Tēnā koutou katoa, parents, caregivers and whānau
Warm greetings to our Sancta Maria College community! I am thinking of you all as Auckland is once again in a Level 4 lockdown. Despite the initial announcement being very sudden, it was encouraging to see that across the nation everyone followed the lead of our Prime Minister and did what was needed to keep safe.
Our staff are amazing and do an incredible job and we are thankful for the way they have seamlessly stepped back into our home learning systems and routines. This is something that many students will be familiar with from last year. For our Year 7 families, we encourage you to reach out to your child’s homeroom teacher as your first point of contact. Our aim is to ensure all our students feel supported and connected during their home learning. It is vitally important that students join in the online learning each day. Keeping connected with their teacher and other classmates is helpful to maintaining good wellbeing. Please remind students to turn their camera on please.
Staff Update
- Carol Du Blom – we welcome back Carol from maternity leave. Carol has taken up the position of Acting HOD English.
- Jeremy Adams – Jeremey joins us from Glendowie College and has started this week at Sancta Maria College in the role of Director of Sport.
We wish you both well!
Exams and NCEA
Recently a number of announcements were made in relation to NCEA and exams. Please read the NCEA Update for all the latest information including important changes to examinations.
As you are aware, significant changes to the NCEA system are expected over the next years. Sancta Maria College teachers have been fully engaging in this work. Engagement and discussions are taking place across all learning areas to gain an understanding of what this will look like for our college.
It is an especially busy time for our senior school students who are completing assignments as well as preparing for exams. Despite being in lockdown, our capable teaching staff are dedicated to ensuring all students have the support they need to achieve their academic and learning requirements. Please read an update from our Senior School.
Junior School
As always, the Junior School has been a hive of activity! Students have been developing their written and oral skills by working on speeches during English. There have also been a number of enriching out-of-the-classroom experiences such as the ‘Ballet in a Box’ trip and the Science Roadshow. For all the details and more please read the Junior School Update
Special Character
Due to the snap lockdown, we were unable to meet as a college to celebrate the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This Feast Day honours Mary, the mother of Jesus taken body and soul into heavenly glory, as befits the Mother of God. This celebration would have been led by Father Kevin SM and attended by Father Ezio SM and other special guests. I would like to thank our Special Character team for all the preparation put towards making this day a memorable occasion.
Fortunately, many families were able to celebrate with their own parishes due to the Feast Day falling on the previous Sunday. Father Craig’s homily is available to view on the St Luke’s Parish facebook. You can also read more from our Special Character Team here.
Strength for this Challenging Time
We pray for your love and compassion to abound
as we walk through this challenging season.
We ask for wisdom for those who bear the load
of making decisions with widespread consequences.
We pray for those who are suffering with sickness
and all who are caring for them.
We ask for protection for the elderly and vulnerable
to not succumb to the risks of the virus.
We pray for misinformation to be curbed
that fear may take no hold in hearts and minds.
As we exercise the good sense that you in your mercy provide,
may we also approach each day in faith and peace,
trusting in the truth of your goodness towards us. Amen.
Awards
It has also been a very exciting time as the college has recently been recognised for success with a range of awards:
Zero Waste Awards
Congratulations to Debbie McCreath and the SMC Environmental Team for being a finalist in the 2021 Tāmaki Makaurau Zero Waste Awards. This award is a reflection of Debbie’s ongoing commitment to educating and encouraging our school community on environmental initiatives for several years. Well deserved, Debbie!
KBB Music Festival and Auckland Jazz Competition
Once again Stuart Gibbs and Thomas Cho have worked tirelessly to prepare our music students for performances in both the KBB Music Festival and the Auckland Jazz Competition. These events are always the highlight of the year for our Music Department and this year did not disappoint! There are too many awards to mention here so please check out the Music Update for a full list. Well done to all students who participated in these events!
Catholic Caring Awards
Well done to the following students: Alexandra Lazatin, Teresa Croker, Abby Tay-Morrison, Mikaela Killip, Nasya Chin and Isabella Chan.
Theme Weeks
Every year we have a number of special theme weeks to highlight the importance of certain departments and initiatives across the college. So far this term we have had
- Maths week – including the ever-popular Mathex!
- Science week– Years 7-10 participated in the Science Roadshow which included two live shows and hand-on exhibits.
- Cook Island Language week – thank you especially to Prue Rehu for teaching staff and students alike how to create beautiful ei-katu (head lei)!
- Enviroweek – despite Enviroweek being cut short by the lockdown a number of great ideas were implemented by the team including an e.waste collection
Physical Education & Sports
Twenty-nine Physical Education studies students and 3 staff attended the annual PE camp held in Raurimu. This week-long trip involved a number of activities including mountaineering, skiing and caving. Check-out the full article and photos here.
Last but certainly not least our SMC sports teams have also been achieving success across the board! Well done to the following teams:
- Year 7 Boys & Year 8 Boys Netball teams who came first and second respectively in the South Eastern Zone competition. Both teams have qualified for the Auckland Inter-school competition.
- 6th Grade Rugby team continue to have a good season, recently beating Macleans College 41-0 at home.
- U15 Hockey – just before lockdown were set to play against Macleans for a spot in the final of the Counties Manukau Junior Girls grade!
Well done to all teams! We look forward to being able to cheer you on again in person sometime soon.
Ngā mihi nui and Blessings
Louise Moore
Principal
