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 2 in 2026.

Parish Connect It was wonderful to have the second reading in Samoan on Sunday evening at Mass, a great way to conclude Samoa Language Week. We were also treated to the children’s choir who led parishioners in song throughout the Mass to mark the feast of The Body and Blood of Jesus, or Corpus Christi. The choir, many of who are current and past pupils of our school did such a great job, leading through complicated cantor pieces and brought a real sense of celebration and occasion to our Mass. Well done to those who participated!

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

Jammies In June – Christian Outreach Today, it was great to see students at school in their pyjamas supporting the Jammies in June initiative. Our Liturgy Leaders were at the gates collecting money and pyjamas for children in our local community in need as winter sets in. This Christian Witness activity helps our young learners grow in understanding, that as Catholics, we are called on to be others centred, supporting where we can in service to those in need. A fabulous, practical way of bringing our Strategic Goal of Confidently serving with Jesus as our guide to life here at school. The incredible response saw our community donate $665 this morning. With your donations we have purchased 87 pairs of pyjamas. We also had 69 pairs of PJs donated. In total we will be able to warm 156 children through our donations this winter. 

Think and Be Me Wellbeing Presentation On Tuesday of this week, our Year 1 to 4 students attended a wellbeing related show called ‘Think and Be Me’. The presentation reinforced the Mitey Mental Health Programme messages we teach around recognising emotions, tools to calm your body and brain and strategies to identify challenging emotions and ways to shift our thinking to support wellbeing. A further way of bringing our Strategic Goal of Confidently living with Jesus as our guide to realisation. 

Year 1 and 2 trip to the Botanical Gardens It has been a busy few days for our junior children! On Wednesday the excitement was palpable as our youngest learners boarded buses to visit the Botanical Gardens. The weather was spectacular, which made for a great start to a wonderful day of learning. The experience supported our harmony theme of this year, where our children learnt more about plant life, the role of bees and life cycles in our ecosystem, Confidently learning with Jesus as our guide!

HPPA Rippa Rugby Competition Last Friday and the Friday two weeks before, our Rippa Rugby team participated in the HPPA Rippa Rugby have a go experience. Under the expert coaching of Dayne Williamson, our well prepared team won all 6 of their games – well done Team! They kept their good sportsmanship on show at all times and demonstrated our school values with all they encountered. Thanks to Mrs Ailsa Thorpe for supporting and organising the team.

Looking Ahead We are very much looking forward to the fun fun community night organised by our amazing PTA – BINGO NIGHT Friday 19th June. Please use the QR code on the poster later in this newsletter to book your tickets!
We wish our football team the very best of luck as they prepare to play at the upcoming HPPA Football Tournament coming up the following Wednesday.
Our Mid Year Orientation for families who have children who have started school in Term 2 and are going to start in Term 3 is coming up on Thursday 25th June. Invitations have been sent out to those families for this event already, so please send your RSVPs in to the office.

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:
Over the last few Sundays we have celebrated Pentecost, the Holy Trinity, the Body and Blood of Jesus and on this coming Sunday the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul.  Today, Friday 12 June, is the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. All of these special celebrations in our Catholic faith tradition reinforce God’s enduring love for us all. A question often posed is, “Why do we go to Mass?” The answer is simple, because Jesus told us to. ‘Do this in memory of me.’

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

The Parish leadership team is excited to announce the upcoming launch of our Parish Kōrero. The parish identified three topics to explore.
Whanaungatanga – Belonging,  Faith Formation and Liturgy
Starting with our first topic, Whanaungatanga ~ Belonging,  we want to hear the thoughts of our parish school community.

What does belonging mean to you?
What gives you a sense of belonging in this parish?
What suggestions do you have to help foster a sense of belonging? 

Please complete a short survey through the online form. Your contribution to the theme of belonging is important to us. The final date for contributions is Monday 22 June.   

Growth in Knowledge:
The Catholic Religious Education Curriculum recognises faith in two ways:
the faith in which people believe;
the gift of faith from God by which we believe
When planning the Religious Education programme for our learners, we are conscious that God works with us, as we  create and plan engaging learning experiences that provide an effective way of sharing the faith in which we, as Church, believe. At the same time we continue to be aware that faith is a gift that comes from God — it is not our mahi to ‘create’ faith, but to support, model and nurture its growth.  The aim of the Religious Education programme is to help our young learners to articulate a Catholic worldview which will help them to express their faith through the way they live.

Christian Witness:
Knitting Club – The knitting club continues to bring great joy to all involved. The students are enjoying the time honing their skills as well as building relationships with the adults involved. Many thanks to those of you who are sending in knitted squares or strips to be created into blankets which will go through to the Middlemore Foundation to support those in need.‘ … you shall love your neighbour as yourself.’  Matthew 22: 39

Foodbank donations – The citrus trees at school have had another bumper crop. The fruit will be harvested and distributed through the St Vincent de Paul network to those most in need. If you have extra citrus on trees in your garden, you could donate these to the parish foodbank by either dropping them into the parish office on a Tuesday or getting your child to bring them to school and we will get them to the foodbank for you. Many thanks for your ongoing support with food donations at Buddy Class Masses. Food donations can be dropped into the yellow boxes in the school office at any time or in the basket at the back of the Church during the weekend Masses. ‘I was hungry and you gave me something to eat…’ Matthew 25:35

Jammies in June – Today we raised $665! These funds will go towards purchasing Jammies for Kidz First. We also collected 69 pairs of PJ’s, many thanks for your generosity.
‘ … I was sick and you cared for me …’ Matthew 25:36

There are plenty of community messages to explore! Click the arrows to view all notices.