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

Welcome to our first newsletter of Term 2 in 2026.
As the weather cools, and our transition into winter uniform is complete, I wish to thank all families for their support in ensuring our young learners come prepared to make the most of their days at school. Well rested, well fed, warm and tidy in their correct winter uniforms and at school on time. With a strong home and school partnership, members of our school community have the very best chance of thriving and growing to the best of their ability. Thank you for your strong partnership.
The Ministry of Education released their analysis of our Term 1 attendance data recently, and I am thrilled to be able to report that, in Term 1, 88% of our students attended school for over 90% of the time. This is a 10% improvement on Term 1 last year and is a strong example of home and school partnership. With our students regularly attending school, their learning is consistent and readily built on from day to day. Their social bonds and learning also goes from strength to strength. We know the Ministry have a national goal of having 80% of students in New Zealand attending school over 90% of the time by 2030 – it is heartening to know that our school’s Term 1 2026 data already exceeds this national goal by 8%.
With winter ills around the corner, we anticipate that this data will understandably look different over the next two terms, however we are super thrilled with the start to the year that we have had, with thanks to you all for your support in ensuring your children’s attendance remains consistent.

Parish Connect We are pleased to welcome Fr Robert O’Brien back to the parish after his time away recovering from knee surgery. Fr Rob is still in the recovery phase following his operation and will be taking it easy as he regains strength and stamina. We are so grateful to Fr Terry who has ministered to our parish on his own in Fr Rob’s absence. As a retired priest in residence at our parish, we are fortunate to have Fr Terry’s support on a regular basis and at times such as this, where he has fully stepped back into the role of parish priest. Fr Terry, through a busy Easter season you have done a fabulous job – thank you!

Please follow this link for this Sunday’s readings to read and discuss as a family.

Easter Celebrations at Our Lady Star of the Sea School With Easter falling in the school holidays this year, sharing and remembering the Easter story, the most important part of our Church’s calendar, can be most tricky as a school! The last week of Term 1 was Holy Week, where we remembered Palm Sunday at a special liturgy on the Monday, retelling Jesus’ triumpant entry to Jerusalem. Then on the Thursday, the last day of term, we remembered Holy Thursday, where Jesus demonstrated servant leadership by washing his disciples feet.  We also remembered the events of Good Friday with the reenactment of the Stations of the Cross in a very solemn and moving liturgy. Miss Marten and Mrs Kettoola did an amazing job preparing the students involved in these moving liturgies, helping us as a school understand and honour the events leading up to the celebration of Easter.
On Monday of the first week of this term we celebrated the joy of the resurrection, as we did on Easter Sunday at our Parish, remembering that Jesus is alive and present in all of us. As we heard at this joyful liturgy; We are an Easter people and Alleluia is our song!
Please enjoy these images of the various liturgies remembering and celebrating the Easter season.

Kapa Haka Rõpu visits Te Paparewa Māori stage at Polyfest At the end of last term, our Year 4 to 6 Kapa Haka students had the privilege of attending the Kapa Haka stage at the Secondary schools competition at Polyfest. The Rõpu went along to support past Kapa Haka student Maia Smith, Matua Hone’s daughter, as well as other past OLSOS pupils who were performing with Macleans College. It was wonderful to see and acknowledge Maia as well as Mrs Stewart’s son Toby who is also a member of the performance group. Our Rõpu had an amazing experience, being inspired by the powerful performances of the schools that performed on the day. We couldn’t have done this without the support of our Kapa Haka Rõpu families, and especially those who gave up their time to help with supervision on the day.

ANZAC Day Those dropping their children off at the front gate from the start of this term will have noticed the display of ANZAC crosses that were so beautifully installed by past pupil Alex Sentch, as part of his service and outreach as a member of the Sacred Heart College community. Alex’s act of service made it into the most recent publication of the Eastern Times, with many comments online from the wider community about the value of such service in our community. Thanks Alex for undertaking this act of service each year for us over the past few years – we are proud of you as a past pupil and a community minded individual.
Last Friday our Year 6 Cultural Leaders led our school in a commemoration of ANZAC day; a beautiful liturgy honouring the sacrifice of all Australians, New Zealanders and beyond, who have served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations. Most poignant was listening to the last post as images sent in from members of our school community of past and present family members who served in the armed forces so we can live in peace. Special thanks to Mrs Sentch who prepared our Cultural leaders for this special commemoration.

Community Dreaming Day Update Thank you to those families who contributed so openly at our community consultation day in March and then through the following survey for those who were not able to make it on the day, or who had further thoughts after the consultation. The wider survey-based consultation concluded yesterday. Over the next few months you will see the outcomes of your voice reflected in adjustments made to our Mission Statement, our Learner and Graduate profile, and the content in our strategic goals and annual plan activity. Please keep your eye out in newsletters for updates and further information related to the ‘wonderings’ or questions that surfaced through the consultation process. Once again, we value your contribution to the direction of our school and thank you sincerely for your support.

Staffing Update: Calling for any parent who can be available at short notice to support our Learning Support Team, when one of our Learning Assistants is away. If you are interested in finding our more please email Sue Yandell syandell@starofthesea.school.nz.

Looking Ahead: Our Year 3 students are heading to the Museum next Tuesday to visit the shark exhibition as part of their learning related to ocean ecosystems. Next Friday our Year 1 to 4 students are experiencing the Walk Through Whale inflatable exhibition which will be in our school hall as part of their learning programme. The following week will see our Year 6 campers depart for a week on Kawau Island at Camp Bentzon. Please keep our Year 6 students in your prayers, and most especially the teachers and parent helpers who will be working hard to ensure the children have an amazing experience. While our Year 6 learners are away, our Year 5 students will be experiencing various EOTC activities including a trip to the Stardome and a walk up Maungakiekie, exploring one of Auckland’s most recognisable volcanic cones.

I wish you a safe and blessed fortnight, until we next share news and updates from our beautiful school in our next school newsletter.

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

Louise Campbell
Tumuaki/Principal

Encounter with Christ:

We are Easter people! The Easter season continues for 50 days. We remember how Jesus spent time with the disciples, preparing them for Pentecost and for the coming of the Holy Spirit. It is a time of joy, of hope and of peace. How we can be Easter people is the question for us all.  

Congratulations to Bowie Pistorius who received the Sacrament of Baptism on Easter Sunday. 10 more of our young learners will be Baptised this month. Please keep them all in your prayers. 

Buddy class Masses have begun. You are welcome to celebrate with us. Masses will be on Wednesday’s at 11:15am. Check the school website calendar to see when your child’s buddy class Mass is. Donations to the parish foodbank are very welcome. Thanks to Father Rob and Father Terry for making themselves available.  

Mary Month of May – Ko Maria te Marama o Haratua.       
The month of May is a special time to honour our Blessed Mother Mary. Celebrations in honour of Mother Mary this month include
May 1 –   Our Lady,  Queen of the Apostles
May 13 – Our Lady of Fatima (commemorating the 1917 apparitions)
May 24 – Our Lady Helper of Christians
May 31 – The Feast of the Visitation

We will gather together as a whole school to celebrate Mother’s day, Monday 11 May, acknowledging our earthly mum’s as well as Mother Mary. 

Growth in Knowledge:
Each of the contexts from the new Religious Education Curriculum connects us to being Easter people today, to each other, with Jesus alive in our hearts, in our minds, in all that we do and all that we say. Work on the God theme comes to an end. Expect to see your child’s Religious Education workbook coming home over the next week or so. There will be a response sheet for parents to complete after going through the learning with your child. Please complete the form and return the workbooks the next day.  

The learning focus will then move on to Te Rongopai – Good News. The aim of this theme is for Young people to develop an understanding of the Bible as a library of books with a range of origins, authorship, genre, style and purpose. They will be able to retell many of the narratives and concepts, and will develop an understanding of the significance of these texts, as part of God’s revelation, within the Catholic Tradition and for human society today. The whānau page for this term’s learning with suggestions of ways to help your child and home will be sent home via Seesaw. Please continue to spark conversations with your child/children about their RE learning and the taonga of our faith. 

 Christian Witness:

Our annual Knitting Club has restarted. 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 gives guidelines and suggestions of sizes to knit. Many thanks to the wonderful members of our extended parish school community for their support. They are a witness to our school value of awhina – service. For more information about the knitting club contact Detta dfairweather@starofthesea.school.nz

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

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After School Art Class Term 2, 2026

Drawing, Sketching, Oil pastels, Poster painting

Day: Tuesday

Time: 2.50pm-3.50pm

Fee: $13 per lesson

Phone: 027-6555574 (Janet)

E-mail: janeto@xtra.co.nz

Thanks to the below businesses for sponsoring our school app:

If you would like to advertise on the Our Lady Star of the Sea School Skool Loop App please email Content@skoolloop.com

To download our app: In Google Play & App Store search ‘Skool Loop’ & choose School once installed.