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

Happy Chinese Language Week! The Chinese flag flew proudly alongside our New Zealand flag this week as part of our celebrations of Chinese Language Week. New Zealand Chinese Language Week is a Kiwi-driven initiative launched in 2014 and is designed to increase Chinese language learning in New Zealand. The first of its kind in any Western country, NZCLW seeks to bridge the cultural and linguistic knowledge gap between China and New Zealand by delivering fun and practical initiatives that assist Kiwis to learn Chinese. We have had fun this week learning from our peers and from the great resources on offer.

Parish Update The blessing and reopening of the refurbished parish centre, with Mass celebrated by Bishop Steve was a wonderful occasion two Sunday’s ago. The parish centre forms a vital part of our church infrastructure providing a place for gathering, meeting and celebration. Those who donated to support the redevelopment of the space have supported a legacy that will last for years to come for our parishioners.

Follow this link to read and discuss the messages of this Sunday’s Mass readings within your family.

Special Blessings for Fathers Day to all of our Dads, Uncles, Grandfathers and other Father-figures for this weekend. This morning we held a beautiful liturgy for Fathers Day and it was just wonderful to see so many Dads and Father-figures in attendance, (we even had a few Mums too, just for good measure). Our Dads received a special blessing as part of the liturgy and were gifted with a few ‘Dad jokes’ to help make sure they were meeting their ‘Dad joke’ obligations over this Fathers Day weekend! Many of our Dads shared a coffee and some deluxe chocolate biscuits in the staffroom afterwards. Thank you to all our Dads and Father-figures who came along to our liturgy just for you today – have a wonderful blessed weekend!

Over the last fortnight, there have been lots of events and activities where our students have really shone! We are so proud of the teaching and learning programmes here at Our Lady Star of the Sea, and indeed, so proud of how our children step up and represent us so well. Here are just a few of the great things happening on top of the robust classroom programmes at this special place. You will be able to read more about each of these and see photos later in our newsletter.

APPA Speech Competition Congratulations to Tevin who represented our school, and the HPPA zone at the Auckland Primary Principal’s Association Speech Competition. Tevin presented with great confidence and pride.

HPPA Literacy Quiz Last week students from our school represented us at the HPPA Literacy Quiz where they faced the challenge of a quiz on books by New Zealand authors that they have been reading this year.

Catholic Schools Cross Country On Wednesday, our squad of Year 3 to 6 runners attended the annual Catholic Schools Cross Country which was held at Monte Cecilia Park. The famous ‘killer hill’ was in fine form and challenged even the very best runners from Catholic schools across Auckland. Special congratulations goes to Anya O’Meara who placed first and Tillie Koloamatangi who placed 2nd in the Year 3 girls race and Amelia Davies who placed 3rd in the Year 5 girls race, all competing against around 100 other runners!

Champion of Champion Gymnastics Three of our top gymnasts attended the Champion of Champions competition held at TriStar Gymnastics yesterday. A tough competition where our gymnasts competed with skill and resilience.

Proclaiming the Word Competition Today, Rach Chun attended the Proclaiming the Word competition held at St John the Evangelist Church in Otara. In this competition, Year 6 students from Catholic schools across Auckland demonstrated their spiritual preparation, textural understanding and technical public speaking skills when proclaiming the word from a selection of bible stories. We are very proud of Rach for her effort and representation.

Looking ahead: We are very much looking forward to our Senior School Production next week, with evening performances on Tuesday and Thursday nights as well as a matinee performance on Wednesday afternoon. The team have been working so hard in preparation and are keen to share their learning in the arts curriculum with our community. If you haven’t got your tickets yet, they are available from the office.
In the last week of our term, we will be hosting a Positive Puberty parents meeting at 6.45pm on Monday 15th September for parents of our senior school. Following this, Positive Puberty lessons will be delivered to our Year 5 and 6 students.
We are very much looking forward to the SECKA Kapa Haka Festival on Thursday 18th September at Sancta Maria College, where our 55 strong Kapa Haka Rōpu will perform.
School closes for the Term 3 / 4 holidays on Friday 19th September with classes resuming for Term 4 on Monday 6th October.

Have a safe and happy fortnight ahead until the next opportunity we have to share all of the great happenings at our special school.

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

Louise Campbell
Tumuaki/Principal

                                                                          JUBILEE YEAR OF HOPE

Hope is expressed and nourished in prayer,
especially in the Our Father,
the summary of all that hope leads us to desire. (CCC 1820)

Our school Pilgrims of Hope Cross has begun spending time in classrooms. If your family would like to host this  special taonga at some point please contact me to arrange. [email protected]

Encounter with Christ:

Contemplative and meditative prayer is being offered in classes, providing our young learners with a range of prayer experiences.  Positive aspects of these practices include helping children develop self-awareness, emotional regulation, and focus, fostering deeper connections with their faith and sense of purpose. Why not ask your child to lead your family prayer time using one of these practices.

Alpha is a gentle introduction to Christianity; it has helped many people as they think about life, faith, God.  Next Parish programme starts on 14 September at 7 p.m. Starts with a nice dinner, an introductory video and discussion. All welcome.

Enquiries to Father Terry – [email protected] – or the website: howickcatholic.org.nz/alpha-course  or scan the QR below for more information:

Growth and Development: 

Congratulations to Rach Chung who represented our school at the Catholic Schools Proclaiming the Word competition today. 15 schools from around the diocese participated in the competition and Rach did us proud. 

Before the end of the term your child will bring home their Religious Education books to share their work from this term with you. All parents are asked to complete the reflection sheet, commenting on the learning that they share. Do spend some time talking with your child about their work while you have the books at home. Please ensure the books are returned to school promptly. 

Christian Witness:
Our Parish community engaged in “Conversations in the Spirit” to gather, LISTEN and discern what the HOLY SPIRIT was telling us about the life of our Parish, our priorities and our way forward as a community.   Three major priorities emerged
(1)  a great appreciation for good liturgy and music at all Masses;
(2)  a deep longing for connection and community- a sense of belonging- in the parish
(3)  a real need for opportunities for ongoing Faith Formation, that provide us with solid and life-giving teaching on the beauty and relevance of our Catholic Faith.
These three priorities tie in with Bishop Steve’s invitation for us to explore how we can more effectively welcome people, guide them on a journey of faith, and draw them into the heart of our communities.  On Sunday 12 October from 10:30 – 11:30am, we will gather in the staffroom to unpack these three priorities and use the information you give to set the direction for our parish. It is important we hear from you. Mark this date in your calendar and make it a priority to attend. 

Our parish foodbank is up and running again. The St Vincent de Paul group are very thankful for your donations.  On the first day they were open, they were met with an overwhelming number of people needing food parcels and support on their opening day. Times are tough for many people. Your donations go along way to help those in need and model two of the Corporal Works of Mercy.  ‘Feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty.’

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

NEWS FROM THE PTA

Math-a-thon
Thank you to everyone for supporting the Math-a-thon! If you haven’t returned your money, please do so soon.

Senior Production – Pizza Pre-Orders Close Today!
Please make sure to place your pizza pre-order before the end of today. We’ll also be selling pizza and lollies from 5pm before both the Tuesday (9 Sept) and Thursday (11 Sept) evening shows.

Howick Santa Parade
Planning is underway! If you can help with organising, costumes, or banner painting, please reach out to us at [email protected].

Next PTA Meeting – Mon 6 October, 7pm in the staff room. Everyone is welcome – come along and get involved!

Thanks for your continued support – we love building this community with you!

Collaborative art for the Jubilee year of HOPE

Judy Law, who is a talented designer visiting Auckland with her family, offered her time to help students create a beautiful piece of art. Students in some classes were invited to paint individual modules to express their thoughts on hope. The pieces were assembled by Judy and some senior students this afternoon.  The HOPE art will be up in the information centre for everyone to enjoy for the foreseeable future. Thank you Judy for gifting us your time and expertise. This art will be a legacy to keep the spirit of hope alive this year. 

HPPA Speech Competition

The school was very proud of Tevin from R23 who represented the Zone 2 cluster of the HPPA at the recent APPA Rehu Tai (Speech and Oral Language) competition held at Dilworth Junior Campus last Wednesday night. Despite being sick, Tevin showed resilience and courage and represented our school with pride and mana. While Tevin did not win, he was a winner in our eyes and those that attended from OLSOS felt his speech was among the top speeches presented. Thank you Tevin for being amazing and having the courage to represent us in such a public forum – certainly not an easy task.

Rosmini College Performance

Recently Ateca from R23 performed at Rosmini College in front of an audience of over 500 people.  She was asked by Fr Pio Fong to participate in the fundraiser for St Thomas Moore Parish in the North. We are so proud of her dedication to practise and her finale performance where she presented without needing any support. Daily Ateca shows drive and determination to be the best she can be and this performance not only expresses Ateca’s talents but also shares our faith with others. Thank you for serving God and others Ateca. 

HPPA Literacy Quiz

On Friday last week, six Year 5 and 6 students attended the HPPA Literacy Quiz held at Baverstock Primary school. The students were divided into two teams and challenged to answer questions about set texts written by New Zealand authors that they have been reading in their spare time throughout the year. While our teams did not place in the top three schools we were very proud of their efforts and the way each team worked collaboratively with each other. We thank Mrs Bell for her preparation and supervision of the team on the day and also Maggie who supported us with transport. The experience has given the students a passion for learning more about New Zealand authors.

Foodbank Donation

Jordy (Rm 22) heard that the foodbank was reopening and rallied his family and friends to gather this amazing donation! Thank you so much, Jordy. What a wonderful effort!

SENIOR TEAM PRODUCTION –

TICKETS ARE STILL AVAILABLE TO PURCHASE AT THE SCHOOL OFFICE

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