Kia Ora, Ni Hao, Malo e lelei and Bula Vinaka Whānau,

Welcome to our third newsletter of Term 2 2024. We are only early in the winter season, however, already colds, flu and covid are an ever present reality in our classrooms. Thank you for your support in keeping your child/ren at home if they display temperatures or cold/flu symptoms. In doing so, you are helping to minimise the spread of winter bugs and the inevitable disruptions that occur at school. Your support is greatly appreciated.

Parish Connect
Parish Retreat experience. From Monday – Friday, 29 July to 02 August Father Richard Shortall SJ, Jesuit priest and Retreat Director from the Hamilton Diocese, will be guiding our parish through a retreat. For one hour, either in the morning or evening to suit you and your family, Fr Richard will support attendees through a retreat experience. Please mark this in your calendar for now; more information will come out closer to the time.
Also, please note these dates especially as there is morning tea to be shared after 9.00am Sunday Mass: 09 June, 14 July, 11 August, 08 September, 13 October, 10 November, and 08 December. As Fr John suggests: plan ahead, be generous, be consistent, be hospitable.

Please follow this link to view this Sunday’s readings.

Mitey Mental Health Education Update Following on from our last two newsletter updates where we introduced you to the Mana Whānau and Mana Ūkaiapō elements of the Mitey Mana Model, this week we will focus on the concept of Mana Motuhake. Children need to believe they can be successful and that they can achieve at school by setting goals, being persistent, and taking responsibility. Supporting children involves providing positive role models that they can aspire to together with setting high expectations and showing them how to succeed.
Mana Motuhake develops when children know:
– who they are and where they come from.
– they have positive role models they aspire to be like.
– their language, culture and identity are an asset.
– that many people from their cultural group have achieved success.
– how to manage their time to get important work completed.
Children demonstrate Mana Motuhake when they:
– feel proud to be a member of their cultural group.
– come to school regularly, on time and ready to learn.
– communicate with clarity and confidence.
– set goals and complete tasks to the best of their ability.
– use creativity and imagination to problem-solve and innovate.
– self-assess and make improvements.
There are clear links evident in Mana Motuhake with our learner profile dispositions and Te Whare Tapa Whā wellbeing model. Alongside our Religious Education programme, connected curriculum and cultural celebrations,  Mana Motuhake is interwoven throughout school life at Our Lady Star of the Sea. Support from families in regular attendance, aligning with the ministry’s current focus, adds immeasurably to the development of mana and strengthening wellbeing in our learners.

CULTURE WEEK Assembly Two weeks ago we elevated and celebrated all things culture here at Our lady Star of the Sea. The week concluded with a celebration assembly sharing the rich learning from the week. Please enjoy these images from our sharing assembly.  Thank you to all families who supported Culture Week with their contributions and in support of our children in their ability to learn more and share about their culture.

Samoa Language Week Last week we celebrated Samoa Language Week. The theme of the week was ‘Tautua i le alofa, manuia le lumana’i – Serve in love for a blessed future’. The theme focused us tautua (service), with the aim of clearly expressing the significance of service that is founded on love – “Love is the driving force of service. No matter what service looks like or who is doing it, service is accomplished through the power of love. There are such clear links between the theme of Samoa Language Week and our school value of Āwhina!
We used the Samoan sign of the cross in our prayer time, explored basic Samoan greetings and instructions as well as shared videos created last year and this by our Fono Group members, elevating and celebrating this beautiful culture as part of our learning community and wider society. Huge thanks to our Fono Group members led by Jo Grant – we really appreciate your support.

Wheels Day Last Friday we held Wheels Day, where our young learners brought their scooters, skateboards, bikes and trikes along to school for fun and learning about safety. A great day had by all!

Looking Ahead: 
Next week we look forward to the Science Road Show visiting school with great experiences related to our science concept related to forces. We wish our Chess Team luck as they head to a competition at Point View early in the week. We continue our Mitey Mental Health implementation journey working with our Mitey coach as well as celebrating Pyjama day on Friday 14th June.
We are very much looking forward to the Parents Committee Quiz Night on Friday 14th June in our school hall – see the Parents Committee section of this newsletter to see further information on ticket purchasing.

Wishing you all a happy, safe and blessed fortnight ahead until our next newsletter.

Ngā mihi nui, Tōfa soifua, ‘Alu ā, cǐ zhì jìng lǐ and Vinaka vaka levu,

Louise Campbell
Principal

Ordinary Time: 

We have entered the Church’s season of Ordinary time. At Mass, you will notice Fr John and Fr Terry wearing green and the tabernacle clothed in green. In the classrooms, green candles and altar cloths are being used. Green is a symbol of growth. Ordinary time is a time to focus on growing our relationship with Jesus, the living God.

Through prayer, we can build a strong connection with God. This can feel ordinary but in truth is an extra-ordinary thing to do. Our young learners are blessed with starting each day with prayer and having the opportunity to explore different ways of praying, whether through traditional, contemplative, reflective, meditative or personal prayer. Praying with your children and your wider family at home is a beautiful way to model the importance of prayer – talking to, listening to, and being with God. Making time for yourself to stop and pray is a worthwhile commitment.  There are many different prayer opportunities out there for us to benefit from. The Mass is one amazing prayer from the beginning to the end which allows us to encounter Christ. I encourage you to visit the community noticeboard on our parish website which has a lot of great resources to support your prayer life. https://howickcatholic.org.nz/community-noticeboard/ 

Christian Witness

During June, our Christian Witness outreach initiative will be to support the Middlemore Foundations ‘Jammies for June’.
During this month we ask families to kindly donate pyjamas. These pyjamas will be collected and taken to the Middlemore Foundation to support those in need. 

Items we happily receive:

• New Jammies, size 0 to XL
• New blankets    

A collection box is located in the office foyer for your donations or the items can be given to your child’s classroom teacher. 

In Week 7 on the 14th of June, we will be having a pyjama mufti day in support of this great cause. Thank you for your support. 

Proclaiming the Word 

Congratulations to all the participants of our Senior School Proclaiming the Word Competition! Your dedication and hard work have truly shone through in this event. Each of the children showed respect and reverence for the presence of God in the Word. They read the Word with clarity, sincerity and conviction, inspiring us all. 

Well done to Nayra Bailey who was the overall winner on the day. She will represent our school at the Interschool Proclaiming the Word Competition in September.  Congratulations also to Cavan Reilly (2nd place) and Zoe (3rd place).  

NZ Synod consultation

A new consultation document prepared by the bishops as part of the Holy Father’s Synod 2021-24 process has been sent to Rome.

This document, titled Towards October 2024, follows the NZ Catholic Bishops Conference being asked to establish a consultation process to discern responses to specific questions related to the Vatican’s Synodal Church in Mission report. That report was published after the First Session of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, held in Rome last October.

National Catholic lay organisations, agencies of the bishops conference, religious, diocesan bodies, educational institutions, young people’s groups, parish groups and groups involved in previous synodal processes took part in the consultation, between February and April this year.

A statement about the document, and the document, are online here:  https://www.catholic.org.nz/news/media-releases/synod-4/

“We are a Christ centred community
fostering belonging (whanaungatanga)
and outreach
through selfless giving (manaakitanga)
in Mary’s Way”.

Statements for fees were sent out at the end of last term.  Payments for Term 2 are due by 10 June.  If you wish to apply for financial assistance, please contact Sue Yandell in confidence.  [email protected]

Join the Parent Committee and our very own Quiz Master, Shandel Ngan Woo, for our Quiz night on 14th June, tickets are on sale at the office. A table of 8 costs $80, or $10 for single seats can be purchased.

The quiz night is an adult only event. Bring your own food, drinks, tableware, and table décor (prizes for the best-looking table). Cheese boards are available to order @ $25 a board from the Parent Committee. If you have any questions please contact us on [email protected]  Payment for the quiz night can be made in cash or direct deposit to the Parent Committee bank account 12-3011-0760201-001. Use Quiz [your name and surname] as a reference.

If you can help at any events or have any questions, please reach out to the Parent Committee at [email protected]

Our first disco of the year was held in May, DJ Joolz entertained us with an awesome playlist.  Glow sticks, lollies and pizza were on sale. Fun and laughter filled the hall for the evening and a wonderful time was had by all who attended.

Our next Parents Committee meeting is Monday 10th June, 7pm in the staffroom – all welcome.

Year 4 – Proclaiming the Word 

The Year 4 Proclaiming the Word competition was held last Friday in the chapel. Participants chose to enter themselves into the competition. Each student was given four readings from various Gospels to practice reading at home. On Friday, these students read one of the Gospel readings to the audience. Judging was based on use of voice, volume, eye contact, interest and overall delivery. Our place winners are: Cara McGuire – 1st place, Jake Jinomon – 2nd place and Jensen O’Meara – 3rd place. Congratulations to our winners and all the participants. We would also like to thank the families who joined us in the audience as it means so much to our students. Thank you, Rebecca Sentch, Year 4 Room 18  teacher.

CHESS TOURNAMENT

On Monday, Our Lady Star of the Sea was thrilled to host the Howick Junior Cluster Chess Tournament. The event brought together young chess enthusiasts from local schools, showcasing their strategic skills and sportsmanship. Congratulations to all our players for their hard work, dedication, and positive attitudes and behavior on the day. A special shout-out to the students who earned special recognition: Ethan Wang received an excellence award, and the following students received a credit award: Ethan Zhang, Brendan Pan, and Domi Wu. Well done, team! Laura Bentley, Year 5 & 6 Room 22 teacher.

Book Week 2024

Special Guest Authors 

We are excited to welcome two award-winning New Zealand children’s authors to our school for Book Week.

Melinda Syzmanik and Vasanti Unka will speak to Juniors and seniors. We can’t wait!

Book Character Dress-up Parade 

The second day of Book Week (Tuesday 2nd July) is a celebration of our favourite book characters. Get your thinking hats on – who will you dress up as this year? 

Get creative! The following links might just give you the inspiration you are looking for:

30 Last Minute World Book Day costumes to make without a needle:
www.walesonline.co.uk/whats-on/family-kids-news/30-last-minute-world-book-10976213

82 Last minute easy World Book costumes: www.madeformums.com/toddler-and-preschool/last-minute-easy-world-book-day-costumes/ 

Scholastic Book Fair 

The Book Fair will be open in the library with a wide range of exciting books and stationery.

It will be open each morning 8.20 – 9.00am

Monday – Thursday afternoon 2.30 – 3.00pm. Payment by EFTPOS or cash.

All purchases will go in the daily prize draw.

Every purchase made helps to provide the school with books and resources for the library and classrooms – thank you for your support!

Our Environmental Team Leaders were lucky enough to be invited to attend a mothpod celebration on Wednesday 5 June at Howick College, the event also coincided with World Environmental Day.  Isabel, Tiffany and Harper from our Student council heard inspirational ideas about how to care for the environment at school. As we learnt we are already doing a lot, but we can always do more! 

Last Thursday, the gardening club planted some native trees, kindly donated by Pest Free Howick, in our newly landscaped area on the upper field. We are excited to watch these beautiful trees grow and fill out this lovely space. We planted Hebe, Karamū, Kōwhai, Kōhūhū and Wharariki (flax). 

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Come work for us – Advocacy Lead at Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand

Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand is the Catholic bishops’ agency for justice, peace and development, part of a global federation. We’re on the hunt for an Advocacy Lead to join our team and bring about positive social justice through education, advocacy, and Māori engagement. The ideal candidate will have strong writing and research skills, experience in an advocacy and/or policy position, and a relevant tertiary qualification. Reporting to the Chief Executive of Caritas NZ and the Regional Coordinator of Caritas Oceania, they will be responsible for contributing towards the establishment of the advocacy function and framework for Caritas Oceania and Caritas NZ and coordinating programmes aligned to the Caritas mission. This role offers an exciting opportunity within a close-knit Wellington-based team.  Visit https://mclaren.co.nz/vacancies/?ja-job=4240637

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Database/Grants/Administration/Fundraising Coordinator

The Catholic Caring Foundation is seeking a well-organised multitasker, loyal team player for their small, busy, and welcoming organisation.  This position is a full-time position, Monday to Friday.

The main functions of the role are donor database/donations coordination and administration, Grants coordination and support, Fundraising support and donor care, Basic accounting and Liaison with key stakeholders.

To view the full advert and position description, please visit our website www.aucklandcatholic.org.nz under Diocesan Services and Staff Vacancies.  Applications close 25^th of June.

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