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5 August 2022

Ellen Scott, Gaby McKey, Ella Mackie
Third Place - National Schools' Case Study Competition 2022

From the Principal

He mihi maioha, Faa-talofa atu, Greetings,

Term 3 began with wild weather and plenty of activity at school. We have returned to mask wearing with no issues, thank you for your support of this important preventative health measure. There is more updated health advice in this newsletter from the Ministry of Education as the community works through winter illness and ongoing Covid-19 impacts.

We have much to celebrate in this newsletter, as our students have been incredibly busy. Past pupil Kate Taylor has been selected for the New Zealand U20 football team and is also the captain. Our international trampolinist Laureen Sheere has been competing overseas. I am sure the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham are inspiring many of our students.

Our Cultural Concert was held on Monday evening and it was a joy to see the students performing again to an enthusiastic audience. We were also joined by bands from St Bede’s College and a wide range of our own talents were on show. Thank you to all our staff, tutors and supporters who have kept our choir, kapa haka, bands, drama and Polyfest groups doing so well in complex times. Thanks also to Ms Miranda Scott and Miss Kate Allen who were the organisers and expert support who made this evening possible.

We are now fully in Feast Day preparation mode, with the sound of singing frequently heard around school. This is the highlight of our year and we are looking forward to Mass with Fr Edwin and all the traditional Whānau competitions and the talent show. We are all about family at Marian and this is one of our central celebrations and happiest days.

With faith in our future,

Mary-Lou Davidson (Mrs)
Principal

A reminder that due to Staff Only Day there will be no classes on Monday 8 August

In this Newsletter:
Special Character
Congratulations
School Life
Important Information
In the Community

Special Character

Sacramental Programme

Recently we held our welcome session for the 2022 Sacramental Programme. It was great to see the number of girls participating on this faith journey of learning, sharing, serving, fellowship, spiritual growth and fun.

"Through My Father's Eyes"

Tamia Fenika and Bernadette Ilalio proudly performed in the production 'Through My Father's Eyes' in the school holidays. Traditional and contemporary Samoan songs, movement and language delivered the story of intergenerational impacts of Pacific migration to New Zealand/Aotearoa. The struggles of coming to a new land, language barriers, factory life and the Dawn Raids were important stories portrayed in this production, through the relationship of a father and a son, who felt disconnected from his culture and identity.

Tamia and Bernadette represented their Samoan culture proudly on stage with their beautiful voices and graceful moves. Mālō le taumafai.

We are praying for...
We remember students, staff, and members of our Marian College community who are currently in hospital or unwell.

We also remember especially students, staff and their families who have lost loved ones recently, especially Mrs Myra Fidow - Uncle.

Eternal rest grant to them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen

Congratulations

National Schools Case Study Competition 2022

Congratulations to Ellen Scott, Gabriella McKey and Ella Mackie all in the Year 11 Economics class, who placed third in the junior division of this national competition run by the University of Auckland. The team was originally given a case study on the Apple Watch to discuss and had just over a week to write a five page submission. As a team they analysed the key issues, recommended ways to fix these, discussed how to implement the ideas, and the impact on the business. This also included taking into consideration the financial impacts. At the end of the recent holidays they found out they were the only South Island team to reach the final and received a new case study to analyse, this time Subway America. The final involved the same business skills but this time it was a 10 minute presentation with supporting power point over Zoom to the Auckland judges. This was followed by a 10 minute question and answer session. The team were energised at the end of the judging and excited about what they had done. They handled the questions with maturity and the judges congratulated them on their presentation and the way they answered the questions. The following day we found out they were placed third, with two teams from Baradene College ahead of them. This was the first year Marian College have entered a team and to make the finals was exciting, and to place third was awesome. Congratulations!

Miss Anne Dick, Head of Commerce Learning Area

Marian College Cultural Evening

Congratulations to the students who performed so well in the recent Cultural Evening. This was a fantastic opportunity to see the amazing talent within our school. Special thanks goes to Ms Miranda Scott, Miss Kate Allen, Mr Jacob Keelty, Mrs Myra Fidow, Ms Kalina Harmer-Campbell, Zara Doig and Maia Viliamo for all their hard work behind the scenes.

Congratulations to Marian College's Year 12 band, 'Sharp Edge', who have been awarded 'Best Vocals' for their Regional Finals submission. You can watch the performance video here. The band consists of Jazzlyn John, Penny Johnston, Graziana Micallef, Jessica Hughes, Georgia Limmer and Jenna Morgan. They wrote this original composition, 'Reminiscence', in just a few days.

SISS Junior Netball Tournament

Congratulations to our Year 9A and 10A teams who participated in this annual event held at Hagley Park. Sadly this tournament was hit by shocking weather, but lots of adapting meant it still went ahead. A special thank you to Miss Stephanie Post, Anthea Altenburg, Miss Georgia Dickson and Alisha Ruaiti for giving up their time to coach/manage these teams.

The 9A team finished in 19th place in the Year 9 grade and our 10A team in 20th in the Year 10 grade.

Well done also to our umpires who gave up their time to enable our and other school teams the chance to enter. Hannah Swain, Roza Litten, Anna Tuges and Tiana Purdon all umpired during the tournament.

A huge congratulations to Hannah Swain who was named to umpire the Year 10 Final.

Mrs Rachel Parkin, Teacher in Charge of Netball

Congratulations to Isla Martin-McKenzie on her results at the Gymnastic Nationals in Invercargill recently. She won a silver medal for beam in the Step 8 Overs and with her Canterbury Step 8 Team. She also won a bronze medal. Well done Isla!

Congratulations to past pupil Kate Taylor has been named captain of the New Zealand U20 Football team as they are off to the World Cup in Costa Rica. She has also been named in the Phoenix Squad again for 2023.

Kate and her coach were interviewed on Breakfast recently.

I was fortunate to be a part of the New Zealand European Junior Trampoline Tour in late June and early July, where I competed in two junior world cup competitions in Coimbra, Portugal, and Arosa, Switzerland. These were my first international competitions outside of Australasia. At these competitions, I was able to learn a lot about myself as an athlete and as a person, and I was able to grow as a result of my experiences. I am also thrilled with my competition results. I was also able to train alongside and watch top international athletes, many of whom have competed or are trialling to compete in the Olympics. We were also fortunate to have avoided the heatwave and were able to visit tourist attractions such as Coimbra's oldest university, the Bear sanctuary and squirrel trail in the Arosa mountains. Another highlight of my trip was connecting with people from the New Zealand team and other countries, which I had previously been unable to do due to Covid.

I am immensely thankful for the amount of support I have received from those around me and greatly appreciate it; without it, I would not have been capable of completing this trip.

Lauren Sheere

School Life

Click here to view the latest update on our new school site

Thanks to Orion New Zealand Ltd

Recently we received a very generous donation of 20 office desks and monitor stands from Orion New Zealand Ltd. Many thanks to Marian College parent Anthony O'Donnell for organising this. These desks will be used in offices in the new school.

Thanks to Orion New Zealand Ltd - we are very grateful for this kind support.

Year 12 Geography River Research

Recently the Year 12 Geography class went on a road trip to both the Garry and Rakahuri/Ashley Rivers to collect data for our upcoming internal. The trip involved collecting both sediment data and river profile data. The extraordinary amounts of rain we had in the week prior to the trip made the environment challenging but we were able to gather all the data we needed. We had a great time and stopped in Oxford for some hot fish and chips, donuts, pies and a visit to the dairy.

After having to postpone the trip twice already due to Covid, we were just so happy to be out in the environment doing Geography. It was an interesting and fun experience!

Study Skills Session

Recently, Marian College had its annual study skills seminar delivered by Patrick Sherratt from Innervate Education. Patrick provided some excellent revision tools for students to use when preparing for their examinations and also gave them strategies to enhance their memory and recall. Student feedback was very positive with over 95% of Year 11 stating that they found the seminar very useful.

Ms Victoria Spencer
Deputy Principal Curriculum

Emilly Lekuru coaching in Kampala

Emilly was involved in the IRP (International Rugby Programme) at St Bede's in 2019 and spent some time here at Marian and played some rugby for our team. Please click here to read more.

Saturday Netball

Marian College Netball are fundraising tomorrow by running the BBQ at the netball courts. Bring $2 and come and support Marian College Netball.

We are now into the Championship round with only three games to go before semis and finals. Thank you once again to all of our coaches, managers, umpires and supporters who help to make Marian Netball what it is.

Save the date for the Marian Netball Prize Giving is Tuesday 27 September.

Important Information

Student Mask Wearing

A reminder that we are now heading into Week 3 of students and staff wearing masks whilst onsite at school. We have been very impressed by student compliance and appreciate this. However, a number of our students catching public buses are forgetting to wear their masks correctly, and we are being advised of this by members of the public on a regular basis. As parents, we request your support to ensure students are helping to keep others safe.

Health Information

Ministry of Health Covid-19 Reinfection Advice

You are more likely to become reinfected as your immune response from the vaccine or your previous COVID-19 infection decreases over time.

If it is 28 days or fewer since the last infection, there’s no need to test.
Within 28 days, symptoms are most likely due to lasting effects of the initial infection or a different new respiratory infection. A new COVID-19 infection is difficult to diagnose within 28 days because symptoms, viral levels and test positivity may fluctuate during this time.
COVID-19-like symptoms may well be caused by other infections like the common cold, flu or a chest infection.
If a person develops new COVID-19 symptoms, and it’s 29 days or more since their previous infection, it’s possible that it’s a reinfection with COVID-19 and they should take a rapid antigen test. If that test is positive, they will need to isolate for a second time for seven days.
For most people, illness caused by reinfection is likely to be no more severe than a first infection, but they can experience different symptoms.
If a person is not getting better, or becoming increasingly unwell, they should call Healthline on 0800 358 5453 or their doctor/healthcare provider.

More masks are being provided in the community to help stop the spread of COVID-19 and to protect people who are at higher risk of more severe illness if they contract COVID-19. You do not need to have COVID-19 or have COVID-19 symptoms to get free masks.

Stay Well This Winter

It’s already proving to be a tough winter for our communities - as we opened the door to international travel, all those winter bugs seem to have slipped through at the same time.
Here are some top tips for staying well this winter:

Avoid getting sick:
Eat well, stay active, get plenty of fresh air and keep up those effective public health measures (hand washing, masks indoors in public etc.) – also, make sure you have the best protection possible by getting vaccinated against COVID-19, measles and the flu.

If you do get unwell:

Stay away from work or school.
Check if you’ve got COVID-19 with a RAT test. Follow COVID-19 isolation guidance if you or your whānau are positive.
Seek help early by phoning Healthline on 0800 611 116, day or night.
In most cases flu or an upset stomach can be safely managed at home. Call ahead before visiting your health provider, rather than visiting in person, and stay away from hospital unless it’s an emergency

Find more information on staying well and flu free this winter by clicking on these links:

Canterbury District Health Board Winter Wellness
Canterbury District Health Board Coping with the Flu at Home
Ministry of Health Stay Well this Winter
Winter wellness guide for tamariki

The Coping with Flu at Home information leaflet is available in English, Te Reo Māori and five other languages and has useful tips on managing sickness at home in general.

From the Guidance Counsellor

If it is an emergency or you, or someone you know, is at immediate risk, call 111

Mrs Carolyn Thomas, Guidance Counsellor

Online School Work

When students are absent from school, isolating or sick, but well enough to work, school work is available on their Google classrooms. A reminder that all students know how to access this.

Click here for Portal and Report Information

Download the Marian App!

Marian College has a mobile app for notification of absences, notices, events and instant alerts for important news, registrations, reminders and in case of an emergency.

Go to the App Store on your Apple device or Google Play on Android and search: Marian College. Click to download and select ‘Allow’ to receive notifications. Then you are all good to go!

Term Dates

Term 3: 25 July - 30 September
Monday 8 August - Special Character Staff Only Day
Monday 22 August - NCEA Teacher Only Day (no classes)
Friday 9 September - Mid Term Break

Term 4: 17 October - 14 December
Monday 24 October - Labour Day
Friday 11 November - Show Day

Last day for Senior students: Tuesday 1 November
Last day for Junior students: Wednesday 14 December

Term 1 2023 begins: Tuesday 31 January 2023

Click here for Important Term 3 Dates

ATTENTION!
Past Students and Staff of St Mary's, McKillop or Marian Colleges

Are you a past student or staff member?

We are currently developing our Past Pupils and Staff Network, Rauru and would love for you to join. You will be able to connect with past classmates, find out more about our exciting new school project and events and possible reunions at the new school, and share your memories.

Head to www.mariancollege.school.nz/rauru to register.

We would strongly encourage past pupils to join the Rauru mailing list for the purpose of inviting you to the new school opening in 2023

Physiotherapy at Marian College

For convenient and timely injury rehabilitation and prevention, full physio services are available on site at Marian College during term time. Physiotherapist Rose Kennelly from Active Health is available for private and ACC covered appointments on Tuesdays (9.40am-1.20pm) and Fridays (9am-12.30pm).

Cost with ACC:
$25 for initial appointment - 40mins
$20 for follow ups - 20mins

Active Health are providing a discounted rate for Marian College compared to most clinics including their own in clinic appointments. To make a physio appointment contact the school office on 385 8449, come into reception and ask Mrs Herron, or book online at www.activehealth.co.nz.

In the Community

Sweatshirts for Charity

Millie Grant, a Marian College graduate in the class of 2017 has invited students and whānau to support her in a fundraiser that she is involved in. She collaborated with a friend to create originally designed, limited edition sweatshirts, with 100% of the proceeds going directly to Help Auckland. This enables them to continue providing support to victims (and their families) of sexual violence. You can read all about the meaning behind them via their website. There is limited stock left, so get in quick.