Dear Families,

What an eventful couple of weeks we have had with a quick dip into COVID lockdown Level 3, through a brief Level 2 and then, as of Tuesday this week back into Level 1. Not what we anticipated so soon into our new school year, however perhaps an indicator of how things may be for a while here in Auckland. Thank you so much to all families who responded quickly and effectively to school requests from those needing their child/ren in a bubble during Level 3, to all who have respected and worked within the Level 2 entry and exit protocols and subsequent health advice following the recent case at our local KMart. I understand this response brings with it a level of reorganisation at home, so thank you all for your support while we work to keep to alert levels for the health and safety of our community.

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

New Look Website by now you will have noticed that our newsletter looks a little different in format. This is due to the fact we have cut over to our new-look website which has been in the development stages across the end of last year. We are really pleased with the new functionality within the website, including the ability to format our newsletter so information is more easily accessible. We hope you enjoy the new experience.

Camp 2 We were hugely disappointed that our second group of Year 5/6 students who were due to head to Camp Bentzon the morning we went into lockdown had their camp canceled. We are investigating other options for our Camp 2 students. If we are lucky enough to be successful in our endeavours we will let families know as soon as we know.

Meet the Teacher Last night it was great to see so many families coming in to meet their child/ren’s class teacher as part of our ongoing home/school partnership. This is a valued opportunity for our teachers as they are getting to know their young learners and establishing their design for learning to best meet the academic, spiritual, social and emotional needs of their children.

Reading, Writing and Maths Curriculum Level Information Consultation We were thrilled to see more than 180 parents visit the Information Centre while at school to meet their teacher last night. The opportunity to view the documentation our staff are developing to support families in understanding the New Zealand Curriculum, what achievement at each curriculum level looks like and how the skills, values and dispositions we are working on through our Learner Profile support and strengthen academic achievement and indeed, life long learning was well received. We will take on board the feedback from this consultation to make final tweaks then make these available to support families in knowing about where their child is achieving academically as well as supporting families with information on how to help at home.

Kahui Ako Update As you will all know, Our Lady Star of the Sea belongs to a Community of Learning called the South East Christian Kahui Ako. This is a group of 6 schools that come together to share expertise and explore new and innovative ways to meet the learning needs of students across the schools. I am privileged to have taken on the Lead Principal role for our Kahui Ako, where I work with the leaders of Sancta Maria Primary, St Marks Primary, Kingsgate, Sancta Maria College and ELIM as we aim to collaborate and build on the strengths across all 6 schools. Our 5 Across School Teachers are heading up 5 work streams this year, focusing on; 1. advancing our knowledge and understanding of the impact of active learning on junior classes to support the transition from ECE and the development of learning dispositions in our young learners; 2. growing capability across the schools in Literacy; 3. supporting the progress of our Pasifika learners; 4. further developing our cultural narrative and understanding the history of the area on which our schools are founded; 5. measuring the impact of our work in terms of progress and achievement as well as how well we are supporting the development of learner agency in our students (their ownership and engagement in their learning journey). Our Kahui Ako Learning Framework is included here for your information. As Lead Principal, there may be times that I am engaged in Kahui Ako business, and Mrs Detta Fairweather or Mrs Karen Noble Campbell, our two Deputy Principal’s will respond to questions or queries, however, please be assured that I will always be kept in the loop and will continue to drive the work with our excellent OLSOS team for the ongoing benefit of our learners.

The back gate exit In our last newsletter, I included an item of misinformation. Please note, the back gate by the hall is unlocked in the morning to allow families to enter the school grounds, however, it is locked again by 9.00 am for health and safety reasons. If you enter via the back gate and wish to leave the school grounds after 9.00 am, you will need to leave via the office and walk around to your car.

Looking Ahead We begin the Howick Pakuranga Principals Association (HPPA) connect with upcoming sporting fixtures in Year 5/6 softball, cricket and swimming over the next few weeks. Here’s hoping that we have smooth sailing COVID wise to enable us to make the most of these and other such opportunities.

Wishing you all of God’s blessings over the next fortnight.

Ngā mihi nui and cǐ zhì jìng lǐ,

Louise Campbell
Principal

The season of Lent is upon us. It is the time for us to consider how we respond to God. Lent is more than just saying ‘I’m giving up chocolate’ or ‘I’m giving up TV’ or going without something for 40 days, proving our strength in will power and then going straight back to it at Easter. Lent is a time of change, of ‘cleaning up.’ The Church encourages us to spend more time talking and listening to God through prayer; to share what we have with those who are less fortunate and being of service to others; to go without the things we might want but don’t really need; to improve our spiritual well being. St Ignatius suggested we spend time at the end of each day asking ourselves ‘when did God speak to me today and how did I respond?’

Pope Francis recent message to us Lent: A time for renewing faith, hope and love gently reminds us how ….

Fasting, prayer and almsgiving, as preached by Jesus (cf. Mt 6:1-18), enable and express our conversion. The path of poverty and self-denial (fasting), concern and loving care for the poor (almsgiving), and childlike dialogue with the Father (prayer) make it possible for us to live lives of sincere faith, living hope and effective charity.

Further on in the message Pope Frances highlights….

To experience Lent with love means caring for those who suffer or feel abandoned and fearful because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The messages within the letter are pertinent to the context of today’s world and has some key ideas that are easy to share in your family such as …

In order to give hope to others, it is sometimes enough simply

to be kind,

to be “willing to set everything else aside in order to show interest,

to give the gift of a smile,

to speak a word of encouragement,

to listen amid general indifference.”

We are blessed to have a Pope who is in-tune with the simple acts of living.

Many thanks to you all for your support of our annual school. We Can Bring a Can focus for Lent. Each week a group of students will deliver the cans to the parish foodbank and help to pack food parcels for families in need. This is one area of outreach that brings ‘Joy’ to others and help them to feel the love of Christ in their lives.

Manaakitia te katoa

Share your gifts with others

Prayer Intention : E te Atua o te aroha, God of love help us to turn our hearts to others who need our love and support.

Detta Fairweather

Deputy Principal / Director of Religious Studies

Kia Ora / Hello OLSOS Community

Welcome to both new and returning families as well as the wider community to the 2021 school year. On Tuesday, the Board met for the first time this year to set the direction and processes for the 2021 school year, with the ideology that 2021 will be less unpredictable and disruptive than 2020.  

Over the holidays some property work has been done to enhance the school. The repainting of the buildings has been completed (the hall and lower classrooms are now the same colour as the rest of the school), the flood lights have been replaced with LED’s (now energy efficient & environmentally better) and the curtains in the hall have been replaced. There has also been works completed with the Cola foundations being done (with the next piece of Cola works being completed during the term 1 holidays).  

The Board has also approved 3 Teacher only days for 2021 they are:  25^th June, 17^th September and 19^th November.  The new play area has been agreed and we will look at when this can be booked in for starting.   

The Special Character committee and Father John provided the Board with the outside route for the stations of the cross, the upcoming Sacramental programme as well as the interest in the Altar server programme by our senior school students. Father John & Detta Fairweather will be in touch if your child has shown interest in the Altar server programme.  

The school Gala date has been set as 30^th October 2021, keep the date clear as it is a great community day.  

Currently the Board is seeking expressions of interest from those in the community who have an interest in joining the OLSOS Board to fill the vacancy. Please feel free to email me if you’re interested at [email protected]  

Vaughan Fraser

Board Chair 

Statements for compulsory Attendance Dues and Special Character and General Purpose donations have now been sent to all families.   Along with this you will have received a letter from your Board of Trustees outlining the charges and ways to pay.

If you would like to discuss your account in confidence, please contact Sue Yandell.

EDUCATION OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM

Junior Team Education Outside the Classroom 

The Junior team has two exciting activities planned for this term to help children grow their whanaungatanga by trying new things and building relationships with their peers.

On Thursday 11 March the children will have the opportunity to make their own lunch and then we will be visiting the park on Orangewood Drive for a picnic and a play on the playground.   On Thursday 25th March we will be travelling by bus to Murphy’s Bush to engage in activities in a new setting. More information on both trips will be sent home in the next week, and an opportunity to indicate if you are available to help us on either trip will be given.

Attention all Coffee Drinkers!

Our Lady Star of the Sea School is now a recycling centre for Nespresso pods. You can send your used Nespresso pods to school and they can be tipped into the box outside the information centre. This box is only for coffee pods so please don’t throw your plastic bags into the box. The pods will be collected by Nespresso and recycled. The coffee is sent to an industrial composting facility to be transformed into compost, while the aluminium is recycled and sent back to the aluminium industry to produce new aluminium products.This is an easy way we can be the kaitiaki of our environment by ensuring that these pods don’t end up in the landfills.

Thanks for your support. If you have any questions please see Miss Marten.

Please note : TEACHER ONLY DAYS

Wednesday 7 April 2021

Tuesday 8 June 2021

Friday 25 June 2021

Friday 17 September 2021

Friday 19 November 2021

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