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

Welcome to our second newsletter of the term and with it the cooler weather. Thank you for supporting your child to be in the correct winter uniform. Hats are optional during Terms 2 and 3 but socks and shoes are expected. We thank our fabulous Uniform Shop team who keep our stocks up so that all our students can have access to the correct uniform items as they need them. We know you will also enjoy the disco that our Parents’ Committee have organised for this evening with a 6pm start.

The Easter Season continues with this week’s gospel message focussing on Jesus sharing the commandment of ‘Loving one another as He loved us’. Showing aroha/love to each other through kind words and actions is the best way to bring HOPE to our world. Offering to help a person in need, saying a simple hello to a person you don’t know, welcoming a stranger and sharing what we have with those less fortunate are simple ways of showing God’s love to those around us. How will you show God’s love this week? Follow this link to this Sunday’s readings. We are all excited to watch the development of Pope Leo XIV as our new papal leader. May God bless him on his mission and keep him safe as he spreads his messages throughout the world. 

This week was Support Staff week. Our support staff are amazing. They are the people on the ground helping and supporting our school to be the incredible place that it is. Our support staff include our caretaker; Mr Campbell, our groundsperson; Mrs Brooke, our office staff; Mrs Yandell, Mrs Wiranata and Mrs Norman, our Information Centre lead; Mrs Bell and our Learning Assistants; Mrs MacGregor, Mrs Fsadni, Mrs Geor, Mrs Chun, Mrs Couchman and Mrs Koloamatangi. We are blessed to have these people in our school. When you see them please thank them for all that they do for our school.

Last week we sent out, via Seesaw, the link to the new Parent Portal that the Ministry of Education has set up. This is a great space for parents to explore more about what children are learning at each year level. I encourage you to go onto the portal and explore it. The Ministry of Education has also created a set of podcasts called School Shorts. Again this is another great resource made for parents by parents to help navigate the journey that is parenting and help your child thrive in reading, writing, spelling and maths.

You will have noted that the 3rd of June is a Teacher Only Day. On this day all teaching and some support staff will be joining with other Kahui Ako teachers to take part in some Professional Development around leadership in Christian based schools. There will be two keynote speakers followed by time to sit with peers who teach at the same levels for collegial collaboration and discussion. Bizzy Bodz will be open for families needing care – please enrol directly with them. Thank you for organising alternative care for your children on this day.

How much fun did Room 20-23 have at their Waka Ama days out last week! So much learning was done around Māori tikanga practices and local Auckland stories. Our students showed our school values at all times and were a pleasure to be with. Thank you to all the parents who went along in a supportive role, especially those parents that were assigned to waka duty! This experience will set the students up well for their Stories concept that is beginning later this term. See more about this further down in the newsletter.

Thank you to the huge number of ‘mothers’ that attended our Mothers Day liturgy on the 12th of May. Each one of you is special, valued and loved for the efforts you put in on a daily basis doing the work of a mother. The example Mother Mary set us was a valuable one. She was relentless in her love of her son and put him before herself at all times. May all our mothers continue to be blessed and show Mary’s love to their children.

This week we focussed on Road Safety week with Wednesday being dedicated to learning more about how to stay safe on the road, how to stay safe in cars and how to get in and out of cars safely. It was great to see so many of our students honouring our Road Safety heroes by adding a piece of hero attire to their uniform – we had policemen and women, doctors, nurses, road workers and general superheroes attend school this Wednesday. Please continue to help your child stay safe on the road by using the Kea crossing, encouraging them to “Stop! Look! and Listen” before crossing and being mindful of sneaky driveways.

Mrs Bell and Mrs Elder enjoyed their day out at the Auckland Writers Festival on the 15th of May. As usual the students and staff were party to a wide variety of inspirational speakers who spoke about their journey as authors. Each student that attended was inspired by what they heard and are looking forward to putting their new knowledge into practice.

We are very excited to share some fantastic news about a writing competition that some of our senior students entered. Two students from our school received highly commended for their poems. We are extremely proud of them. Scroll down to the Information Centre news to learn who the students were and read their fantastic poems – Congratulations to both of these students and all the other students who tried their best. Special thanks to Mrs Bell for supporting these students with their entries.

You will have seen through Seesaw that the Twilight Market team are looking for your favourite, tried and trusted recipes to include in the ‘Our Lady Star of the Sea Recipe Book’ that will be sold at the market. Please send these direct to the Twilight Market team at [email protected] or drop your written recipe into the school office. To really make this a book a success we need those recipes flooding in.

Just a reminder that Walking Wednesdays continues this term. We are encouraging all our students to walk, ride, scooter, carpool or bus to school on a Wednesday to help reduce congestion around the school gate and  encourage a healthy lifestyle. Please help us by dropping your child a little further away from the school gate and encouraging them to walk in or get them to catch a bus, carpool with another family or bike or scooter to school. There is a trophy for the class who has the highest percentage or walkers/riders each Wednesday.

Thank you for supporting Pink Shirt Day today. Our school stands behind the anti bullying message and are constantly reinforcing the message of treating others as we would like to be treated. Using Jesus as our guide and reflecting on how Jesus acts towards others makes sharing the anti bullying message connect with our learning of how to reflect our gospel values.

Looking ahead: Families from our school will be supporting the Family Mass to be held at our parish church on Sunday the 25th of May at 5.30pm.  25 of our badge holders will attend National Young Leaders Day (NYLD) with Miss Marten on the 26th of May, your Board will meet at 6.30pm on the 27th of May and the 28th of May will see our students joining with other catholic schools to celebrate Catholic Schools Day. Culture Week will be celebrated in Week 7, 9-13th of June. We really hope families will get behind their children and support the classroom programme by sharing aspects of their culture to broaden our students’ understanding of culture.

Wishing you all a happy, safe and blessed fortnight ahead.

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
Hope is a gift. Children have an uncanny  way of bringing hope to us. They ask big questions. They notice beauty. They help us laugh and remind us to slow down.  In the Gospels, Jesus often pointed to children as examples of what real trust looks like. That’s not because they had all the answers – but because they were open to wonder and full of hope.
Whether or not faith was part of your childhood, being around children can stir a sense of openness in us too – a readiness to believe that love is real, that goodness matters, and that maybe we’re not alone in this world after all. This in itself will bring the gift of hope into our lives.                                     

Buddy Class Masses
Masses continue on Wednesdays at 11:15am in the school Chapel space. Check the school website calendar to see when your child’s buddy class Mass is. You are welcome to celebrate with us. Donations for the foodbank are very welcome.

Family Mass
The first family Mass for the year will be celebrated 5:30pm, Sunday 25 May in our parish Church. Families from our school community will be leading the Mass through the various ministries. We look forward to your family joining in the celebration. Students are not required to wear their uniform to this Mass. 

Catholic Schools Day – Wednesday 28 May
Pope Francis has designated 2025 as the Church’s Year of Jubilee: Pilgrims of Hope and call us to “fan the flame of hope … by looking to the future with an open spirit, a trusting heart and far sighted vision.” Catholic schools are emblems of hope, light in the darkness: they “shine like stars in the world.” (NZCEO)
Catholic Schools Day provides another wonderful opportunity to celebrate and showcase our unique identity in our community which we have been part of for over 175 years. Students across the school will be involved in a variety of activities. More information will be shared closer to the time.

Term 2 Christian Witness / Community Outreach programme
Our annual Knitting Club has started. The group will meet every Thursday between 12:15pm and 1pm in the school Chapel. The Knitting Club focus is to pass on the wonderful life skill of knitting as well as to create blankets which will be gifted to children in need. The Middlemore Foundation has a collective of knitters which our school supports. If you are a knitter, or have a knitter in the family, and are able to join us, your help and assistance will be very much appreciated. For more information contact Detta.  [email protected]

Sacramental Programme
The parish Sacramental Programme continues. This is an important milestone in the faith journey of our students. Please keep them and their  families in your prayers.

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

SCHOOL ATTENDANCE DUES
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

Financial assistance is available to assist families who may need financial
support with the payment of Attendance Dues for preference students attending
both primary and secondary Catholic schools in Auckland Diocese.
Families facing financial difficulties can contact their school office, their Parish
Priest, or Auckland Common Fund Ltd at the Catholic Diocese of Auckland on
09-360-3040 for further information.
Application forms for this assistance are available from school and parish offices,
or can be downloaded from the Catholic Diocese of Auckland Website:
https://www.aucklandcatholic.org.nz/catholic-schools-2/

News from the Parents Committee

We hope all the mums, nanas, aunties and special mother figures had a lovely Mother’s Day on Sunday – you deserve it!

Glow in the Dark Disco – It’s Party Time!
DJ Andy will have the school glowing tonight! We hope the kids have a blast dancing the evening away.
Just a quick reminder: the disco is cash only and there’ll be lots of yummy treats for sale.
Please sign your children in and out at the door – safety first, even at a dance party!

Hotdog Lunch – 29th May. Please place orders online before midnight 27th May www.olsos-pta.co.nz.

Quiz Night – 13th June
Time to swap school drop-offs for brain-teasers and belly laughs!
Get your team together and grab your tickets now at www.olsos-pta.co.nz – this one’s for the grown-ups only. We’re so excited to have the one and only Shandel back as our hilarious and fabulous quiz master. There’ll be platters to pre-order, raffles to win, and plenty of laughs guaranteed. Tickets are just $10 per seat.

Stay in the Loop
Sign up to our Communication Tree to keep up with all Parent Committee events and updates. Fill out the form on our website or email us at [email protected]

Next Meeting – 9th June, 7pm
Join us in the staff room – everyone is welcome!
Thank you for supporting our awesome school community, till next time!

Mother’s Day Liturgy

Our school came together to celebrate the Mother’s Day Liturgy. It was a beautiful and meaningful event where we honoured all the wonderful mother figures in our lives.

It was truly heart-warming to see so many mums, grandmothers, aunties, and carers attend the liturgy. Their presence made the celebration even more special, and we were grateful to share this time of prayer, reflection, and appreciation with them.

Through songs, readings, and heartfelt messages, we gave thanks for the love, strength, and care that our mother figures show us every day. Their kindness and support play such an important role in shaping who we are, and this liturgy was our way of saying thank you.

We hope all our guests felt loved and appreciated, not just on Mother’s Day, but every day. Thank you for everything you do!

Rooms 8 and 9

Last week, the Year 5 and 6 students went to Waka Ama at Ōkahu Bay. We had the chance to experience going out in the waka and learned how to paddle, control the direction by turning, and stop. We had to listen to our instructors and stay in sync with each other. Teamwork was essential to keep everything coordinated. Afterward, we spent some time at the beach and learned about the history of the area. We discovered that the Māori would stay there in the summer for fishing and then move to One Tree Hill in the winter for shelter. By the end of the day, we were wet and soggy, but we had a lot of fun!

Odion and Tyler, Room 22

Growing empowered students who can make a difference to their world is important to us. Last year a group of students identified a need in our school grounds, noting that we could encourage more native birds to our garden areas. As part of their Term 4 learning, they worked through the design thinking process to come up with possible solutions.  After a lot of thought and research they designed a bird feeder that was functional, effective and would look great in our gardens. Their design was so creative, Miss Marten decided to ask her Dad to follow their plan and make it over the holidays.  It took a little while, but last week Miss Marten surprised them by presenting them with the finished product ready for the garden. The bird feeder is designed so that wedges of fruit can be placed in between the gaps. Within hours we witnessed native birds flocking to feast on the fruit we placed out for them. 

Elden, James, Felix, Indiana, Elliot  

Congratulations to Zoe Carinan (Dance) and George Guan (Big Mistake) whose poems were highly commended in a nationwide poetry competition organised by the Write On School for Young Writers based in Christchurch!

It was a word weave writing competition where the challenge was to use these 5 words in a poem:

seed, turn, accept, hue, drop

They could change the tense and pluralise them.

We are thrilled that Zoe and George’s creativity and writing skills have been recognised with this achievement. Well done!

Book Week is in Term 3

This year our Book Week is in week 2 of Term 3. 

We will share more information towards the end of this term.