Kia Ora, Ni Hao, Fakaalofa lahi atu, Malo e lelei, Kia Orana, and Bula Vinaka Whānau,

Welcome to our second newsletter of the last term of learning in 2024. What a busy couple of weeks we have had!

Parish Connect Fr John and Fr Terry helped us as a school to celebrate All Saints Day with a very special Mass held at our Parish Church last Friday. Fr John’s message to our community that Saints are friends of God and we use their example in our daily lives was a message well received by our young learners, which resonates with key learning in Religious Education lessons at school.
The following day our Parish celebrated All Souls day. Both of these special celebrations begin the month of November, where we remember the faithful departed. You will see the special Book of Remembrance placed in front of the altar at each Mass this month. You are invited to write the names of your loved ones in this book.

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

Twilight Market I am sure you will all agree that last Friday’s Twilight Market was a triumph of community spirit! What a delight to see our community come out in droves to join us for food, fun and entertainment on the night. We were blessed with a glorious night and with such strong support from our community. Our organisation team, Jenna Morsink, Rui Ding, Lara Teixeira, Bernice Chiam, Laura Shaw and Sue Yandell were thrilled with how the evening went.  We cannot thank them enough for the months of meetings in preparation and for the way they were supported so strongly by those in our community who ran food stalls, manned market stalls, helped set up and clean up – a true team effort!! Thank you also to Bernard from Mori Electrical, for his support with setting up. Our children did us proud on the entertainment stage, with our Kapa Haka Rōpu, Pacifica Group, Rock and Roll Group, Bollywood Dancers, our School Choir performing on the night alongside guest performers from our main feeder school Sancta Maria College. God bless you all for your presence and help in bringing this Twilight Market to life. Early indications are that we make about $15,100 in fundraising to go towards a fitness trail up on our field as well as in support of the upgrade of our parish centre which is a fabulous fundraising result. As for community involvement and connection… priceless!!!

Kapa Haka Festival Last Thursday, 60 of our 76 strong Kapa Haka Rōpu performed at the South East Christian Kahui Ako Kapa Haka Festival.  They did us all proud with their passion, energy, volume and heart! Matua Hone has been working with our Rōpu since electives began in Term 2 with the group broadening in Term 3 when it became open to all comers. This is the largest Rōpu we have had in a number of years and it was just thrilling to see the pride and enjoyment of our children as they gave their performance their all. John Henry Smith, your support has been unwavering and your passion for Te Reo Māori and Tikanga Māori all rolled up into Kapa Haka is truly a gift to us all – thank you Matua Hone! (I can’t wait until next year!)

Keeping Our Kids Safe Online Parent Meeting Monday 18th November This meeting is most important as we are finding the impact of online interactions are becoming more prevalent in our primary aged students and the impacts can be huge. At least one parent from each family is required to be present at this meeting. The meeting is taking place in our school hall, 6.45pm for a 7pm start. Book through this Eventfinda link: https://www.eventfinda.co.nz/2024/our–kids–online–parent-evening/auckland/howick Watch this promo video for more information –  Our Kids Online Parent Evening.

Our Lady Star of the Sea School Board – Casual vacancy for a parent representative
A casual vacancy has occurred on the school board for an elected parent representative.
The board has decided to fill the vacancy by selection.
If 10% or more of eligible voters on the school roll ask the board, within 28 days of this notice being published, to hold a by-election to fill the vacancy, then a by-election will be held.
Request for a by-election should be sent to:
Alina Hooper Presiding member
Our Lady Star of the Sea Board
14 Oakridge Way
Northpark 2013
by: 6.12.24

Looking Back This week began with our Year 4 to 6 Athletics Day on Monday. We were blessed with amazing weather and organisation thanks to Karen Noble-Campbell and the staff who supported her so well to make this day a huge success. Please see later in the newsletter for more details.

Looking Ahead don’t forget, Monday 11th November is a Teacher Only Day. School is closed for instruction on this day. Due to low numbers, Bizzy Bodz will not be running their programme on Monday. We wish our Athletics team all the very best as they represent us at the HPPA Athletics Day next Wednesday. Swimming lessons continue.

2025 Enrolments At this time of the school year we begin looking ahead to next year. We would like to remind parents who would like to enrol their children turning 5 in 2025, to please complete the provisional online enrolment form on our website and collect an enrolment pack from our school office. This will help us to ensure we are well prepared to accommodate all enrolments for 2025.
If, for some reason you are moving out of the area and will not be sending your child back to Our Lady Star of the Sea next year, knowing this would also assist us as we start to think about cohort numbers and class configurations for next year too.

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

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

Louise Campbell
Principal

November, the Month of the Holy Souls

Throughout November, Catholics worldwide honour and pray for those who have passed away and are now resting with Jesus. This month, our school’s Memorial Book will be part of our school and class liturgies, allowing us to remember and celebrate the lives of our loved ones.

If you would like to have the name of someone special to you recorded in our school memorial book please email the school office for further information. – [email protected]  

Baptism of School-Aged Children 

If your child has yet to receive the Sacrament of Baptism, a programme is being offered at our Parish Church this term. Please send a letter of interest to Mrs Brooke Crowe – [email protected] who will provide further information. 

Gift Vouchers for Saint Vincent De Paul for Christmas

Our Parish St Vincent de Paul group are looking for donations of Warehouse or Kmart gift vouchers in denominations of $10 and $20 to give to the people who come to collect food parcels. Please put the vouchers in a marked envelope in the SVDP basket or in the drop box outside the Parish Centre. Thank you for your continued support of St Vincent De Paul. 

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

Ni sa bula vinka.  It has been a busy start for term 4!

Property maintenance – As part of our commitment to keeping you informed, the Board want to highlight the importance of property maintenance that creates a safe and conducive learning environment for students and staff. This involves regular upkeep of facilities, including classrooms, grounds and property maintenance. We are happy to feedback the replacement of the back fence on the top field has been completed. Inquiries continue for carpet and wall lining in some classrooms and the school is looking to have the roofs cleaned over the December/January break.

Special character report – The school’s Special character report is due for submission at the end of November, the board reviewed and discussed the first draft at last Tuesday’s meeting.  The report serves as a strong testimony to our school values, highlighting the commitment to excellence, integrity, and community through prayer, liturgy, and sacramental life across all aspects of the school.

Twilight Market – A sincere thanks from the board to the Twilight Market Committee Jenna Morsink, Rui Ding, Lara Teixeira, Bernice Chiam, Laura Shaw and Sue Yandell for their exceptional dedication and hard work. Your teamwork, commitment and many months of planning played a crucial role in creating such a successful and enjoyable community event last Friday night. We truly appreciate all your efforts in making the event memorable for the children and everyone involved!

Kapa Haka – The Board  would also  like to extend a special kia ora to Matua Hōne for your incredible dedication and passion in teaching our Kapa Haka Rōpū this year. It was an absolute pleasure to witness such a powerful and beautiful performance last Thursday evening. Thank you for your unwavering commitment, and for nurturing a deep love for kapa haka, waiata and Te Reo Māori culture within our school community. Ngā mihi.

Vinaka vakalevu

Shasta Dang
On behalf of your Board

News from the Parent Committee

It has been one week since the Twilight Market, what a wonderful community event it was. The Parent Committee are delighted to have been a part of all the fun. A big shout out to Hellers who sponsored our sausages, their donation was a big part of our success.

November brings our last disco of the year. It’s a GLOW UP party. Wear white and glow under the light!

December we will host the leavers picnic. There will be free Sausage Sizzle for all year 6’s and their families. We would like to have year 5 Parents help out so our year 6 parents can enjoy the evening with their children. If you can assist, please reach out to us on PTA@starofthe sea.school.nz

Our next meeting is on Monday 2nd December at 7pm. We will be planning the year ahead. Please join us, we would love to hear your ideas.

PRODUCTION 

The moment many of you have been waiting for is here.  The video of the Junior Production ‘The Beginning’ is now available! Wednesday and Thursday’s shows are ready to view or purchase. Tuesday’s show is almost ready and should be up by the end of the weekend.The cost to view or buy the show is $US5 (around $8.40NZD).This cost goes towards hosting the video on the website.  

Click on the link below to access.

https://www.departmentofgroove.com/projects-8 

Enjoy! 

The Auckland Catholic Diocese has recently advised us of a $16 per year increase to the compulsory Attendance Dues for 2025. Further, as the cost for school trips and other expenses supporting the smooth operation of the school are increasing over time, there will be a $4 per year increase to the General Purpose voluntary contribution for 2025.

 A full letter of explanation will come home in February 2025, however we wish to advise the fees for 2025 will be increasing by a total of $20 to $1,068 per child per year (i.e. $267 per term).

 As usual, financial assistance is available if required, by contacting us in confidence.

Statements for 2024 have been sent this week and payment is due for term payers by 20 November.

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