Newsletter - 14 March 2025

This week marks the first week of Lent. In this week’s Gospel: Matthew 5:20-26 Jesus teaches that true righteousness is more than just following rules—it comes from the heart. He reminds us that anger and unresolved conflict can distance us from God. He urges us to seek reconciliation with others before offering our prayers and gifts to Him.

“Go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” – Matthew 5:24

During this Lenten season, let’s take time to heal broken relationships and approach God with a heart free of anger and resentment. True worship begins with love and peace.

During our morning meditation, Fr Tony blessed two new children and their families to our school: Jonty Recordon and Roy Choi both in Room 2. We hope your time here is filled with joy, growth, and wonderful experiences. Welcome to our school family!

Last Wednesday we gathered as a school to mark the first day of Lent Ash Wednesday.

Fr Tony in his homily shared a simple and memorable way for children to understand the meaning of Lent through actions:

Pray -point to the sky
Say no-cross hands over chest
Help out and give to others-arms outstretched

We encourage you to use these actions and words at home with your child to reinforce the spirit of Lent in a meaningful way.

Swimming Sports Success & Upcoming Junior Event

We had a fantastic day of swimming sports on Thursday. A huge thank you to Charlotte Bagnall for her dedication and organisation, as well as to all the parent helpers your support made the event a great success.

We now look forward to the Junior Swimming Sports at St. Michael’s swimming pool on Friday, 21 March. The day will kick off at 9:15 AM with a House Song/Chant competition, inspired by our school goal: Do Your Bit. This will be led by our school house leaders.

All are welcome to attend, we hope to see you there.

School Uniform

Thank you to all parents for ensuring their children arrive at school in the correct uniform. However, we have noticed an increase in students wearing jewellery, their hair not tied up and nail polish, which are not part of the school’s dress code. On Monday, all students were reminded of the uniform guidelines. To keep parents informed, we have introduced a notification system for uniform inconsistencies. Rather than discussing these matters directly with students, they will receive a notice to bring home.

Please ensure your child follows the uniform guidelines by having hair tied up, avoiding nail polish, wearing only stud earrings (no sleepers), and limiting accessories to a watch, a cross or religious/cultural symbol on a necklace. Your support is greatly appreciated.

Outreach Update

St Patrick's Day

On Monday 17 March we will be celebrating St Patrick’s Day with a fundraiser for the CARITAS Foundation. Please wear your school uniform (with some green accessories!) and bring along a donation for the Bishops’ Lent Appeal. Our Outreach Leaders will be collecting donations on Monday morning during Meditation.

MCHT-House Competition

This term, we will also be supporting Monte Cecilia Housing Trust with an Easter Egg Drive. These Easter eggs will be distributed by Monte Cecilia to children in need. As an incentive, we will be running a house competition, with points going towards the House Cup (presented at the end of the year). We will be collecting eggs from Monday 17 March to Friday 4 April, and Ms van Coller will be keeping a running tally of the number of eggs collected per house in the front office.

Teacher Only Days - Updated

The Ministry of Education has given the staff the opportunity for professional development of the new Maths and English Curriculum. We have added an extra day for staff development to support Ministry requirements which will be on Monday 28 April 2025.

Our Teacher Only Days will be on the following: Monday 28 April, Monday 23 June 2025 and Thursday 14 August 2025.

Students will need to stay home on these days.

School Mass Sunday 16 March

I am looking forward to celebrating our first School and Parish Mass on Sunday 16 March at 10am. This is a compulsory school event, and a roll will be taken. All children are expected to be in full school uniform. We will gather in the Parish Centre at 9:40am and teachers will take the children into the Church.

Please refer to the Parish notice below on what they would like families to contribute for this mass instead of just food.

I look forward to seeing you all there as we come together in faith and community.

Manaaki ki te Atua,

Vincenza Golding

Principal Tumuaki

Last week our year 6 Catholic Character leaders and Outreach leaders had an amazing opportunity to be involved in a Caritas Social Justice Zoom. This was led by Michael and Justine from Caritas and we were joined by a few other schools from around Aotearoa. Our children contributed wonderfully with some very thoughtful ideas about how our faith calls us to action and how we can bring hope to others.

Prayer during Lent - Make Family Prayer a Priority

5 Suggestions for Family Prayer

The frantic pace of family life can often mean that prayer gets lost in the shuffle. Here are five simple and practical suggestions to encourage family pray more:

When you rise from bed, get down on your knees
Try this method for morning prayer: Put your bedroom slippers or shoes under your bed at the end of the day. Each morning, while on your knees retrieving your footwear, say a quick prayer offering the whole day to God.
Communicate with God whenever you climb into the car
Many families spend a whole lot of their time in the family vehicle. As you buckle up, say a quick prayer that you will be aware of God’s presence wherever you are going and whatever you are doing.
Place a prayer jar in the kitchen
Keep a jar in the kitchen in which each family member, each day, places a note listing a “special intention” that others in the family can pray for. Before each family member goes to bed, he or she pulls a note from the jar and prays for that need.
Say Thank You before you eat (GRACE)
Before each meal, take a few moments to thank God who provides all that you need and blesses you with the lives of those around the table. Try mixing up 'set' prayers with spontaneous prayers, silent prayers and sung prayers.
Pray when people or events upset you (PRAYERS)
If you want a reliable way to pray more each day, make a habit of saying a short prayer whenever someone irritates you. A quick “Help me, God” is sufficient. You’ll never run out of opportunities!

March 2025 Retreat Information for Parents from the Sisters of St Joseph Aotearoa New Zealand

REFLECTIVE WORKSHOP: The Humility and Gentleness of Jesus

Date: Saturday 8 March; 9.30am - 1pm

Venue: Meeting Room 2

Leader: Eamon Butler

The practice of Humility and gentleness are central to Christian spirituality. Jesus is the model of humility and gentleness. He invites his followers to become likewise. Why does Jesus encourage these virtues and why are they so important? Together, we will have an opportunity to grow in our understanding of humility and gentleness with the goal of cultivating these virtues into spiritual practices.

March

CELEBRATING ST JOSEPH: Ritual and Light Tea
Date: Wednesday 19 March; 5.30pm

Venue: Chapel

Leaders: Sisters and Josephite Companions

A time of prayer to honour Joseph and how his life is an inspiration for us today.

SILENT RETREAT: Hospitality of the Trinity
Date: 21 – 23 March (Friday evening to Sunday lunch).
Venue: Mary MacKillop Retreat Centre
Facilitator: Eamon Butler
Cost: $320

How can we live in the midst of a world marked by fear, hatred and violence and not be destroyed by it? Henri Nouwen says that contemplation of the Icon of the Holy Trinity offers us an opportunity to live in harmony and peace with
ourselves and the world. This retreat will offer you prayerful time to reflect on the three persons of the Trinity and an invitation to live your life from a place of safety and peace in the life of God. Contact email: eamon_david@hotmail.com

Field Trip to the New Zealand Maritime Museum

Last week, as part of this term’s Social Sciences unit, our students were lucky enough to visit the New Zealand Maritime Museum. Our students are exploring the theme of Journeys, with the following focuses:

Years 1 and 2: My Story, Our Story

Personal family history, collective stories and community connections.

Years 3 and 4: Voyaging

The skillful and deliberate exploration of the Pacific and arrival of Māori to Aotearoa.

Years 5 and 6: Migration

An inquiry into the migration of various groups to Aotearoa and the shape of New Zealand’s identity.

While at the Museum, we took part in the Ara Moana Oceans Road programme, which consisted of a one-hour classroom session, followed by time to explore the wonderful galleries on site. Our Senior School students also participated in the Waterfront Trail, where they visited various sites outside the Museum, and sketched what they could see.

Among the highlights for our students were building our own mini waka, watching the firing of the midday cannon, and learning how early explorers navigated using the stars. Please scroll further down to view photos.

In order for our children to attend, the Museum required a very low adult : student ratio. This trip was made possible by the generous support of the following families:

Anthony family, Black family, Brydon family, Calapuz family, Calkin family, Choi family (Jake, Reuben), Choi family (Roy), Costello family, Cunningham/Tan family, Elika family, Ellis family, Fernando family (Himeth), Fong family, Ford family, George family, Harman family, Hibberd family, Itoh family, Kennedy family, Kumarga/Setiobudi family, Lamont family, Landers family, Lee/Na family, Leong family, Liow/Wong family, Noakes family, Odiar family, O’Grady family, Reilly/Munro family, Reyburn family, Rocque family, Rodrigues/Kumar family, Romero/Newberg family, Saturnino/Strong family, Saunders/Helsby family, Sia family, Suriyadi family, Tapene/Todd family, Tewarapperum/Nawulla family, Waalkens family, Wong family, Yap family, Zazulak-Baker family.

If you weren’t able to volunteer this time, please keep an eye on the newsletter for upcoming opportunities to “Do Your Bit” to support our fantastic learners!

Senior Swimming Sports

Yesterday we had great success with our senior school participating in our annual swimming sports at Sacred Heart College. Our students displayed wonderful sportsmanship and cheered their peers on. It was also an opportunity for some children to experience swimming in a deep diving pool for the first time as well.

Thank you to our wonderful parents who gave up their time to ensure our tamariki could experience days like this. We appreciate all that you do for us.

An email will be sent out shortly to parents of children who qualified for zones.

Monday Swim Squad (Seniors)

Swim squad on Monday continues to give our senior children an opportunity to extend their swimming skills and swimming mileage, particularly, preparing them for our Remuera Zones. Any senior is welcome to join on a Monday at lunchtime.

Junior Swimming Sports

We look forward to seeing our junior school in action next Friday 21st March at St Michael's. An email will be sent out early next week clarifying details and timings of the day.

St Michael's Football in School

SMCS are introducing a new user pays 'Football in School' programme for girls and boys.

SMCS Netball Registration 2025 (Y3 – Y6 students)

If your child is interested in playing netball for SMCS in 2025 please note the following information:

Registrations are open to students in Year 3-6
If you register your child to play for St Michael’s, it is expected that you will attend all games (other than sickness)
You must be able to arrange transport for your child to and from the games.
In addition to weekly games there is typically one weekly training at St Michael’s. The time is usually agreed by consensus within each team.
Games are played on Thursday afternoons at the Auckland Netball Centre in St Johns at either 3.50, 4.50 or 5.50pm. The draw is released weekly, usually on Tuesday.
The season is scheduled to start on 15th May and finish on 11th September 2025
Fees are approximately $95 (TBC) for the season (there may be a small additional cost for umpiring fees in the Year 5/6 grades).
St Michael’s provides uniforms.

St Michael’s relies on parents to coach and manage teams. Each team must have a coach and manager. If no one volunteers to perform these roles then the team will not be able to play.

Year 3 & 4 need to have on-court assistance to assist with, and umpire at each game.

It is recommended that there are only 7 (max 8) players per team in order that each player gets enough game time.

Registrations are on a first come first served basis. Priority is given to students who played the season before.

To register your child please complete the form at the link below before 17th March 2025:

Please resubmit the registration even if you filled the previous link: SMCS Netball Registration 2025

Any questions please contact Stephenie Wong: netballsmcs@gmail.com

We look forward to another successful season for St Michael’s!

Rippa Rugby

Thank you to Jess from College Rifles who came in for our last taster session. The children enjoyed learning some important skills about working in a confined space and working together to eliminate players. These are all wonderful skills that can be integrated into others sports.

Kia ora St Michael’s families,

Movie Night was a great success!

We had such a great night with many of you last Thursday, 6th March at the PTA’s first event - Movie Night. Thanks to you, it was a sold out event! We really enjoyed meeting you and your guests. Bridget Jones did not disappoint, there were tears, laughter and fun on the night. Perhaps we can do another Movie Night when another opportunity arises? Watch this space!

Some photos from the Movie Night

March PTA Meeting & 2025 Events

Our next PTA meeting is on Monday, 17th March 2025, 7.00pm in the Staff Room. At this meeting, we will be sharing some findings from our review to date. We thank everyone who has kindly given us their time, ideas and feedback, we appreciate them! This has helped us form our event plan for 2025. The review also gave us an opportunity to change
some of the ways that we will be approaching these events. Come and join us to find out more on the night.

Please note that there will not be an online link for this meeting as the meeting space is not set up to do this well. If you are unable to come along to the meeting please send us your apologies at ptasmcs@gmail.com so that we make sure we send you a copy of our minutes to you after the meeting.

Pizza Fridays

Please remember to order pizzas for your child(ren) by 9am on Friday mornings to avoid them having no pizza for lunch. Cancellations are also accepted by 9am.

Thank you to the following families for helping with pizza and ice blocks on 7 March and 14 March:

Landers (Rm04 and Rm10)
Na (Rm09)
Rocque (Rm06)
Rodrigues Cunha (Rm07)
Rothwell (Rm06)
Sacro (Rm03)

A reminder for families scheduled on pizza/ice block duty on Fridays between 12.30pm to 1.30pm in the next two weeks:

21 March:

Lee (Jake, Rm05 and Reuben, Rm10)
Jean (Rm04)
Kennedy (Rm06)
Itoh (Rm09)

28 March:

Angland (Rm08)
Anthony (Rm06)
Ashford (Rm03)
Barling (Rm02 and Rm07)

All the above can only be achieved because everyone in this community does their bit to help. We are very blessed!
Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari kē he toa takitini

This whakataukī acknowledges collective effort, that one's success is due to the support and contribution of many. Just as it takes a village to raise a child, it takes community/a team to enable an individual's success.

Nāku noa, nā,

SMCS PTA Team

Religious Education & Catholic Character Advisor

The Diocese has a vacancy for a Religious Education and Catholic Character Advisor in our Catholic Education Services.

THE KEY RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE POSITION ARE:

To promote the mission of Catholic schools to provide an Encounter with Christ, Growth in Knowledge of Christ, and Witness to Christ.
To develop, strengthen, and support the leadership role of the Directors of Religious Studies & HOD’s RE in Catholic schools in the Diocese.
To provide professional development, formation, and resources for teachers in Religious Education and Catholic Special Character.
To work nationally with NCRS and other Diocesan Religious Education advisors.
To work collaboratively with other members of the Catholic Education Services team.

REQUIREMENTS OF THIS POSITION:

A commitment to honouring the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the commitment of the Aotearoa New Zealand Catholic Church to bi-cultural partnership.
A thorough knowledge of, and commitment to contemporary teaching practice in Catholic Religious Education.
A tertiary qualification in Religious Education or Theology (or commitment to undertake appropriate study).
A knowledge of and empathy for the diverse ethnic groups within the Catholic schools in the Auckland diocese.
Hold current NZ Teacher registration, which can be maintained in this role.
Experience in teaching Religious Education and/or leading Catholic Special Character in a secondary school.

The position will commence in Term 2 2025 or by negotiation. We are open to flexibility of the position, for the right candidate, it could be full or part-time or filled by contract or secondment for the remainder of 2025.

To view the position description, please click here.

For further information and an application form please contact:
Philip Mahoney, Manager, Catholic Education Services
Phone: 029 200 7993
Email: philipm@cda.org.nz

Applications (by way of a CV, cover letter, and completed application form) close on Friday 28th February, 2025.

Newsletter - 14 March 2025

In This Issue

Tēnā koutou katoa St Michael’s Catholic School Community,

Director of Religious Studies

Student Curriculum

SchoolDocs Policies

2025 Sports News/Events

News and Upcoming Events

St Michael's Parish News/Events

Job Vacancies

Celebrating our Past Students’ Successes!

Tēnā koutou katoa St Michael’s Catholic School Community,

Swimming Sports Success & Upcoming Junior Event

School Uniform

Outreach Update

Teacher Only Days - Updated

School Mass Sunday 16 March

Director of Religious Studies

March 2025 Retreat Information for Parents from the Sisters of St Joseph Aotearoa New Zealand

** March **

Student Curriculum

Field Trip to the New Zealand Maritime Museum

SchoolDocs Policies

Policies for SMCS Community to review for Term 1

2025 Sports News/Events

Senior Swimming Sports

Monday Swim Squad (Seniors)

Junior Swimming Sports

St Michael's Football in School

SMCS Netball Registration 2025 (Y3 – Y6 students)

Rippa Rugby

News and Upcoming Events

March PTA Meeting & 2025 Events

Pizza Fridays

St Michael's Parish News/Events

St Michael's Parish Sacramental Programme 2025

St Michael’s Foodbank Special EASTER GIVING Drive

Job Vacancies

Religious Education & Catholic Character Advisor

Celebrating our Past Students’ Successes!

Important Dates

Whole School/Parish Mass (followed by M/Tea in the St Mary MacKillop Hall)

10:00am - 11:00am

Monte Cecilia Housing Trust Easter Egg Collection

All Day

PTA Meeting (staffroom)

7:00pm - 8:30pm

Class Mass - Room 8, 2 & 6

9:15am - 10:00am

Junior Swimming Sports at SMCS pool

All Day

Board Meeting

7:00pm - 9:00pm

Whole School Assembly (led by Room 4)

2:00pm - 3:00pm

Class Mass - Room 9, 3 &4

9:15am - 10:00am

Class Mass - Room 7, 10 & 5

9:15am - 10:00am

Washing of the Feet Liturgy

2:15pm - 2:45pm

Sports Assembly

2:00pm - 2:55pm

ANZAC Day (NZ Holiday)

All Day

Teacher Only Day (No School)

All Day

Teacher Only Day (No School)

All Day

Teacher Only Day (No School)

All Day

Community Notices

March