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College Newsletter - Friday 3 December

No Formal Uniform Next Week

Last day of Term 4 - Tues 7 December, School closes at 12pm

Dear Parents


The end of term is close, this being the final full week of Term 4 and our last newsletter for 2021. We return next Monday, and half of Tuesday before farewelling our younger students until next year.

As our senior students continue with their exams, we keep them in our prayers and wish them the very best during this time when all of their hard work and study throughout the year will continue to pay off.

I would like to take this opportunity to once again share my gratitude for the last three years. It has been a privilege and an honour to be part of this Marist Champagnat community, and it will always hold a special place in my heart.

God bless everyone and have a safe holiday.


Congratulations this week to:

Academic Award
Sateki Misiuata (Year 9) for consistently good results in Te Reo Maori because he applies himself to his homework and classwork. Sateki also shows courage when attempting to speak Te Reo in front of his peers.

Marist Man Awards
Our Year 7-10 students who have contributed significantly to the recently completed Service Programme:
Killian Armstrong
Ben Bongiovanni
Callum Brickell
Benjamin Brugh
Ashby Cordtz
Nathan Culpan
Sabastian Dunn
Luke Fitzgerald
Zach Hall
Daniel Hannon
Ohea Huni-Fifita
Cooper Kennedy
Maire Kingi
Sebastian Lafaitele
Thomas Mallavarapu
Rasul McMahon
Rocco McMahon
Will October
Joachim Paul
Jack Rose
Xavier Roshan
Zanda Timmermans-Friskney
Tadhg Tuapola
Sean Williams
Jakub Wolski

I roto i te manawa o Hato Mahirino
In the Heart of St Marcellin

Steve Dooley
Headmaster

Special Character

Reflection

As we come to the end of the school year I wish to share a story I recently read from a book by the late Jonathan Sacks. Its theme concerned religious diversity, but I feel we can take more from it.

“Talking with the leader of a group of Jewish mystics….

But I had a question about the way of life he advocated. It seemed exclusive. In its intense and segregated piety, it shut out the rest of the world. Was there not – I asked him – beauty and value outside the narrow walls in which he lived? He answered with a parable.

“Imagine, he said, two people who spend their lives transporting stones. One carries bags of diamonds. The other hauls sacks of rocks. Each is now asked to take a consignment of rubies. Which of the two understands what he is now to carry? The man who is used to diamonds knows that stones can be precious, even those that are not diamonds. But the man who has carried only rocks thinks of stones as a mere burden. They have weight, but no worth. Rubies are beyond his comprehension.”

So it is with faith. If we cherish our own, then we will understand the value of others. We may regard ours as a diamond and other faith as a ruby, but we know that both are precious stones.

But if faith is a mere burden, not only will we not value ours. Neither will we value the faith of someone else. We will see both as equally useless.”

Johnathan Sacks, (2003). The Dignity of Difference. Continuum, London.

As we approach the Christmas Season, I pray that the preciousness of the faith that began, for the Christian, with the birth of the Christ Child -  be yours. May it illuminate your lives in order for you to appreciate that all life is of infinite value and that all living is a wonderful gift in the process of being unwrapped.

I pray our families will be safe over the holiday period. 

Blessings!
Fr Stephen Berecz

Thursday Prayer, Reading and Reflection

For our final Thursday of the school year, Br Richard and Fr Stephen reflect on the past year and encourage us to take time over the summer break to understand God's will for us, and to listen. We also extend our thanks to Mr Dooley, Mr O'Donnell, all the Sacred Heart staff, and to our boys.
Thursday Reading and Reflection - 
2 December 2021

Cans for Christmas

Cans for Christmas has been operating for six years.

In 2021, 52 Catholic schools across the country are participating. Due to the current Covid-19 situation, we are unable to physically collect the canned food items much needed by the local food banks.

This year a Give-a-Little page has been set up to collect money for St Vincent de Paul to continue to help them.

The collection is open until 8 December (not 1 December as in the poster).

 

2022 Retreats

With retreats beginning early next year, if you have any magazines around home, rather than allowing them to gather dust or be discarded, please donate them to the Religious Education Department. Eg Woman's Weekly, National Geographic, NZ Catholic, Marist Messenger. Please contact office@sacredheart.school.nz if you have any and we can arrange for them to be dropped at the office. 

Calendar Events and Updates

Last Day for 2021

Students will finish at 12noon on Tuesday, 7 December. This allows for a Teachers Only Day for the afternoon of Tuesday, 7 December and the morning of Wednesday 8 December. 

All KiwiCoach buses to Manurewa/Papakura, and the Pukekohe bus will leave at that time but other buses will be departing at 3.15pm. It may be advisable for parents of boys catching these buses to make alternative arrangements.

Term Dates for 2022
Term 1: Wednesday 2 February whole school commences - Thursday 14 April
Term 2: Monday 2 May - Friday 8 July
Term 3: Monday 25 July - Friday 30 September
Term 4: Monday 17 October - Wednesday 7 December

Academic

NCEA Exams

NCEA Exams continue next week. A reminder students must:
  • Bring the admission slip to each exam
  • Go to Main Reception if they have forgotten their admission slip on the day of the exam. Allow time for this so that they do not miss their exam
  • Not write on their admission slip
Morning exams start at 9:30am, please be at the Auditorium foyer at 9:10am. 
Afternoon exams start at 2pm, please be there at 1:40pm. No student may enter the exam after the first 30 minutes, there are no exceptions.   
Please note that if a student is not present at the beginning of an exam, we will NOT be contacting them or their caregivers. Please ensure that your son is attending his exams as per his timetable.
 
If your son should become unwell and is unable to sit an exam, please obtain a medical certificate and email to Mrs Mary Graham as soon as possible.

Exam instructions can be found here. Please take the time to read this carefully prior to the exams.
 

Google Account

A reminder to all students leaving Sacred Heart in 2021, your SHC Google Account will be deleted at the end of the year - after NCEA exams. This means you will no longer be able to access any content stored in your Google Drive or school email account. Please make sure you have a copy of anything you would like to keep. 
You can transfer all of your school Google Account content to a personal Google account using Google Takeout. Follow this link for instructions: https://takeout.google.com/transfer If you have any problems or questions please email Angela Gamil.
 

2022 Stationery

Information regarding 2022 stationery will be emailed next week. As per previous years, it can be ordered via OfficeMax. Stationery for Years 7 and 8 are arranged by the College and parents will be invoiced accordingly. 

Pastoral Care

The Pastoral Care team would like to thank the entire community for your ongoing support this year. Whilst 2021 has been a year of such uncertainty, the support our community has shown for each other has been incredibly humbling. For this we thank you all.
 
We wish you all a Happy Holiday. May you have time to gather as a family, recharge batteries and celebrate a new year in.


Online Safety 

As the summer holidays approach, we reinforce the importance of keeping safe online. As well as the valuable resources provided by Netsafe, John Parsons who facilitated at the College earlier this year, also has some great resources. In particular, his book Keeping Children Safe Online. Please take time to view these resources.
 

Uniform and Grooming standards

A reminder that these can be found on our website. Students are reminded that hair and grooming need to meet school guidelines at the commencement of the 2022 academic school year. Please also ensure when purchasing items of uniform, including shoes and sandals, that they meet school requirements.
 

Devices - BYOD

All boys are required to bring a device to school from the commencement of the 2021 school year. We recommend a device such as a Chromebook for our Year 7-10 students, and a Laptop for our Senior students. If your son already has an iPad from this or previous years, it continues to remain as an acceptable device. Information regarding device specifications can be found on our website

As always if you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact Deputy Headmaster - Tracy Purcell, Assistant Headmaster - Ric Knight or Assistant Headmaster Year 7 and 8 - John Sullivan.

Sport

Sports Institute for 2022

Trials for Year 9 & 10 Sports Institute will be happening in the first few weeks in Term 1, 2022. Boys will be notified via Daily Notices for when trials will take place. Please also watch for notices through the College newsletter.

College Information

Important Message

During the current Alert Level restrictions, and in accordance with Ministry of Health guidelines, non-essential visitors are NOT permitted onsite. This includes parents. If you need to contact the office, please call 09 529 3660 or email: office@sacredheart.school.nz.


Current Job Vacancies

Health Centre - Registered Nurse 
A position is now available in our Health Centre, for a permanent part-time nurse, providing nursing care for both our day and boarding students. The role is varied, with a mixture of injury management, medical assessment and symptom management skills required, along with opportunities to build meaningful relationships with the students and offer guidance and support across diverse health topics. The part-time role is shared with the Lead Nurse, across Monday to Friday and will be 2-3 days work per week. Please email a letter of application and a copy of your CV to: Tracy Norton, Lead Nurse tnorton@sacredheart.school.nz. For more information, visit our website.

Uniform Shop

Uniform Shop Bookings

To ensure the smooth running of our Uniform Shop in January, we require all appointments to be booked via our online booking system. The Athletes Foot will be selling school shoes onsite during the same opening hours of the Uniform Shop. 
To book your appointment please go to School Interview website and login with the School Event Code: stjmx

From here there are two simple steps;
Step 1: Enter your details
Parent’s email address and full name
Number of students you are booking for (choose from the drop-down box)
Student’s name/s
(there is no step 2, we skip straight to number 3)
Step 3: Choose the time slot you want
Note: Missing checkboxes mean that the time slot has already been booked by someone else. If you are booking for more than one child please ensure you tick two individual fitters or two separate times.
 
When you have finished press the green "Go" button to confirm your bookings. Once confirmed your uniform fitting time will be emailed to the address you supplied in Step 1.


Uniform for 2022

Every student entering Year 11 next year is required to purchase a Blazer to wear with the Formal Uniform. They are also required to wear long trousers in place of navy shorts. Information has been provided to current Year 10 parents. Please note, as the first day of school in 2022 is a Formal Uniform day please have these ready before beginning of Term 1 2022. Please contact Mrs Jennings in the Uniform Shop for more information.  

SHC Branded Masks

Our SHC branded masks are back in stock and can be ordered from the Uniform Shop.
2 ply, washable, polyester outer, cotton inner with adjustable toggled straps. Just $10 each. 

Sacred Heart College Hostel

Sacred Heart College Hostel - spaces available for 2022

We currently have spaces available for Sacred Heart students to apply for a place in the Hostel for 2022. Living in the Hostel is a fantastic opportunity for boys to form friendships that last a lifetime. It also provides a structured environment for study, and easy access to the College for sports trainings, music or cultural group practices. If you would like more information please contact our Enrolments team.

Community

Auckland Diocesan programme during Lockdown

During this time of uncertainty many people appreciate being able to follow and pray along with the familiar ritual of the Mass. We know this is not 'going' to Mass but it is a way of connecting with our faith community and joining in praying for the needs of the world. Click here for the daily and weekend online activities, upcoming lockdown events and remote resources.
 

NZ Catholic - Digital Issue

Please click here to view the digital version of NZ Catholic’s latest issue for you to enjoy.

Some headlines for the latest issue include:
  • NZ bishops issue guidelines for parishes under traffic light framework
  • Many reasons for Mass absences 
  • Events support beneficiaries
  • Departing director looks back at her years at Caritas.

 

COVID-19 Health and Wellbeing, and Food and Essential items

There are helplines available that offer support, information and help. All services are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For more information visit Where to go for help and Accessing food and essential items.
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