Kia Ora and Ni Hao Families,

Welcome to our final newsletter of Term 3 2023.

We have had a very busy fortnight since our last newsletter with the celebration of Māori Language last week and the celebration of Chinese Language Week this week. Term 3 holds the most language weeks of the year and it is a real joy to add to our practices of embracing the diversity in our school community through the emphasis and celebration of different cultures and languages through the national language week programme.  

Parish Connect
The morning tea following our new Sunday Mass time of 9am two Sundays ago in our Parish Church was a lovely opportunity to experience the new bond and expression of community with the coming together of parishioners from the former two Masses on a Sunday morning. We are very much looking forward to hearing all about the World Youth Day in Portugal after 9am Mass this Sunday courtesy of the three parishioners who were lucky enough to attend.

Please follow this link to this Sunday’s readings.

Mercy Day The Sisters of Mercy and their friends and associates around the world celebrate Mercy Day (on the 24th of September) every year as this is the day on which Catherine McAuley (the founder of the Sisters of Mercy) first opened the House of Mercy in Ireland in 1827 and dedicated it to Our Lady of Mercy. We celebrated today as a school with a history of the benefit of the work of the Mercy Sisters. We celebrated with a beautiful liturgy in the morning followed by the fun of Maher House assembly, as well as our classes undergoing special acts of Mercy throughout the day. Classes undertook these selfless acts of support for others in the community such as weeding our gardens, washing out class rubbish bins, watering plants, making thank you cards for staff who work to support the running of our school, washing the drinking fountains and contributing to the parish food bank to acknowledge Catherine McAuley and how she inspires us to continue her legacy of caring and compassion in the name of Mercy.

Chinese Language Week Our classes have had fun this week incorporating the Chinese language into their classroom programmes. This has been a great opportunity for leadership for our Mandarin speakers in each class. The week began with whole school prayer on Monday lead in Chinese and classes have learnt some basic Chinese characters like ‘middle’ 中, ‘sky’ 天, and ‘spring’ 春.

Māori Language Week Last week’s Te Wiki o te Reo Māori theme ‘Kia Kaha Te Reo Māori – making the language stronger’ reminds us that as citizens of Aotearoa New Zealand, we are all responsible for the preservation, protection and promotion of the Māori Language and Culture, as if we don’t, it will be lost to the world – Aotearoa New Zealand is the unique home to Te Reo Māori.

How fitting, therefore that our Kapa Haka Ropu participated in the South East Christian Kapa Haka Festival on Thursday of last week. A joy filled celebration of the culture by over 250 students from our local Kahui Ako schools and ECEs. Our Kapa Haka Ropu did themselves, their whanau and us proud! Special thanks to Matua John Henry Smith for his support in preparing our students and to Mrs Detta Fairweather for coming on board earlier this term following Mrs Helen Burger in working to have our Ropu so well prepared for their confident and energetic performance.

Staff update
We wish Mrs Jesy Griffin all of God’s love and blessings as she goes on maternity leave at the end of this term. Jesy has done a wonderful job of teaching in Room 22 over the past three terms and we wish her well as she prepares for the birth of her first child. Next term we are fortunate to have Mrs Ruth Holt take up the full time role in Room 22. Mrs Leanne Newlyn will take up the release component of our Senior Team Lead Mrs Heather Collins, replacing Ruth for the term. Both Ruth and Leanne are well known and respected teachers, both who have worked as classroom teachers at Our Lady Star of the Sea in the senior school in years gone by. We are looking forward to having Ruth as a full time teacher and Leanne back on the staff for Term 4 this year.

Wishing you all of God’s blessings for a safe and happy holiday ahead. School resumes for Term 4 on Monday 9th October.

Ngā mihi nui, Tōfa soifua, ‘Alu ā and cǐ zhì jìng lǐ,

Louise Campbell
Principal

The Star of the Sea Howick Orphanage was closed at the end of 1977. The buildings had a number of changes made to them when they became solely used as the Parish school. The Sisters community room became the staff room; the kitchen became the library; the lower dormitory became the school hall; the front parlour became the school office; the girl’s dining room became a classroom and the chapel continued to be used by the school.  Although Star of the Sea had been closed to boarders since 1977 the Mercy Sisters remained involved in the school through to 1980.

October is the month of the Rosary. The Rosary is a simple prayer, a prayer we say together with Our Lady. It tells the story of Jesus’ life in four parts:  The Joyful Mysteries focus on Jesus’ birth and early life; The Sorrowful Mysteries focus on His suffering and death; The Glorious Mysteries focus on Jesus’ resurrection and the promise of heaven; The Luminous Mysteries focus on His ministry here on earth.  Many Catholics have memories of saying the Rosary as a family during their childhood. Gifting children with memories of family prayer time is a beautiful thing. It is a strong sign of faith and hope. Throughout October we will gather in the school hall on Mondays, Wednesdays and Friday mornings, to pray together one decade of the Rosary. All are welcome. Your children could lead your family prayer time at home in a similar way. 

Catholic social teaching applies Gospel values such as love, peace, justice, compassion, reconciliation, service and community to modern social problems. The student leadership team has led our school’s main Christian Witness outreach activities this year.  We have supported the local parish foodbank, as well as the Middlemore foundation. These two activities have benefitted our immediate and wider community. Next term our energies are going towards an international need. The student liturgy team explains. 

A note from our student Liturgy Team….
This year our Caritas Challenge is to support the Khazimula Children’s Home in South Africa. Khazimula is home to 22 children between the ages of 6 and 19 years. The Mills family has a connection to this orphanage. In fact Julia’s Nan helps to raise money for the orphanage. At the moment they are building new tunnel houses for their vegetable gardens  but they need water tanks to store water for their plants. 

Next term we want to raise money for the water tanks. We are aiming to  raise money through a mufti day and the  Mission Day market.   On Friday, October 13  we will be holding our first mufti day fundraiser for this. Students can wear the colours of their house to school – which are the colours of Khazimula Children’s home – and bring a gold coin for the water tank. We are making a water tank poster to show how much money we raise throughout the term. 

Let’s get going and support Khazimula. We can be the ‘rainbow in their cloud.’ 

Mea ana te atawhai haere mai i runga i te aroha me te awhi
Mercy invites us to love and to care

Prayer Intention: That we may treat all we meet with mercy and compassion

Attendance Dues for the first 3 terms should now be paid in full.    If you have outstanding amounts owing and have not been in contact with Sue Yandell this year, please make a time to meet and discuss a payment plan for the remainder of the year.

Assistance is available for families who are experiencing financial strain.

Mandarin and Cantonese Speech Competition

Congratulations to the following students who participated in the Yr 4-6 Mandarin and Cantonese Speech Competition – Amber Law, Gina Wong, Cavan Reilly and Steve Rui. We are proud to see these children Stand Tall and Be Proud, sharing their gift of language with us. A special thanks to Mrs Lily Dreaver who was our judge for this competition.

Steve Rui and Amber Law represented our School at the HPPA Finals. It was great to see them show confidence and courage up against students from 12 other local schools. Amber earned 2nd place in the Cantonese speech final. Well done to both of you. 

HPPA Boys Football Tournament

On Tuesday 5 September and Thursday 7 September, 12 of our boys represented Our Lady Star of the Sea at the HPPA Football Tournament. There were 21 schools altogether in this competition. We played in a pool of 7 other schools. In this pool, we won 4 of the games, lost 1 and drew 1. This meant that we then played in a group of schools who were placed between 5th place and 8th place. In this round we won three of our games and lost one. This placed us at 6 place overall at the end of the competition.

Auckland Chess Regionals

Congratulations to Julian Xiao, Emma Zshornack, Ethan Ho and Ethan Wang who represented our students at the Auckland Chess Regionals last Friday. The students were supported by Mr and Mrs Zshornack on the day, which we are very appreciative of. 

The students performed their best, playing 5 games of chess across the day. They versed other very skilled and talented chess players from across the Auckland region. Overall the team placed 15th in the competition.

We are very proud of their efforts and thank them for representing the school with pride and displaying a positive attitude all day.

Auckland Museum Trip 

Last week Thursday, the Ancient Civilization elective class embarked on a field trip to the Ancient Egypt exhibit at Auckland Museum. This excursion proved to be an enriching learning experience for our students, offering numerous insights into different facets of ancient Egyptian culture. The educator-led program, in particular, provided an invaluable opportunity for our students to delve deeper into this fascinating culture.

During the educator-led session, the children were not only able to interact with the artefacts but also gained a tactile connection to the past. Their enthusiasm was evident as they explored and engaged with the historical items on display. Many of them were eager to understand the daily lives of ancient Egyptians, leading to insightful discussions amongst themselves and with the museum facilitator. These conversations showcased their profound interest in the subject matter.

Here are some testimonials from our students reflecting on their experience during the trip.

For a long time, the thought of ancient Egypt has fascinated me. I have wanted to learn more about this extraordinary place for a long long time. Ancient Egypt is a mysterious and interesting place. I had the privilege of learning about this amazing ancient civilization. Little did I know signing up to the ancient civilizations’ elective would take me to places I never knew existed.  I learnt so many new things, such as knowing some of the Egyptian god’s names and also touching and observing the objects that the ancient Egyptian civilization would have experienced in their everyday life. I also had my questions answered by Aaron, the tutor. I would still like to learn more about Cleopatra, who is known as the last pharaoh. I am fascinated by now knowing that some things are not as they seem even in this mysterious culture. I now know that they mummified crocodiles, cats and people. This exhibition has given me a new love for the ancient civilisations.  – by Isabella Jansen

Time of the Pharaohs by Gareth McLay 

My time at the Ancient Egypt exhibit was amazing, it helped me to understand what the gods were like, what the architecture was like and what the history was like. On our tour at the museum we saw the most amazing tablets that provided so much information, the architecture was in some way better than the Greeks, the history was full of amazing ways of preparing a body and how the heart had to remain. Overall this visit has strengthened my knowledge of Ancient Egypt.  – by Gareth McLay

Term 4 Basketball

Term 4 Our Lady Star of the Sea School Year 3 – 6 Basketball Session Info:

• Week 1 (10^th Oct) – 10 (12^th Dec)
• Tuesday 7:30 am – 8:30 am;
• Term Fee: $112.5;

New Players Enrolment steps:

1. New Players: Please click the enrol link: https://forms.gle/c3jfuHq1LrYsZgxq9. Fill up the form, choose the school programme – Our Lady Star of the Sea School;
2. Each player will need to pay $112.5  to enrol in Term 4, Please transfer the money to our bank account: 02-0108-0531348-000 (Their Reference – “Child’s Full Name + OLS”, example James Smith OLS);
3. Once we receive your payment, you will receive a confirmation email.

Music Lessons with Lewis Eady 

We are now accepting new enrolments for Term 4 music lessons (starting from w/c 9 October).

MUSIC LESSONS AT SCHOOL & IN EPSOM WITH LEWIS EADY

Term 4 music lessons at your school start from week commencing 9 October.

We offer group or individual tuition on a range of musical instruments. If you haven’t yet enrolled, complete our online enrolment form today at https://bit.ly/LEMSMusicLessons.

Lessons also take place at our music studios on 75 Great South Road, Epsom on weekdays after school and all day on Saturdays.

We look forward to making music with your whānau soon!

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.lewiseady.co.nz/music-school

We are most grateful for the donation of four beautiful bi-lingual (Tongan/English) picture books for our Pasifika Collection in the Information Centre, gifted to our school by our Fono Group. We love them, thank you!

Congratulations to Garin house who won our ‘Rubbish free challenge’ for the second half of the term. They enjoyed a movie and popcorn as a special treat on Friday. Thank you to all families who have been making an effort to send rubbish free lunches to school.  As a result we have diverted hundreds of kilograms of waste from the landfill and reduced our carbon footprint as a result. As a school we are embedding sustainable practices and it is our expectation that rubbish free lunches will continue. Thank you for your ongoing support.

Parent’s Committee AGM

Our AGM will take place on 9 October at 7pm in the staffroom, this will be followed by our monthly meeting. Please reach out to Kate (021 771 969) or Catherine (027 533 9927) if you have questions about the Parent’s Committee.  We’d love to have you on the team!

Week 1 in Term 4, 9 – 13 October we will be asking for Jolly Jar items for class collections.  At the end of our collections weeks, the class who has collected the most over the weeks will be TREATED TO PIZZA FOR LUNCH.

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McAuley High School 60th Jubilee Celebrations

September 23rd 2023

An invitation to all past students and teachers to attend.

It’s your ONE chance to catch up

Don’t let this opportunity pass you by

Email: [email protected] for more details

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A NOTE FROM OUR PARISH YOUTH MINISTER

Kia ora parents,

GET EXCITED!! Lifeteen 2023 Summer Camp from the 16^th-20^nd January at Saint Peters College, Cambridge!

Summer camp is an incredible opportunity for teenagers to be free and confident in themselves, develop new friendships with other teens from our parish, and encounter God working in their lives. Here are some of the amazing things camp offers for your teen:

FUN

Every year Camp cooks up bigger and better messy games and obstacle courses that will keep you on your toes. There’s also plenty of spare time for you to choose your fun – whether that’s a game of football with some friends or getting crafty at the Art Barn.

FAITH

Teens will find the best and brightest speakers and musicians in Catholic youth ministry. Teens will also experience the power and grace of the Sacraments. Camp also provides the space for everyone to develop a deeper and more meaningful prayer life.

FRIENDS

Teens will be able to meet and share with hundreds of other campers from around the country while journeying alongside their parish friends throughout the week. Parishes will arrive as a group, and leave as a family.

Our parish youth group has attended the last two summer camps together and is planning on attending the next one! If your teen is interested and between the age of 13 and 17 years old please email an expression of interest to Francesca Adams, the parish Youth Minister, at [email protected]. The parish will then be in contact with you about registering your teen.

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