Principal’s Message

Luke 1: 37 – 38
For nothing will be impossible with God. Then Mary said, ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word’.

Tēnā koutou,

On Friday we enjoyed our Feast Day Mass celebrating the Visitation. Mary’s response to God’s will reminds us of the power of saying yes even when we are faced with doubt, uncertainty and fear. Trusting in God and saying yes to opportunities like Mary did, and supporting each other like cousins Mary and Elizabeth did, are things we can do in our daily lives as we venerate Mary’s brave actions.

 

 

 

 

 

Our Feast Day was an excellent celebration of our school community. Our ministers of the word, ministers of the Eucharist, altar servers, and choir singers are all students; they are wonderful ambassadors of our school and make our school masses such a powerful experience. Well done to all our students involved in last week’s Mass.

 

 

 

 

 

Our Mass was followed by our House talent quest, again, it was a great opportunity for our students to shine. We had 140 students on stage across eight House performances. Well done to all the singers and dancers who participated.

You may have seen in the media recently that the Ministry of Education has confirmed their commitment to large scale educational changes over the next four years. An emphasis is now on a ‘knowledge-rich’ curriculum, combined with teaching this new curriculum in an explicit way. Information from the Ministry of Education on these two new initiatives can be found here:

I am excited by these changes and believe that our young people will benefit from learning a rich and varied curriculum that is used across all schools in New Zealand. It will also mean assessment is more consistent and rigorous for all students regardless of what school they attend; these new initiatives will help take the lottery out of NZ’s education system. The recent budget commitment to trades and practical subjects is also good news for schools, and for those students involved in practical based technology subjects.

Well done to the many students who are involved in our co-curricular programme. Our winter sports programme is in full swing, as is a myriad of cultural, music, and academic co-curricular activities. Wednesday afternoons are a particularly busy time at Sancta Maria College – it is a pleasure to walk through the school at 4pm and see our students involved in football games, badminton games, netball training, and the rehearsals of cultural and music groups. What a wealth of opportunities there are at our school! I congratulate the hundreds of students who take advantage of these opportunities.

Students can’t make the most of their talents and the opportunities on offer here if they are not present at school. Unfortunately, a growing number of students are missing days of learning due to being taken out of school for holidays during term time. Valuable learning time, social and co-curricular connections, and assessment opportunities, are all put in jeopardy when students aren’t at school. Attendance is the most important way students stay connected to their learning. We also use attendance as a factor in determining leadership positions and academic and leadership awards. With 12 weeks holiday available to students during the year there is no reason for students to take leave during term time. The best place for young people to be is in school.

Finally, in response to an increasing number of cyber threats, we have recently increased our filtering and monitoring system that helps protect students while using the school’s internet network. The Linewize system allows us to monitor computer activity, block harmful or inappropriate content, and flag attempts to bypass security safeguards. This means students’ online activity is monitored while they are connected to our school network; monitoring does not occur once students are off-site. The new Linewize system allows us to provide a safe and focused digital learning environment, while supporting students to develop responsible online habits.

Kind regards, and may faith be our compass as we honour and try to emulate Mary’s actions when we face challenges, uncertainty and doubt in our daily lives.

Nga mihi,
Andrew Mackenzie
Principal

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