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01 Haratua/May 2023 Edition
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Marcellin College Newsletter
Rāhina/Monday 1st Haratua/May 2023
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Message from the Tumuaki/Principal -
Ms. Maria Prescott
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Easter greetings and welcome back to another action-filled term! It was great to see our ākonga and staff reconnecting after the two week holiday, and settling into the expected routines to be ready to learn for Term Two.
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The holiday was also full of action for our Marcellin whānau with different events including the Duke of Edinburgh camp, Outward Bound, sports tournaments, Anzac Day and our school production practices to name a few. You can read more about this in later sections of the newsletter.
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We welcomed three new staff to our Marcellin whānau this term with an all staff liturgy on the first day:
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Penina Lafo’ou - English Faculty
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Weiyao Wu - Maths Faculty
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Adele Turnbull- Ara/Gateway Coordinator
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At our school assembly today, we honoured Our Lady, the Mother of God, to mark the beginning of the month of May, the month of Mary. Our Head boy Azael read the Magnificat of Mary and our Head girl Tetrina shared a Marian prayer. The Magnificat is a reading of hope, of gratitude and of joy from a humble servant, our Blessed Mother Mary. Marcellin Champagnat’s relationship with Mary was marked by a deep and total trust in her, as the “Good Mother,’’ because it was her work that he undertook. As he wrote in a letter to Bishop Pompallier (27 May 1838), Without Mary we are nothing and with Mary we have everything, because Mary always has her Son within her arms or in her heart. This belief remained constant all through Marcellin’s life. Jesus and Mary were the treasure on which Marcellin had learned to place his own heart.
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This is our call as Marist disciples, to place Jesus in our own heart, just as Mary did. To Jesus through Mary. We do this as a Marcellin whānau when we pray together and give regularly to those in greater need, as well as our care, time and service to others. We do this when we go without delay to our friends and whānau and other people we meet, bring them news of justice and faithful mercy of God. We become the face of Mary to them.
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As we begin the new term, we pray for our Mother Mary’s intercessions and prayers, that we continue to follow in the way of Mary with our aroaro/presence and care for others, and that we see each other as God sees us, with unconditional love and support.
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Ngā manaakitanga Marcellin whānau
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Upcoming Key Dates
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School ID Photos - Rāmere/Friday 5 Haratua/May 2023
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All ākonga are expected to attend school in correct full school uniform, for our annual school ID photos held this week on Rāmere/Friday 5th Haratua/May 2023.
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PPTA Industrial Action For Term Two:
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PPTA industrial action continues this term which includes:
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1.the continuation of the relief ban for kaiako/teachers who are union members
2. a ban on kaiako union members attending meetings outside of regular school hours (this may have an effect on co-curricular activities such as sports trainings)
3. Rostering home of year levels beginning this week:
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Week 2
Rāpare/Thursday 4 May – Year 11
Week 3
Rātu/Tuesday 9 May – Year 12
Rāpare/Thursday 11 May – Auckland Strike day (school closed for instruction for all year levels)
Week 4
Rātu/Tuesday 16 May – Year 9
Rāapa/Wednesday 17 May – Year 10
Week 5
Rāpare/Thursday 25 May – Year 11
Week 6
Rātu/Tuesday 30 May – Year 13
Rāpare/Thursday 1 June – Year 12
Week 7
Rātu/Tuesday 6 June – Year 10
Rāpare/Thursday 8 June – Year 9
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Important Notice
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Marcellin College School Board
Casual vacancy – Parent Representative
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At a close of the 28 days to fill the vacancy by selection, with no eligible voters on the school roll requesting a by-election, I hereby declare the following duly elected:
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Special Character
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Year 9 Retreat
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Our year 9 ākonga enjoyed spending time together and learning more deeply about the Our Father karakia taught by Jesus to his disciples. As we explored each petition/request in this prayer, we recognised the powerful message and how it encompasses everything that we need to pray for- that God is holy and our provider, God loves us and forgives us and we are called to do the same. It was a great experience for the Year 9s to gather with the St John Vianney community in their weekday Mass. It was a pleasure to accompany our students on their retreat and help them encounter Jesus through prayer.
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The Month of Mary
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During the month of May, we especially recognise the gift of Mary as the Mother of God. Mother Mary holds an extra special place in our hearts and the Marist charism. St Marcellin Champagnat was one of the 12 seminaries who pledged to teach the Gospel and did so in front of the statue of Mary in 1816 in Lyon, France. Mother Mary is a taonga in our Catholic tradition and she is an inspiration for us all to be courageous and respond to God’s call with faith and humility.
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Sacramental Programme 2023
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For all whānau who wish to enroll their student in our Sacramental Programme 2023. Please register your students name at the school office via email or in person. Our Programme will start in Term 2 and the Sacramental Mass will take place on the 12th of September 2023.
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Pray Mass
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Ako/Learning
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Term Two will be another busy term for ako/learning. Today all Year 7, 8, and 9 ākonga began their second set of tasters, allowing them to experience a wide range of subjects that will be available to them as they move into Year 10 and then senior school. In Week 8, full reports will be emailed home for all ākonga (Years 7 - 13), then in Week 9, we have two progress hui afternoons where appointments can be made to discuss the progress of your tamaiti/child with their kaiako/teachers. Progress hui afternoons will run from 2 pm - 6.30 pm, on Rāapa/Wednesday 21 Pipiri/June and Rāpare/Thursday 22 Pipiri/June. There will also be an optional NCEA Whānau Hui held on Rāapa/Wednesday 21 Pipiri/June at 5 pm which will discuss how NCEA works, as well as endorsements, University Entrance, and the importance of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) subjects. More information will be sent directly to your email about this in the coming weeks.
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Blake Explorers
The Blake Explorers camp is sponsored by the Sir Peter Blake Trust that was established in 2004 and is dedicated to continuing his environmental leadership legacy. 20 of our Year 7 and 8 ākonga were given the opportunity to explore the marine environment through activities such as snorkeling, surfing, nature trails, and other outdoor activities. They learned about their responsibilities as a steward/kaitiaki and respect for Tangaroa, as taught in their Religious Education and Health & Physical Education classes. Despite the chilly, windy 6-7degrees morning, our staff and ākonga enjoyed snorkeling to find some kina for the team to eat.
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This camp had a lot of firsts; first time on the Harbour bridge, first time in a wet suit, first camp away from family, first kina, first time surfing, first time snorkeling and more. Ngā mihi koutou to Mrs. Ward and Mr. Goundar who organised and supervised our ākonga.
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Outward Bound
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Outward Bound was definitely an experience that I am incredibly proud of completing. Outward Bound not only challenged me physically but emotionally and spiritually. The activities that we had to do and the exercising (that was compulsory) had helped push me beyond what I thought I could do. Not only did I return with self confidence, becoming physically fit had taught me to always think positive things as this is what would help me keep moving. Hiking, sailing, kayaking and running was incredibly hard, especially since we live in a generation where we are influenced to stay home, on our devices.
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Time management was also an important thing at Outward Bound so sleeping late and sleeping in definitely challenged my body and mind in the beginning of the course. In order to move forward at Outward Bound, we were required to work as a team and not individually and this is what had challenged me mentally/emotionally. Working as a team required a lot of trust, empathy and communication except I had lacked all 3 of these things in my everyday life. But throughout the course, the teamwork made me realize how trusting new people and communicating with them wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It made me realize how "change" can also benefit me mentally and physically. Because we weren't allowed books, I wasn't able to read my bible before saying my prayers every night. So memorising a lot of bible verses was the closest I could get to reading my bible. Saying my prayers every night was easy but Outward Bound had challenged the values that I stuck by daily. We were associated with many different people from different backgrounds, cultures, religions e.t.c which had me questioning the values that I have and why I have them but it also helped me realize why my values were important to me and why religion is such a big thing in my life.
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There were 2 atheists in my cabin who asked me questions about my religion (Christianity) and what the differences are between Christianity, Catholic, Mormon, Jehovah's Witness e.t.c, when we all surround the same person who is God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. I was able to teach them about my religion and what the differences were between the 4. It was interesting for me since I hadn't really thought of their questions yet I had so many answers for them. I loved talking to them about it and the 2 people thanked me for teaching them. One of them even said they'd start reading the bible to understand our religion better! I got to learn more about other religions and what their values were but at the end of the Outward Bound course I came out still a proud Christian.
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We spent a lot of time around nature which helped me appreciate the world God gave us. I will forever treasure the views we got to witness! During Outward Bound, we got to serve others and others got to serve us but there was a lot of serving each other! It was beautiful to witness a bunch of people my age get along so well with each other! Although we were all strangers to one another, we talked and treated each other like we were all one big family. We did service outside of Outward Bound for people who needed cleaning on their land and we ended up getting Pizza in return! It was definitely worth it especially since the food we were served at Outward Bound didn't require a lot of junk food haha. My cabin served dinner one night and we decided to sing a song for everyone. We made sure that the song we sang was easy for our audience to sing along so it wasn't boring for them! I attached the video to this email, they posted it on their instagram page. Throughout the course, we sailed and hiked to different places and everytime we did, our instructors would always tell us that the land we were standing on was a gift to Outward Bound. Or they'd tell us that Outward Bound did a trade with the owners of the land where if we use their land, we do service for them by keeping it clean. It taught me so much about giving and taking. And what the reward can be when you’ve changed someone’s life. Outward Bound rewarded all 14 of us a badge and certificate to show our completion of the Outward Bound course. I wear the badge with pride on my uniform and have hung the certificate up on my wall. Because of the people who paid for my scholarship and because of Marcellin College, I was able to experience beautiful things and meet beautiful people. Thank you so much. I am forever grateful.
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Duke of Edinburgh
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Challenging, fun, and new: these three words summed up the experiences of ākonga who went to Motutapu Island during the first week of the holidays to complete their practice adventurous journey for their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award.
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On Tuesday the 11th of April, twenty-three ākonga from Year 10 to Year 13, accompanied by four staff (Mr. D'Souza, Mrs. Olsen, Ms. Stenberg and Mr. Haslam) travelled by ferry to Rangitoto Island. Carrying packs loaded with warm clothes, tents and food, we had beautiful weather walking along the Rangitoto coastline to the crossing at Motutapu Island. Grey clouds loomed over Motutapu, and we had about twenty minutes of heavy rain. However, the sky quickly cleared, and we enjoyed mostly clear and sunny weather for the rest of the trip. Camping at Home Bay on Motutapu Island was a highlight for many, especially gazing up at the stars and sitting at the beach looking across at the Auckland skyline. On Wednesday, a small group led by Mrs. Olsen climbed to the summit of Rangitoto and explored the lava caves, before joining the rest of the group to wait for the ferry ride back to Auckland. As staff on the trip, we were very impressed with how every member of the group supported each other throughout the two days, despite the fact that tramping, cooking on a gas stove, and camping in a small tent was a new experience to most.
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Celebrating Ākonga Success
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Special Olympics
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Congratulations to Year 8 ākonga Toby Leech. Over the holidays Toby competed in the Special Olympics swimming meet. He placed first in 25m backstroke, 2nd in 25m Freestyle and swam the 2nd leg of the 4x25m relay for his Howick/Pakuranga club and they won. Ka mau te wehi Toby!
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Halberg Games
During the school holidays Blessing Mata attended the Halberg games at Kings College, Otahuhu over 3 days. It’s a sports event for children with all sorts of disabilities.
Blessing competed in the Athletics section for Discus, Shotput and Club throw and he came 1st Place for all 3 Sports. Blessing got best throw of the day for his age group for Club throw at 22.60m.
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Co-Curricular
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NZ Rugby League District 9s Competition
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Congratulations to Atelea Filo (U18s Boys) and Elizabeth Ngahe (U18s White Girls) for being selected for the Auckland under 18s team. They played in the NZRL DISTRICT 9s competition in the second week of the school holidays. Atelea’s team played an awesome game with his team making grand final finishing first and taking home the Gold. Elizabeth’s team also making it to the grand final taking home the Silver medal.
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Well done to our 2 ākonga for an awesome weekend of league .
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Aotearoa | New Zealand Rugby League Development
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Congratulations to Atelea Filo (One New Zealand Warriors U17) and Bernard Ngungutau (Pasifika Aotearoa Collective U18) who have been selected to represent the Rugby League development teams. They both played very well in the curtain raiser at Mount Smart Stadium during the holiday and we look forward to hearing more of their successes!
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Auckland Rugby League U17 Girls Tour 2023 - Australia
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Congratulations to Mary Jane Taito, who made the Auckland Rugby touring team which went to Australia during the holidays, she was also named as the Team Captain.
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Senior Netball
Our senior teams are well underway for the 2023 netball season. Trials were held last term with an impressive turn out of senior girls and we now have 3 senior teams.
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Our Gold team played in a pre-season tournament on Sunday the 23rd of April and came away with 3 wins out of 5 games. This was a great opportunity for them to get back into the game and reflect on what they will work on as a team.
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Saturday grading games have started at Auckland Netball Centre with our Gold and White teams both coming away with wins and lots of learnings to work on. Thank you to our staff, coaches and supporters for encouraging the girls on the sidelines. We look forward to your ongoing support throughout the season.
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Reminder that netball training times are Tuesday and Thursdays from 3:30-5pm and game day on Saturdays.
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Look out for the upcoming fundraisers to support our team going to the UNISS tournament in Term Three. #rapuitepai #seekthebest
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Training and Game times
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All training's and game times could be found on Marcellin College Sports Instagram so if you haven't already then jump online and give us a follow to stay up to date with everything sports.
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Marcellin College Sports, Searching for Team Managers & Coaches
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Would you like to join the Marcellin College Sports Whānau? We are currently searching for whānau members to join our teams as managers and coaches. If you would be keen to volunteer and help out a team please get in touch with the Director of Sports on goundard@marcellin.school.nz
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Communication
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Parent Portal
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An email has been sent to whānau and ākonga with the username and password details for accessing the parent portal via the link below.
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Social Media Links
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Download the Marcellin College School App
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KAMAR parent portal
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Pastoral
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The Marcellin Way - Code of Conduct
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Marcellin College ākonga are expected to always act in a manner which acknowledges and upholds the mana and tapu of themselves, God, others, their property and their environment.
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Marcellin College ākonga will always strive to uphold our Marist Pillars of Wairua o te whānau (Family Spirit), Ngawari (Simplicity), Ki te huarahi o Maria (In the way of Mary), Aroaro (Presence) and Aroha ki te mahi (Love of work) in all they say and do. Their behaviour needs to bring mana to themselves, their whānau and to Marcellin College.
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This code of conduct applies to daily life at the college, school trips, school events and especially in public and online.
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Your rights as ākonga at Marcellin College:
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Learn and be taught without disruption and interruption.
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Learn and be taught in a safe environment.
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Be treated with respect and Te mana o te Tangata (human dignity) which everyone possesses as a creation of God.
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Have pride in yourself, your culture and your school.
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Receive regular feedback from your kaiako regarding your academic progress.
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Your responsibility as ākonga at Marcellin College:
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You have the responsibility to:
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Uphold and live the teachings of Jesus Christ.
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Uphold and acknowledge the mana and tapu of each individual.
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Keep our school a safe, tidy, clean and healthy place.
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Treat others with respect and mana both in person and online.
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Act in ways that demonstrate you are proud to belong to Marcellin College.
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Wear our college uniform correctly and with pride. Remember that your behaviour and conduct whilst wearing our school uniform reflects on our whole school and wider school community.
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Keep Marcellin College an alcohol free, smokefree and vape free school. Alcohol, illegal substances, cigarettes, vapes and e-Cigarettes are not permitted at school or at any school event or activity off site.
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Be at school every day and on time. The school day begins at 8:40am.
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Keep Marcellin College gum free. Chewing gum is not permitted at school.
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To use mobile phones and devices in a responsible and respectful manner.
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Netsafe - Useful links
Here are a few useful links from Netsafe, which is an online safety organisation, to start the talanoa/ discussion with our ākonga about keeping safe online and what our whānau can do to report safety issues and concerns:
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“Online safety Parent Toolkit”
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“Social Media vs. Reality”
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“Online bullying support”
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Measles Information
Are you and your whānau protected from measles?
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With people travelling overseas again, there’s a risk that someone with measles could unknowingly bring the disease back to Aotearoa.
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Measles spreads easily and quickly, usually between people who are unimmunised or only partially immunised. It can be serious and life threatening. In the 2019 measles outbreak in Aotearoa more than 30% of the people infected had to be admitted to hospital.
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The best protection against measles is the free MMR vaccine. It will protect you and your whānau, and prevent the virus from spreading.
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You will be protected against measles if you:
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• had 2 doses of the MMR vaccine
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• were born before 1 Jan 1969.
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If you’re unsure if you or your tamariki have had any or both doses of the MMR vaccine, check by calling your GP or hauora provider. Alternatively, check your Plunket Well Child Tamariki Ora book. If you’re still not sure, be safe and get immunised – there are no safety concerns with having an extra dose. MMR vaccines are free at your local health provider and many pharmacies.
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As measles still occurs in many countries, if you’re travelling overseas these holidays it’s especially important to be immunised to prevent the risk of being unknowingly infected and causing an outbreak in Aotearoa on your return.
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More information about the measles vaccination can be found here:
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School Policy - Reviews
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Please visit the link below to see the school policies and the current policy under review for this term are:
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Education Outside The Classroom (board)
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- EOTC Planning and Review
- EOTC Risk Management
- EOTC Coordinator
- EOTC External Providers
- EOTC Staff Competence
- EOTC Event Categories
- EOTC Communicating with Parents
- Visit the website https://marcellin.schooldocs.co.nz/1893.htm
- Enter the username (marcellin) and password (seekthebest).
- Follow the link to the relevant policy as listed.
- Read the policy.
- Click the Policy Review button at the top right-hand corner of the page.
- Select the reviewer type.
- Enter your name (optional).
- Submit your ratings and comments.
If you don't have internet access, school office staff can provide you with printed copies of the policy and a review form.
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Community News and Events
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Laulōtaha Ikuna Mentoring
This year we are blessed to be working together with the Laulōtaha Ikuna mentoring team, a innovative culturally responsive programme helping ākonga achieve success in education. ‘Laulōtaha’ is Tongan for excellence and the suffix ‘taha’ means best or number one. ‘Ikuna’ means to conquer, and all these words align with our vision, as well as the motto of our school ‘Rapu i te Pai / Seek the Best’.
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The programme was founded and established by Mrs Valeti Finau, a Pasifika Education Specialist, who was recognised for her services to education and the Pacific community when she was awarded the New Year Honour in 2018 Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit.
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The mentoring will involve one-to-one mentoring with a focus on literacy and numeracy for any Year 7 - 10 ākonga, and will begin this term. If you have any questions or would like to be part of this mentoring programme, please email the office@marcellin.school.nz
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Aladdin
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IF YOUR CHILD IS DOING SOMETHING FANTASTIC OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL TIME, WE WOULD LOVE TO HEAR ABOUT IT AND SHARE IT WITH THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY - EMAIL YOUR STORIES (AND PHOTOGRAPHS) TO: office@marcellin.school.nz
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