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

Welcome to our fourth newsletter of Term 4. We have a mere two and a half weeks of the school year left! It is hard to believe that the summer holidays are coming so quickly.

Parish Update Last Sunday we celebrated the feast of Christ the King in our parish. This marks the end of the liturgical year and is always celebrated in the Church calendar the Sunday before Advent begins. Therefore, Advent begins this Sunday.
Advent is the four weeks leading up to the celebration of the birth of Christ at Christmas. You will see the colours in our classroom prayer spaces, as well as at Masses change during Advent. The colour purple is used to represent the anticipation and preparatory nature of this time, as we make ready, through prayer and reflection for the big celebration at Christmas; almost the same as when we tidy our home in preparation for a big celebration, Advent is a time when we look into ourselves and put right the behaviour and activity that needs to be so, in order to be truly open to the messages of Christmas and the celebration of Jesus’ birth.

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

Mission Day Last Friday we celebrated our annual Mission Day, beginning with a liturgy where we reminded ourselves of the Mission Sisters, and the legacy they left in our school, as well as the call to be mission people, being other’s centred and seeking to help where we can. The Market set up by our Year 3 to 6 students in order to raise money to contribute to St Vincent de Paul, to provide gifts for families in need at Christmas, was a huge success. The school was a-buzz with fun and laughter as together, our combined efforts raised $1224!! This will go a long way to supporting families in need this Christmas. Thank you to all families who supported by cooking, sending in items and allowing your children to bring in some money to spend on the day. 

Parents Committee Disco Last Friday night was our last Parents Committee Disco for the year. This fun event was well attended with much fun had by all. Huge thanks to the Parents Committee for going the extra mile to provide such engaging community events for our students and families to enjoy.

Weet-bix Tryathlon On Tuesday students represented our school at the Weet-bix Tryathlon. They all did us proud with their effort and their hard mahi. Thank you to the parents who accompanies their children on the day for all of your support. Read later in the newsletter more about the day.

Looking Ahead Our final Parents Committee meeting is on Monday 1st December at 7pm all welcome, and bring a friend! School Prizegiving is on Thursday 11th December 5.45pm for a 6pm start, at Sancta Maria College. All students are expected to attend in their uniforms where they will be seated in their classes. The evening of Monday 15th December sees our Year 6 leavers event with a picnic followed by formalities. Our End of Year Mass is at 11am on Tuesday 16th December at our Parish Church. Our Last day of school is Wednesday 17th December, where school concludes at 12pm, after our End of the Year liturgy and Year 6 honour guard.
School recommences in 2026 on Tuesday 3rd February.

Community Dreaming Day 2026 – Save the Date: Saturday 7th March from 2pm to 4pm please secure this date and time in your calendar. We are very much looking forward to reviewing our goals and activity over the past three years, and planning forward for activity in the next three years at this important strategic planning day – there will be food and entertainment for the children while the adults come together to share and dream big for our school. More details to come closer to the time.

I wish you a safe and blessed fortnight ahead until the next opportunity to share news about what is happening in our beautiful school, in our next newsletter.

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

Louise Campbell
Tumuaki/Principal

 JUBILEE YEAR OF HOPE

As we enter Advent, a season of reflection and preparation, we are invited to consider a deeper and more enduring kind of hope. Advent hope is grounded not in chance, but in the steady and unchanging nature of God.              The Bible Society

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:

Advent is a time of hopeful waiting and preparation for the joy that Christmas brings.  It’s also a reminder that God is always with us. Advent is a time to consciously “make room” for Jesus in our hearts and in our homes.  There are many things we can do at home with our young children during this season in preparation such as:

• set up a nativity scene
• build a Jesse tree
• organise an Advent wreath
• make an Advent calendar
• play Christmas carols

Each one of these activities helps to build the anticipation and excitement of welcoming Jesus at Christmas time.
Families can also …

• have special prayer times for advent
• encourage daily acts of kindness 
• discuss how advent brings us hope, peace, joy and love

Activities such as these help us all to be more attentive to the real meaning of Christmas, and help us to strengthen our relationship with God.

Growth and Development:

At the upcoming staff meeting,  feedback from our young learners around meditative and contemplative prayer will be used as staff plan prayer opportunities linked to the God theme, for Term 1 2026.

Christian Witness:

Mission Day was celebrated in prayer and in service. A group of Year 6 students shared with me that ‘the market was fun but it also made them feel like they had contributed to a greater cause.’ Funds raised at the Mission Day Market will go to our parish St Vincent de Paul Advent ‘drive’ for KMart and Warehouse vouchers. We will present these to the parish as part of our school offerings during the end of year Thanksgiving Mass. Thank you for your support of this outreach activity. 

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

Howick Santa Parade – Sunday 7th December

Thank you to all the families who have signed up to take part in the Howick Santa Parade. We are so excited to be involved in this fun and enchanting community event. We have around 21 children taking part – how amazing!

School Disco
Our final disco for 2025 was a huge success! A big thank-you to all the families who attended and helped make the night fun and memorable. We also extend our thanks to the teachers and parent helpers for all your hard work and support.

Experience the Magic of Enchanted Christmas!
If you’re planning to book this magical event, don’t forget to use our school code: Our Lady Star of the Sea School
Enjoy 10% off your tickets, and 10% of the booking fee is returned to our school.
Stroll through over 240 themed trees, sparkling lights, immersive displays – and even book time with Santa or the Grinch. All happening on Teed Street – a festive experience for the whole family! Click on the link below to purchase your tickets. https://enchantedchristmas.co.nz

If you have any queries please email us at [email protected]

PTA Meeting – Monday 1st December, 7pm (Staff Room)
Join us for some snacks and a discussion about next year’s plans.

Frozen Fridays
Frozen Fridays made an early return this term, and the kids absolutely loved it! The frozen fun will continue every Friday until 12th December. No need to reorder if you’ve already signed up.

HPPA Athletics Zones

Congratulations to our Senior Team students who attended the HPPA Athletics Zones on Friday 14th November. It was a challenging day with amazing athletes from schools across East Auckland. We are very proud of each and every one of our students who gave their absolute all competing for our school. 

We congratulate the following students who placed in the top 3 in their events: 

Weet-bix Tryathlon

Congratulations to the students that represented our school at the Weet-bix Tryathlon on Tuesday. They were some of many students from across South Auckland to take part. We are incredibly proud of every child that gave it a go and took on the challenge. Thank you to the families who supported their children on the day. A special thanks to Liam O’Meara for being our team manager on the day.

********************************************