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

Here we are at the end of Term 2. Being just a 9 week term the holidays seemed to have rolled around quicker but also timely as people start to battle with those winter chills and ills. At this point I want to thank the community and staff for their support of me while I have been Acting Principal in Mrs Campbell’s absence. Thank you for helping keep up our high expectations of behaviour and the wearing of our school uniform with pride. Thank you for the friendly smiles and the cheery hellos I have received in my various interactions with both students and parents and most of all thank you for upholding and living out our special character in your own homes. Teaching your child to be as much like Jesus, as they can, reinforces the messages that we are teaching the children at school and ensures that we are all ‘on the same page’. Mrs Campbell will be back in week 3 of Term 3 and I know she will be over the moon to hear of all the wonderful things that have occurred in her absence.

This Sunday, as we traverse Ordinary time, in the gospel Jesus asks His disciples who they think the son of man is. Their answers are varied except for Peter’s. Peter recognises that Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus then announces that the Church community will be built upon the work of Peter. This is the announcement of Peter as the first Pope. We know that Pope Leo is emulating the work of Saint Peter as he continues to follow in Jesus and Peter’s footsteps looking for ways to build our church and make it a church for the future. Follow this link to read and discuss the messages within your family.

Pyjama Day was a lot of fun. There was a wide array of pyjamas on display and a lot of comfy, warm children. Our parish school community donated 108 pairs of pyjamas and raised a further $1000 to be used to purchase even more pyjamas. This Christian Witness outreach action means that a lot more children will be warmer this winter which will help reduce the sicknesses that plague those less fortunate than ourselves. Thank you all for your generosity and aroha (love); it is immensely appreciated.

Mānawatia a Matariki: On Thursday Room 22 and R23 led us in a beautiful liturgy on the day remembering Matariki and did an awesome job. They reminded us of each star’s purpose and the prayers we needed to say to each star to thank it for the goodness it showers upon us. I hope you all found time over the extended weekend to share time with your families and acknowledge the past, celebrate all that you have in the present and set goals for the future. This year our Kapa Haka rōpu (group) and students on our Māori roll had an opportunity to come together as a wider whānau to build whanaungatanga (relationships) and experience some of the tikanga practices that are important to uphold as Māori. It was an honour and a privilege to share time together as an extended whānau. Thank you to all the whānau that contributed in some way. I loved seeing the interactions between students and adults. Matua Hone (John Henry Smith), who leads our Kapa Haka rōpu, was super impressed with how the children managed themselves and presented their Kapa Haka learning to families on the night. My thanks goes not only to Matua Hone and his whānau but also Nadia and Bronson Pou-Edwards, Mrs Pam Robertson, Mrs Rebecca Sentch and Miss Lee Marten. Without their support this event would not have been possible – Arohanui Tātou – Ma te Atua koe e manaaki! (Love to you all – God bless you!).

Enviroschools: Congratulations to our school community for reducing our overall waste by 52% since our last audit. This change was mostly due to the increased use of the food bins across the school which is being diverted into compost or as part of the council food scraps collection. We thank you all for supporting us by ensuring that your child’s lunch is Rubbish Free. Lunch waste, such as muesli bar wrappers and chippie packets was a large contributor to our overall commingled waste. Next term our Enviro team will once again be sharing messages around how you can further reduce the amount of packaging that is in lunch boxes. If we all play our part then the overall outcome will be immense. 

ESOL verifier: On Tuesday this week we had the Ministry of Education verifier in to audit the work we do around our English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) processes and achievement. Mrs Karen Waters does a huge amount of work in this area as our ESOL teacher. We are pleased to announce that the verifier was incredibly pleased with all the systems and structures we use at our school and reported that our students are doing incredibly well. We thank Mrs Waters abundantly for her work with our students and staff and the work she does in the background. We are very proud of the verbal report we received on Tuesday, that will be confirmed in writing in July.

On Wednesday our girls football team attended Day 2 of their football competition. They headed into the competition in a strong position after winning all of their games on Day One. Unfortunately they faced the tougher side of the draw and only managed to come away with a draw and no wins. The best news however was that the combined days scores enabled our girls to place 4th overall out of 20 teams. Congratulations girls – we are very proud of you! Thank you Mrs Robertson for taking the team and being ‘Team Cheerleader’ on the day !

We thank the McAuley House staff and students for leading us in a fabulous House Assembly this morning. It is always great to come together as Houses to not only remember the patron the House is named after but also take part in some fun and games. Our Senior and Junior choirs presented their items at this assembly and their voices were outstanding. We thank our choir mistresses, Gemma Lee and Belen Shum, for their efforts in supporting our students to develop their vocal skills and share their talents.

The Playhouse Theatre were once again back at Our Lady Star of Sea today showcasing their new performance ‘The Boy that cried Wolf’. The adaptation that the writer does with the script is an example to our children of how you can twist up a fairy tale and make a different story with a different outcome. The students always enjoy the Playhouse Theatre presentations, especially the audience interactions and the quick changes of costumes and characters that the performers do. Thank you for supporting these events through your school donations.

Reporting to Parents: Over the holidays you will receive an email alerting you that your child’s report is able to be viewed. Please take the time to read the report and discuss the contents with your child. Parent/Student/Teacher conferences to discuss the content and set new goals will be occurring on Thursday 24th of July.

Looking forward: School starts again on Monday 14th July. Our senior boys will be taking part in the HPPA Football Competition during week one. Week 2 is a very busy week; The Curriculum Insights team will be coming into school to do some identified testing of selected students in Years 3 and 6 – parents of students concerned have been notified of this. Book Week is also happening in Week 2. There will be books on sale through the Book Fair in the information Centre all week. Don’t forget to organise your character costume over the holiday break for the character parade on Monday of Week 2 – we love this part of Book Week – you are such creative people. On Friday of Week 2 we are holding our annual Grandparents day – Grandparents and people who act as grandparents are invited to a liturgy at 11.15am and will have an opportunity to spend time in the classrooms of their mokopuna (grandchildren). Grandparents are welcome to stay and spend the lunchtime play and share lunch after play with their grandchildren before heading home at 1.20pm, or they may wish to leave at 12.30 when the students go out to play.

Wishing you all a safe and happy break from the routine of school over the next two weeks. For those families that are travelling, stay safe. We look forward to seeing you all back on Monday the 14th of July.

Arohanui, Tōfa soifua, ‘Ofa lahi atu, Zhù hǎo, Cordialement, Loloma levu, Fakaue lahi, 안부 인사를 전합니다 

Karen Noble-Campbell

Acting Tumuaki/Principal

                                                                          JUBILEE YEAR OF HOPE

  ‘The image of the anchor is eloquent; it helps us to recognize the stability and security that is ours amid the troubled waters of this life, provided we entrust ourselves to the Lord Jesus. The storms that buffet us will never prevail, for we are firmly anchored in the hope born of grace, which enables us to live in Christ and to overcome sin, fear and death.’        Pope Francis 
                                                                                                                      

Encounter with Christ:

Over the last few Sundays we have celebrated Pentecost, the Holy Trinity, the Body and Blood of Jesus and on this coming Sunday the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul.  Today, Friday 27 June, is the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. All of these special celebrations in our Catholic faith tradition reinforce God’s enduring love for us all. At Mass last Sunday Father John posed the question, “Why do we go to Mass?”  The answer is obvious – because Jesus told us to. ‘Do this in memory of me.’

Growth in Knowledge:
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 (RE) 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.  Thank you for spending time going through your child’s Religious Education workbook with them and making a comment around their learning. By doing this you are strengthening our home school partnership and showing your young one how you value this aspect of their learning and faith development. 

Your child’s school report will soon be available. You will notice many changes to the report, including the way we report on student engagement in learning,  inclusive of  Religious Education. This report, along with ongoing Seesaw posts and the work in their RE workbook, provides an overall indication of your child’s growth and development in the understanding of their faith.

Christian Witness:
Jammies in June – Many thanks for your generosity. On the day we raised $1000 in the end. As well of this, between the parish and the school community, over 100 pairs of pyjamas have been collected. 

Foodbank donations – The citrus trees at school have had a bumper crop. The fruit has been harvested and collected for distribution through St Vincent de Paul, to those most in need. Many thanks for your ongoing support with food donations at Buddy Class Mass. Donations of non perishable food items can be dropped into the yellow boxes in the school office at any time. 

Knitting Club – The knitting club has completed its task this week. A wonderful time was had of living, learning and serving with Jesus as our guide. A huge thanks goes to the adult supporters who gave their time, their skills, their model of service and patience. Together 21 blankets have been created for the Middlemore Foundation to dispense where needed. Bless you all for your support. Our students have learnt two important life skills – knitting and service. 

Parish Celebration
Fr John will be turning 70 this year. The parish is having a party on Sunday 29 June, after the 9am Mass in the All Saints Community Centre, 30 Cook Street.
All members of the parish school community are invited. Please bring a plate of finger food to share. More information can be found in the weekly parish bulletin.

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

From the Board for Our Lady Star of the Sea School 

In this last week of Term 2 the Board wishes to thank all the staff, irrespective of their role, for their work during the term. Together they create a safe and stimulating learning environment that enables the students to receive a truly Catholic holistic education. To our teaching staff, your Board appreciates that the implementation of two new curriculum areas; English and Maths and Statistics added significantly to your workload while also ensuring that learning materials and resources across all curriculum areas actively engaged all students to be able to achieve their full potential. 

The Board acknowledges Mrs Karen Noble-Campbell, who has been Acting Principal while Mrs Louise Campbell has been on sabbatical leave. Karen has clearly exhibited her expertise and leadership in curriculum planning and implementation. She has worked positively with the Board providing comprehensive reports and shown a high level of competence in all aspects of school management. We also thank Karen for her initiative in working with our Kapa Haka tutor and Māori whānau in organising an extended kapa haka practice, whanau hui and sleep over for some of the tamariki on Thursday 19 June ahead of Matariki weekend.  

 At our meeting on Tuesday evening the Board received an update on:

• Property maintenance during the last month with repairs to the swing bridge in the junior playground; to the top of the retaining wall in the lower field; ceiling leak in shared area Room 9 & 10 and an investigation into ceiling leak in a corner of the staffroom. 
• The implementation of the School’s Annual Plan during Term 2, in areas such as wellbeing of staff and students, care for the environment, curriculum development, Christian service and outreach. The knitting club, assisted by volunteers from our parish, making knitting squares to make blankets to be donated to Middlemore Hospital is an excellent example of Christian Witness in action. 
• Catholic Schools Day provided multiple opportunities for students to not only enrich their faith but also grow it by sharing and shining alongside other Catholic Schools. A selection of Year 6 students attended the parish Liturgy of the Word with Communion, our Year 6 students visited Sancta Maria College, and half our Year 4 & 5’s visited Sancta Maria Primary. Half of the Year 4 & 5 students from Sancta Maria Primary came to our school and our Year 4 & 5 students hosted them. 

Our sincere thanks go to the Parents Committee who, this term, ran a most successful and enjoyable Quiz Night, organised a disco for students, facilitated a hot dog lunch and funded commemorative bookmarks as a memento for students on Catholic Schools Day. This group of committed and enthusiastic parents are now focused on preparing for Term 3 events which we know you will enjoy. 

Board elections are imminent:

Nominations for parent representatives will open by the 18th July and close on 6 August.
If a vote is required Voting papers will be issued on the 13th August with the poll closing on the 10th September. The new Board will take office on 17th September.
Please consider if you would like to stand as a parent representative on our school Board.
Each member of the Board thanks you for your commitment and support of our school. We hope the forthcoming two week holiday will be a time of refreshment for all students.

Blessings
Linda McQuade
Proprietor Appointee 

Prior to Nominations opening for the election of 5 parent representatives to the school board, please ensure that your contact email and address details held by the school are up to date.  The electoral roll is held at the school and can be viewed during normal school hours.

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. Information on who is not eligible to be a board member is provided with this notice, and the nomination form.

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

Nominations close at noon on Wednesday 6th August 2025. You may provide a signed candidate statement and photograph with your nomination.

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 Wednesday 10th September 2025.

Sue Yandell
Returning Officer

News from the Parents Committee

As Term 2 wraps up this week, we’d like to wish all our school families a restful and happy break!

Looking ahead to Term 3, we’re kicking off with our Math-a-thon – a fun, learning-focused fundraiser that supports our school in a big way.

We’re also getting a head start on planning for the Howick Santa Parade! This year, we’re excited to enter a walking float, and we’d love your help. If you’re keen to lend a hand with organising, costumes or banner painting, please get in touch at [email protected].

Book Week Volunteers Needed!
We’re looking for helpers to assist with the Book Fair – if you would like to help follow the link to sign up https://forms.gle/Q7mfp65kHtncc1dM6

Our AGM is also coming up– a great time to find out what we’ve been working on and to elect new officers for the roles of Chair, Treasurer, and Secretary. If you’re thinking about joining the team, we’d love to chat.

Next PTA Meeting: 8th August at 7pm – everyone welcome!

Thank you for your support – we couldn’t do it without you!

We are very proud of Briella who represented our school in a recent carting event. Briella drove extremely well over Mātariki weekend, finishing 14th out of 21. She’s recently moved up a class and is now racing against competitors as old as 14, reaching speeds of up to 95 km/h. Briella is currently working hard to perfect new braking markers and refining her cornering techniques to adjust to the added speed. Briella loves representing her school and proudly flies the school flag at the pit site every year. Congratulations Briella – we will continue to watch your progress as you go on to represent your next place of learning.

Mason is currently in Korea representing New Zealand in an U12 baseball competition. We know that Mason and his team have trained hard to perform their best and we wish them all the best as they compete. We look forward to Mason returning to school in the new term and sharing the team’s results with us.

Pest Cadets Enviro Update: This term the Environmental Team were lucky enough to work with Ethan from Pest Free Howick.  Ethan shared his knowledge about our local birds and plants and how we can work to eliminate pest animals and plants to help our natives thrive.  At Our Lady Star of the Sea we are fortunate to have lovely nature spaces that are admired by visitors to the school.  As a team, we set up tracking tunnels to help us find out what pests may be in the school and set traps to try to catch some pests that may be in the area.  The team have become so passionate about their learning and eagerly check the tunnels and traps each Friday.

Book Week 2025 Term 3 Week 2

Book Character Dress-up Parade
9am in the hall

Let’s start the week with a bang!

The first day of Book Week (Monday 21st 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 give you some inspiration:

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/ 

An award winning author is coming to visit
Tuesday 22nd July: Leonie Agnew

We are excited to welcome an award-winning New Zealand children’s author to our school for Book Week.
Leonie Agnew (former OLSOS student) will speak to Juniors and Seniors. There will be an opportunity for children to buy one of Leonie’s books. We can’t wait!

Scholastic Book Fair – all week!

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

Monday – Friday morning 8.20 – 9.00am
Monday – Wednesday afternoon 2.30 – 3.00pm
Thursday afternoon 2.00 – 5.00pm
Payment by EFTPOS or cash. 

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

All purchases will go in the daily prize draw.

Extra activities:

Competitions!
Quizzes!
Pop libraries around the school!
Fun classroom activities!

********************************************

Tuesday After School Art Class

Drawing, Oil pastel, Sketching, Painting…

Classroom – Room 14
Time: 2.50 pm— 3.50pm
Fee: $12.00 per lesson, pay per term

And School Holiday art program

********************************************

********************************************

********************************************

********************************************