Dear Families,

Welcome to our second newsletter of Term 3 2021.

Who would have picked when we last published our newsletter two weeks ago, that this newsletter would be coming to the OLSOS community via Level 4 lockdown.

It has been well over a year since we have had to endure this level of community response to the COVID 19 pandemic. As our Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says, our team of 5 million are all important players in working together to beat this virus.

Over the next 3 or 4 days, we will learn more about the community spread and whether the lockdown will be extended beyond Tuesday of next week. In the meantime, our teachers and academic support staff have swiftly kicked into online learning mode, Our past experiences throughout shifting alert levels over the past 18 months has enabled this to occur quickly and on the whole seamlessly. Should the lockdown be extended, our teachers are prepared to provide online learning for as long as it takes. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our staff for their ‘can do’ attitude and for the way they are resourceful and agile thinkers, working together to problem-solve their way through these challenging times – we are so lucky to have such a committed team here at OLSOS!

One of the toughest things over lockdown is the deprivation of social interactions for our children. We hear over and over again how they miss seeing their mates. We are fortunate to have such tools as zoom so our classes (particularly our middle and seniors) can at least feel that connect in a different way, as well as online tools like Seesaw and Google Classroom where our children can experience a connection with their teacher and beyond.

Last year, during Level 4 lockdown our staff shared a video of themselves with messages for all of our community. I have included this video in this link which you may wish to download and reshare with your children to lighten the mood at home and to provide them with another opportunity to feel the touch of the OLSOS community from afar. Enjoy!

FEAST DAY CELEBRATIONS Last Friday we had a very special day where we celebrated our school Feast Day, the Feast of the Assumption. As Mary is our patron Saint, this day is very special in our school calendar. Fr John and Fr Terry celebrated Mass with us which was a beautiful celebration. We enjoyed time together with our buddy classes, celebrated alongside Barbier house who won the Tapawae finals, and enjoyed our Star Idol finals in the afternoon. We were thrilled and amazed at the skills of the contestants which made selecting the winners very difficult. See more details later in this newsletter. The day was very special from beginning to end.

HPPA DANCE FESTIVAL We were fortunate to get in one night of the Dance Festival, which OLSOS hosts on behalf of the HPPA, on Monday night before having to cancel Tuesday night due to the latest Covid outbreak. Our team of organisers, Karen Noble Campbell, Anne Marie Doyle and Sue Yandell did an amazing job and our staff supported on the night with ushering, car parking and supervision of school groups amongst other jobs in order to have the night run smoothly. Miss Begunk and Miss Evans worked so hard with our Year 4 and 5 dance group and our Year 5 and 6 dance crew who performed with skill and great enthusiasm. I wish to congratulate our two dance crews, their tutors and to the whole OLSOS team for putting on such a well organinised event.

STUDENT SAFETY ONLINE – CONTINUING THE JOURNEY As we shared in our last newsletter, part of our strategy to support the well-being of our students this year is to engage both home and school in ensuring our students are safe and supported online.  Last week we undertook a survey of our Year 4 to 6 students about their use of social media to help us gain an understanding of how we can best support our students. We also sent out a similar parents/caregivers survey to our Year 4 to 6 parents to help us to plan a cyber smart programme to support the digital wellbeing of our school community.  If you havnen’t yet filled this survey in, we would greatly appreciate it that you do. 

Be safe and God bless.

Ngā mihi nui and cǐ zhì jìng lǐ,

Louise Campbell
Principal

E pupuri ana te atawhai i a te Atua i tona aroha 

Mercy holds us in God’s loving care

We find ourselves at the beginning of another situation beyond our control. Times like this can cause much anxiety for all, adults and children alike. Worries can get out of proportion. My go to phrase in times like this is, ‘Do not be afraid, I am with you.’ The fact that this is mentioned many many times in the bible, suggests it is a message God wants us to hold on to and remember. Making time to spend with God each day in prayer provides space in our hearts and minds to hand over any burdens to God.  ‘If you are tired from carrying heavy burdens, come to me and I will give you rest.’ Matthew 11:28-30.   Your children are very familiar with setting up a prayer focus and leading prayer at school each day. Encourage them to do this for the family as one of your family routines. Routine is another way to help us manage our day. 

During the August 15 Feast of the Assumption celebrations across New Zealand, the Bishops rededicated our country to Mary. Great timing! And so together we say…

‘Our Lady, Star of the Sea – Pray for us’

We will be back real soon with what’s going on  …..

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

TEACHER ONLY DAY FRIDAY 17 SEPTEMBER 2021 – BIZZY BODZ CHILDCARE

Bizzy Bodz will run a special programme in our school hall from 7.30am – 6pm on Teacher Only Day, Friday 17 September 2021.