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

Welcome to our fourth newsletter of Term 2 2024. With only two weeks to go before our Term 2/3 holiday break, it is safe to say that the year is progressing at a rapid rate!

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: 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 few newsletter updates where we introduced you to the Mana Whānau, Mana Ūkaiapō and Mana Motuhake elements of the Mitey Mana Model, this week we will focus on the concept of Mana Tū. Children need the skills to understand and deal with difference and adversity such as courage, resilience, self discipline, humility and tenacity.
Mana Tū develops when children know:
– they can learn and be successful.
– what they are good at.
– what areas they need to work on.
– they can achieve their goals with hard work, determination and a “never give up” attitude.
Children demonstrate Mana Tū when they:
– respect that everyone learns differently.
– are a generous, kind and humble classmate.
– show gratitude when learning from others who think about the world differently to them.
– are self-disciplined and make good choices.
As with the previous elements of the Mana Model, there are clear links evident in Mana Tū with our Catholic special character ethos, our wellbeing model of Te Whare Tapa Whā, and our learner profile dispositions. With our mid year assessment processes underway in preparation for mid year reports and goal setting conferences, it is timely to reference Mana Tū, especially with a focus on what our students are successful at, and what areas they can continue to work on developing in their academic, spiritual and dispositional learning.

Parents Committee Quiz Night What a lot of fun and laughter was had by all at last Friday night’s Parents Committee Quiz Night. The event was designed to bring community together for some light hearted fun and it was such a success. Many thanks to our amazing Quiz Master Shandel Ngan Woo and the organising team, Lara Teixeira and Praveena Sundram and the rest of the amazing Parents Committee!

Our Lady Star of the Sea Twilight Market Save the date! Friday 1st November. This year, instead of hosting a Gala, our organising team are preparing for a fun community event with food stalls and entertainment for all the family. Watch this space for more information over the coming weeks/months.

Looking Ahead: Next Friday, 28th June we celebrate Matariki as a nation. This is a public holiday, so school will be closed on this day. To end our term, we are very much looking forward to the celebration of Book Week from Monday 1st July. The Book Character Parade is on Tuesday 2nd July at 8.45am, so start thinking about costumes if you haven’t already! On Friday 5th July Playhouse Theatre will be presenting ‘The Reluctant Dragon’ as part of our book week celebrations.

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

Christian Witness

During June, our Christian Witness outreach initiative is to support the Middlemore Foundations ‘Jammies for June’. Thank you to all families who have made donations to this cause. We have collected around 150 pairs of pyjamas. These will be delivered to the Middlemore Foundation to support children in need. The Catholic social teaching principle of Distributive Justice – te tika ka tohaina – reminds us that God intended all people to share in the worlds resources. All should have necessities and access to what is needed for full development. By supporting the Middlemore Foundation this winter we are helping to ensure children in hospital or those living in cold damp homes get warm pyjamas. Our Faith teaches us that we become a living example of Christ’s love when we serve others. 

A collection box will remain in the office foyer until the end of June if you wish to make further donations.

Grandparents Day 

On Friday the 26th of July we honor the lives of the early grandparents of Jesus, the Feast Day of St. Anne and St. Joachim. We would also like to celebrate the grandparents in our school community on this day. A liturgy will be held at 11:15 am in the school hall. This will be followed by an opportunity for the children to share their learning with their grandparent/s. Further information is to follow. 

Parish Retreat 

At all Masses on the 29th and 30th of June, you will be invited to sign up for the Parish Retreat. The retreat will be held from Monday 29th of July to Friday 2nd of August. Father Richard Shortall SJ will offer daily sessions for an hour in the morning and repeated in the evening. The theme of the Retreat will be ‘Walking Together towards our Parish Feast Day’ to be celebrated on the 15th of August.

This is a great opportunity for Faith development and to spend time together as a Parish community. 

Sacramental Programme 

This weekend, the Sacramental Programme concludes its teaching and learning on the Sacrament of Confirmation. The preparation for the Sacrament of First Holy Communion will begin next month.  Please keep these children and their families in your prayers. 

Year 1 & 2 trip to the Parish Church 

On Tuesday this week, Rooms 7 & 8 visited our Parish Church. We celebrated Mass with Father John and spent some time looking at the special aspects of our church. We were lucky to have 7 wonderful parishioners give their time to teach the children. The students made great connections to the learning they have been doing in class around the theme of ‘Being Church’- in particular the Sacrament of Baptism and the special signs and symbols we can see in the church. We look forward to having Rooms 9 & 10 visit next week. 

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

The Parent Committee held a Quiz Night last Friday, hosted by the fabulous Shandel Ngan Woo. The
community spirit was incredible, with teams and tables spectacularly decorated, laughter and fun
filled the school hall. Thank you for helping us build our community.
We are waiting for the last few prizes to be delivered from the fun run. Prizes will be delivered to the
class teachers.

Looking ahead, Term 3 brings a Spell-a-thon, hotdog lunch and a disco.
We would love to see you at our next meeting on Monday 1 July at 7pm in the staff room.

Proclaiming the Word

On Friday 7th June, eleven students from Y4-6 competed to “Proclaim the Word”.  They were competing to represent Our Lady Star of the Sea at the regional competition in September as we defend the diocesan trophy we currently hold courtesy of Olivia Min who won the competition in 2023.  All eleven students spoke well as they ‘proclaimed’ their randomly selected gospel readings, but specific acknowledgment must go to Cavan Reilly in Room 21 who placed second, and Zoe in Room 16 who placed third.  Nayra Bailey from Room 23 will be representing our school at the interschool competition next term having been placed first by an independent Parish judging panel.

Science Roadshow

On Wednesday 12th June the Science Roadshow came to school.  We learned a lot about science and all things scientific whilst also having many hands-on opportunities to grow our science knowledge as we begin to unpack our new concept of “curiosity’.  We also saw experiments about oobleck (slime) and elephant toothpaste as well as understanding more about the physical world, the material world, and Earth and beyond.  Thank you to our selected badge-holders who facilitated x3 workshops throughout the day, your conduct was exemplary.

A message from the Science Roadshow HQ

“On behalf of the Science Roadshow team, I wanted to express our gratitude for your support during our recent visit to Our Lady Star of the Sea School.  It was a pleasure for our staff to work with you and also witness the enthusiasm of your students.  The success of the Science Roadshow owes much to the assistance provided by the student “explainers” selected to help our team. Their commitment to the event, coupled with their helpful and conscientious attitude, played a crucial role in creating a memorable experience for all involved.”

Click and Walk

In week 5 the student council promoted “Click and Walk” every morning on Orangewood Drive from 8.10am – 8.40am; rain/shine/hail!  This was to encourage students to be dropped off on Orangewood Drive and to walk to school, thus reducing the amount of cars and congestion on Oakridge Way.  Of the students who collected x3 clicks on their walking feet throughout the week, they all went into a prize draw which when drawn at assembly Eva Kelly was the lucky recipient of a Hoyts movie voucher.  Thank you to Mrs Elder and Miss Bentley for their support in this road safety promotion.

Australian performer Bernard Mangakahia

We had another amazing visit from the Australian performer Bernard Mangakahia. This time Bernard spoke to the students about being resilient and showing resilience. His words were inspiring and struck a  chord with the students as they linked in all their learning around our school values.

Bernard had the following messages to share with the students:

“Choose people to be your hero but choose them wisely”
“Never give up”
“When you fall get back up again”

Auckland Girls Chess Competition

Congratulations to Emma Zshornack from Room 22 who represented our school at the Auckland Girls Chess Competition on Tuesday the 18th of June. Emma was up against 62 other girls and placed a very impressive 18th overall winning four out of her six games. We are very proud of Emma and thank her for representing our school with pride.

Well done to the students in Year 4, 5 and 6 who have represented our school at the various sports days this term. You have shown our school values in your interactions with other schools and the adults at these events. Ka Pai! 

HPPA Girls Football

Unfortunately due to poor weather, the HPPA Girls Football competition was limited to a one day competition rather than two days. However, our team, the Stars, did a fantastic job and showed all the values of our school. They played 5 games with 3 losses, 1 draw and 1 win. The leadership shown by those students who played club football was fantastic and the skill development in those who had not played for a club was wonderful. Thank you to all the parents who supported our girls with transport to and from William Green and who supported from the sideline. It was truly appreciated.

Give It a Go Hockey Day

On Tuesday 18th June,  three teams of OLSOS Year 5/6 students attended the Give It a Go Hockey Day at Lloyd Elsmore Hockey stadium. The day was all about giving a new sport a go. Teams from schools all over east Auckland attended and it was a great day for all. The teams were:

Year 5 OLSOS Blue Stars:
Jenny
Isabella
Nina
Jacob
Jackson
Callum
Zac W

Year 6 Red Stars:
Hollis
Malachai
Lucian
Dominic
Micah
Samantha
Bryn
Samuel

Year 6 Yellow Stars:
Nathan
Gabriel
Charlie
Zac G
Thomas
Harper
Alex
Ari
Jack

Book Week – Week 10

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!

Special Guest Authors 

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

On Monday, Melinda Syzmanik will speak to both Juniors and Seniors and then work with some lucky students to develop their skills in a writing workshop.

On Wednesday, Vasanti Unka an amazing picture book creator will speak to Juniors and Seniors. We can’t wait to hear more about how she writes, designs and illustrates picture books.

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/ 

PLUS:  fun lunchtime activities, competitions, kahoots, buddy class reading, classroom activities and a visit from the Playhouse Theatre group!

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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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