Kia ora kātoa,
The spring blossoms are in bloom around our Sancta Maria College and remind us that springtime is a time of rejuvenation and growth, and of new beginnings. It is a wonderful time for all of us to take a moment to leave the busyness and stress of Term 3 behind and appreciate our beautiful school and welcome new opportunities.
This week the school community elected a new Board of Trustees to serve our kura. We offer heartfelt thanks to our current Board of Trustees, in particular, our current Presiding Member, Warren Brabant, for his service over the last six years.
This week we bade farewell to Ms Moore, our Principal of ten years, celebrating her retirement and thanking her for her service at Sancta Maria College and to wider education over 40 years to teaching. We also welcomed the appointment of a new Principal, Mr. Andrew McKenzie, who joins us next year.
The heart of our school is our Catholic Faith. It was wonderful for our young people to be inspired earlier in the year to learn about the Blessed Carlo Acutis and then to celebrate his canonisation on 7 September. During this time, we hosted the Eucharistic Miracles Exhibition, including those attributed to St. Carlos, which all our students had the opportunity to visit during September.
It has been a pleasure this term, to have heard about the outstanding behaviour, good manners, and kindness of our students while on excursions outside of the school, from members of the wider community. Our behavioural expectations for students are based on the values and virtues of our mother, Mary. It is heartening to know that our students are recognisable by the way in which they live the tenets of our faith, both inside and outside of school. It is also a reminder that when in uniform, students are always representing Sancta Maria College and our faith.
Term 3 is always an exceptionally busy term, and our students have been active in our community in many ways. Our service programme is flourishing, with more than half of our students already at the point of gaining their first service badge (five hours). Service is central to our Catholic faith and values. I would encourage you to talk as a whānau about the service activities that your child is undertaking and, perhaps, whether you as a family would like to find a way that you can serve together. The first Tuesday of the holidays we have tree planting of a ‘Rain Garden’ taking place on our campus – this is a wonderful example of how students can get involved.
Another form of participation in our school life is through co-curricular activities. Most of our students participate in our large co-curricular programme through both the summer and winter months, culminating in a record number of students attending Tournament Week and AIMS Games – you can read later in the newsletter about our best ever AIMS Games finish. A big thank you to our Sports Department, parents, students, and teachers, whose help is invaluable through their service of coaching and managing.
Our ākonga have not only been participating and succeeding in the sporting arena, but also in the cultural life of the school. We have had outstanding results in the Auckland Jazz and Blues High School competition, the annual KBB Festival, and also Stand Up, Stand Out. Students have achieved success in both South Eastern Zone speech and debating competitions.
The growth of Mātauranga Māori at Sancta Maria College was evident in our celebration of Te Wiki o te Reo Māori. We celebrated 50 years of this movement with our own ‘he wā tuku reo Māori’ (Māori Language Moment) on Tuesday afternoon. It was also a humbling experience to watch all staff and students performing our Hato Māria ‘Hoea Mai’ haka to honour Ms Moore’s years of service on the same day.
If was pleasing to meet with many of our Pacific families at our Pacific Hui this term. They engaged with the whakapapa of our Navigation Time and found out more about Pacific success and the pathway into NCEA.
We look forward to seeing you all at our Twilight Cultural Festival on Friday 10 October.
Kia tau te rangimārie ki a koutou.
With blessings.
Senior Leadership Team