70. Thank you for your support of this worthy cause.

Winter Uniform We acknowledge on these mid-winter days in particular, our young learners do feel the cold.  Whilst the boys winter socks provide warmth, the girls can at times do with a warmer option. The Uniform Committee and the Board have agreed to the option for girls to wear plain navy tights during Terms 2 & 3 as part of our winter uniform.  This addition takes effect from the beginning of next term.  Plain navy tights (preferably Columbine) can be purchased from local retailers such as Farmers.  The uniform shop will not stock tights.

Community Opportunity Last Friday we had our first hot drink and a cookie for families as they wait for their children on Friday afternoons. We are grateful to Sue Yandell for her organisation of this opportunity for families to connect and reconnect. We will continue to do this each Friday.

Notice of Upcoming Board Elections Later in this newsletter you will see information about our upcoming Board elections. I encourage you to think about whether this could be a way you would be interested in serving in our community. If you have any questions please email through anytime.

OLSOS 175 Years Old In 2023 our school will be celebrating 175 years of existence alongside our Parish. Fr Garin established the parish and school in 1848, making Our Lady Star of the Sea School and Parish one of the oldest in New Zealand. If you are interested in local history and have some time to help source and curate school photos and memorabilia in preparation for the celebrations next year we would love to hear from you as we begin preparations. We are very much looking forward to celebrating such an auspicious milestone.  

Skool Loop App – new to Our Lady Star of the Sea Thank you to those families who have downloaded the new Skool Loop Communication App. We welcome feedback as to its ease of use and accessibility.

Please note: We will use this app for parents to book the next round of student, parent, teacher conferences early in Term 3, so sign up now!  Follow the instructions below to download the app to your device.

Lewis Eady Music Lessons at OLSOS from Term 3 We are very much looking forward to partnering with Lewis Eady to deliver Music lessons next term. See later in the newsletter for further details related to music lessons on offer at OLSOS from next term.

Looking Back Our senior classes had the opportunity to participate in a full day of the EPro8 STEAM programme last week which was met with great challenge, enthusiasm, problem solving and resilience (great lifelong skills that connect directly with our Learner Profile). Teams represented us with pride, skill and heart at the HPPA Hockey Field Day and HPPA Rugby Fun Day. This week on Tuesday, the Playhouse Theatre Company presented The Emperor’s New Clothes, a great opportunity for our students in the Arts. Congratulations to our basketball teams, especially the Blue Stars for winning their grade (see later in this newsletter for photos and more details),  and to our wearable arts team who presented their costume designs in the wearable arts competition in the city this week.

I wish you all of God’s blessings over the holidays and pray for a happy and safe return in Term 3 which commences on Monday 25th July. 

Wishing you all a safe and happy fortnight ahead.

Be safe and God bless.

Ngā mihi nui and cǐ zhì jìng lǐ,

Louise Campbell
Principal

The Catholic Religious Education Curriculum recognises faith in two ways:

• the faith in which people believe;
• the gift of faith from God by which they believe

When planning the Religious Education programme for our learners, we are conscious that God works with us as we  create and plan engaging learning experiences that provide an effective way of sharing the faith in which we, as Church, believe. At the same time we continue to be aware that faith is a gift that comes from God — it is not our mahi to ‘create’ faith, but to support, model and nurture its growth. This term our focus has been on the God theme. The aim of  this theme is for our young learners to develop an understanding of what the Church teaches about God in terms of the nature and persons of the Trinity, and God’s relationship with humanity and all of creation. Please ask your child about their learning this term. Years 1 & 2 learners have been learning about  God’s love and how we are connected to God through creation.  Years 3 & 4 learners have discovered more about the Holy Trinity and the Gifts the Spirit brings us. Years 5 & 6 learners have explored the model of justice the Saints are for us and how we can be justice in the world today.

The focus for next term is Being Church. Being Church encompasses Catholic Christian practice; how we should live our best life, one which embeds and lives out the teachings of Jesus. The aim of the Being Church theme is for our learners to develop an understanding of what it means to be Catholic in the world today in terms of faith, discipleship and sacramental living. Year 1 &  2 learners will explore how  they belong, developing an understanding that they are a part of God’s family and what they do and how they behave towards others is important. They will come to recognise the Church has rituals, symbols and holy things, and learn what to do and say in each situation. Year 3 & 4 learners will explore the seven Sacraments; what they are, and how they are part of their faith journey. They will also grow their understanding of what a Sacrament is and what the Sacraments  do. Year 5 & 6 learners will explore the 9 principles of Catholic Social Teaching and the links to Jesus’s teaching as well as explore ways to live these teachings by putting their faith into action.  A busy and exciting term of learning ahead. 

At the 5:30pm Mass, 31 July, a group of our  young learners will be welcomed into the Church through the Sacrament of Baptism. This is an important milestone in their faith journey and a very exciting time for our parish and school. Please keep these young ones in your prayers. I encourage you all, as members of our faith community, to come to the Mass and celebrate with them.

                                Mea ana te atawhai haere mai i runga i te aroha me te awhi 

Mercy invites us to love and to care

Prayer Intention : For the Grace to be Church for one another.

Detta Fairweather
Deputy Principal / Director of Religious Studies

Our Lady Star of the Sea
School Board Elections

Parent Election Notice

Nominations are open for the election of 5 parent representatives to the school board.

All eligible voters will receive a nomination form. Use this form to nominate yourself or someone in your community. You will also receive a nomination cover letter calling for nominations.

If you need more nomination forms, contact the school office.

Nominations close at noon on 3 August 2022. You may provide a signed candidate statement and photograph with your nomination.

The electoral roll is held at the school and can be viewed during normal school hours.

As nominations are received, there will be a list of candidates’ names kept at the school up until election day, which you can view.

Voting closes at 4pm on 7 September 2022.

Signed:  Sue Yandell

Returning Officer

Basketball

A massive thanks to our two basketball coaches Kevin Chen and John Manuel who have guided and supported our players through this term and developed their basketball skills. Every player has made huge improvements and seeing them play each Thursday night is an absolute pleasure.

Congratulations to our Blue Stars who took out the C Grade competition last Thursday night. It was a hard fought game but team cohesion and skill came through in the end. This team will be moving to the B grade next term and we wish them well in this new challenge.

Our White Stars have continued to go from strength to strength and are looking forward to showing off their talents again in the new round next term.

Thank you also to our team managers Albert Du Ploy and Jo Howse who have managed to get each family to the game time each week and consistently supported their coach on game nights.

Basketball will take a break for the holidays and we look forward to doing it all again next term.

MUSIC CLASSES (DURING SCHOOL TIME) – Minimum numbers required to go ahead

Learn music at school from Term 3 with Lewis Eady!

Enrol for weekly music lessons at school with friendly, qualified, and motivated tutors: Yook Hui (Violin) and Ellen (Piano/Keyboard).

Fees (based on a 10-week term): $175 group lessons, $400 individual lesson

ENROL ONLINE TODAY FOR A TERM 3 START: https://bit.ly/LEMSMusicLessons

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me directly or our team at [email protected].

• Emily Jeong – piano/keyboard
• Yook Hui Ong – violin

You can also read their bios on our website at https://www.lewiseady.co.nz/tutors

Week one next term (25-29th July) we are celebrating our love of literacy with Book Week. Our purpose is to promote a love of reading and books. There will be lots of special activities throughout the week.

• Scholastic Book Fair in Room 2. 

Open every day to parents before (8.20-8.50am) and after school (2.30-3.00pm). On Thursday during parent interviews, it will stay open until 5pm. Please come and have a look!

• Authors

         Des Hunt

         James Russell

• Book Character parade

Wednesday 27th July 9am in the Hall

Children come dressed as their favourite book character.

Please come and celebrate with us!

RECYCLE YOUR TOYS AT THE WAREHOUSE

Pform. https://www.pform.nz/

.

Big Buddy is an organisation matching adult male mentors with fatherless boys. We work with the simple philosophy that boys need good male role models to become good men.

Unfortunately, some boys do not have a father or other male role model present in their lives. Big Buddy finds these boys a well- screened volunteer male mentor, fostering a long-term relationship similar to that of an uncle.

It is as simple as a good man turning up regularly in a boy’s life, going out into the world and doing activities together, being available to listen to him, modelling what it means to be a good man. The boy’s sense of self develops; he does better at school and is less inclined to crime and abuse. The statistics on positive mentoring are clear and compelling.

If you are interested in this for your boy, contact Martin Hosking – 027 207 8662 or email, [email protected]

More information and stories are available on our media sites:   www.bigbuddy.org.nz  and  Facebook

 Thanks

KELLY SPORTS HOLIDAY PROGRAMME

https://kellysports.co.nz/

CHESS LOVERS ONLINE HOLIDAY PROGRAMME

https://www.chesspower.co.nz/chess-lovers-online

Chess Lovers ONLINE Holiday Program

• WEEK 1: 11 – 15 JULY
  
• WEEK 2: 18 – 22 JULY
  

When:  9:00am – 12:15pm

Cost: $45

Why Join:

• Develop thinking and problem solving
• Learn great new skills
• Interactive hands-on lessons
• Experienced professional coaches
• Make friends with like-minded kids

Note:  This program is suitable for kids who have some experience with chess.