Principal's Message
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Tēnā koutou St Ignatius Community,
We finish the term on a real high, with much to be proud of and grateful for as a community. This week, in particular, there have been two outstanding achievements that reflect the very heart of who we are at St Ignatius.
Firstly, our school production was exceptional. It was humbling to witness the talents, dedication, and teamwork of both students and staff as they brought the show to life. The quality of the performance, both on and off the stage, was a testament to countless hours of hard work and the pursuit of excellence. Congratulations to all students involved; your achievements were remarkable. I would especially like to thank Mr. Harrison for his creativity and commitment in constructing such an impressive set, and of course, Mrs. Harrison, our Head of Arts and Technology, whose vision, leadership, and ability to inspire others enabled students to truly excel. To all involved; well done and thank you.
We are also celebrating an outstanding academic milestone for our school with the first group of Year 10 students completing the NCEA Literacy Reading assessment in May, with results released this week. I am delighted to share that 91% of our students achieved the standard. Whilst national data for this year is still to be confirmed, as a reference point, the national pass rate for this assessment in May 2024 was 58.7%. Conversations with Principal colleagues across the sector confirm that our results are significantly high, even when compared to similar schools. This reflects the hard work and capability of our students and also the expertise and dedication of our teaching staff. For the small number of students who did not achieve this time, we are fully prepared to support them towards success in the next assessment opportunity in Term 3.
Together, these achievements, both on the stage and in the classroom, reflect what it means to be part of St Ignatius. We believe every person is unique, created with God-given gifts and talents to offer the world. Our role as a school is to help each student discover those gifts and how they might use them to serve others and make a difference. By knowing and being proud of who they are and what they can offer to the world, our students are growing the self-confidence and skills to become successful. We believe that when we focus on this then achievement follows, like the achievements this week. This is how we live out cura personalis, care for the whole person, and this is finding God in all things.
As we enter the winter break, I encourage students and families to take time for rest, reflection, and quality time together. May God's blessings be upon our community, keeping us safe and renewing our energy as we look ahead to another great term ahead.
Inveniens Deum in omnibus,
Dean Wearmouth |
This Sunday, we celebrate the Feast of Sts Peter and Paul, two of the most significant figures of the Early Church, whose lives highlight the importance of relationships in our faith journey. Although they are very different in personality and mission, Peter, the fisherman called to lead the disciples, and Paul, the former persecutor turned missionary, are forever connected in the life and growth of the early Church.
What stands out about Peter and Paul is that, despite disagreements and struggles, their relationship ultimately served to build the mission of God. It wasn't perfect and presented challenges, as they had moments when they corrected each other and had to navigate genuine human struggles. Yet, their relationship evolved into one of mutual respect, shared purpose, and deep care for each other as companions in faith. It’s a beautiful witness to how God can work through two individuals to build His Kingdom.
Relationships among friends, family members, or even those with whom we struggle are gifts. Sts Peter and Paul remind us that these relationships aren’t always easy. They require humility, forgiveness, and a shared desire to seek the Kingdom of God together. They help us grow, keep us accountable, and draw us deeper into the life of God, who is a God of relationship reflected in the Trinity.
A central concept in Jesuit education and spirituality is Cura Personalis, or care for the whole person, which assists us in building good relationships with others. We are called to see others as God sees them: with innate value, and acknowledging their strengths, struggles, and potential. Peter and Paul embodied this. They genuinely cared for each other and for the people they served, not just on the surface, but in ways that fostered growth in faith and life. Cura Personalis calls us to this same depth of care—to take the time to truly know, understand, and accompany one another on the journey of life and faith. Here at St Ignatius of Loyola Catholic College, whether in the classroom, on the sports field, or in the quiet moments of daily life, we are invited to live Cura Personalis by offering care, patience, and compassion to one another. Our faith community, and any community, thrives when we embody this.
So this week, take some time to reflect: Who in your life helps you grow closer to God? How are you allowing yourself to deepen your relationships with others? Are you willing to accompany people, even when it is difficult? Relationships are not simply about getting along; they are about being individuals who build the Kingdom of Heaven, with hearts that see and care for the whole person.
Sts Peter and Paul… Pray for us.   |
English - Speech Finals
On Wednesday night ākonga Ava Latu and Evony Burford represented St Ignatius at the Franklin School's Year 7 & 8 speech finals.
Both Ava and Evony participating in this competition was a testament to their hard work and talent, reflecting the grace of finding God in all things.
Ava Latu placed second out of 23 competitors from 19 schools in the Franklin Year 7/8 speech contest with her speech 'Togs, Not Capes: The Real Heroes of Karioitahi'.
Congratulations Ava! |
Art
To finish off the term the Year 10 Art ākonga selected a famous artwork to research and recreate. This is in preparation for a trip next term to the Auckland Art Gallery Toi O Tāmaki to see the exhibition 'A Century of Modern Art', featuring works from artists such as Monet, Van Gogh, Picasso, Renoir, and many more.
Students recreated the artworks using a medium of their choice and there were some incredible pieces created!  Mathematics
Many of our students are starting to reach the end of their first exercise book, or the books are starting to show signs of wear after months of use. Please send your child to school next term with their 2nd exercise book. | |  |
Te Reo Māori
It is Matariki, a time of celebration, remembrance, and looking ahead.
Our Year 10 Te Reo Māori class explored the context of hāngi to support learning around the phrase "He aha te utu?" (What is the cost?). We calculated the cost of preparing hāngi for 40 people and learned the steps involved in using a modern hāngi cooker. On Monday, we put our learning into action. Through this experience, we have gained valuable skills to prepare kai for visitors and future school events.
Also this Matariki ākonga in Te Reo Māori have enjoyed learning Tī Rākau, a traditional Māori stick game, celebrating Te Reo Māori through songs and cultural practices, helping to strengthen our connection to the language.
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Creative Design and Fashion & Textiles
Our Creative Design and Fashion & Textiles ākonga have had an action-packed and productive term, developing an impressive range of projects across all year levels. Year 7 and 8 Creative Design ākonga combined traditional and digital techniques to produce stunning bookmarks, using drawing, laser cutting, resin, and paint. Year 9 ākonga designed and made their own jewellery or accessories using similar tools and techniques.
Our Year 10 ākonga took on a major project, designing and constructing Japanese-inspired Shoji lamps. This full-term project introduced them to the Level 1 NCEA design process and involved digital design, laser cutting, and soldering LEDs to light switches—a huge achievement they’re all proud of!
In Fashion and Textiles, Mrs Allan supported Year 7 ākonga to hand-stitch adorable emoji plush toys, while Year 9 ākonga created beautifully embroidered book covers. Ms Parkinson’s Year 8 ākonga crafted stylish cushion covers, incorporating appliqué, stencilling, or patchwork techniques. The creativity and dedication from all our ākonga this term has been incredible!
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  Ākonga Elective
STEM
The STEM club elective provides challenging opportunities for students to test their creativity in a series of practical tasks. These range from solving complex geometrical puzzles, to building a simple electric motor from a piece of copper wire, an AA battery, and a couple of magnets. The latter part of the semester has involved building a series of more and more complicated robots. These start from simple robots, and develop into more advanced crane robots, where students are required to have their robot stack blocks in a purpose built arena. This will lead to the 2025 robotics challenge, with even more sophisticated robot designs.  Young Vinnies
This term the Young Vinnies group have been working hard serving our community for the greater glory of God. Our work has included creating Matariki cards for prisoners, donating food to our local food bank and learning about food insecurity.
Over the course of a few weeks, the two groups of Vinnies members created over 50 cards to send to the Prisoners Correspondence Network. This made us think about what we can do to help others in the Maori New Year. Secondly, we are supporting the local community by collecting food for the St Patrick’s foodbank. Today, we are holding a Wear Your Own Clothes day (WYOC) where students bring food donations to support this.
Recently we have been learning about food insecurity: learning what it is, what the causes of it are and how we as a Vinnies team can help. One of the important lessons I have taken away from this is to understand that many people are in very unfortunate situations and nothing bad can come out of helping others. So thank you to Mrs Tupaea for another amazing term at Young Vinnies.
- Ciara van Heeckeren, Social Media Representative  Ākonga Achievement
Arianna Forsyth
Ākonga Arianna Forsyth competed in the Hip Hop United competition down in Wellington last weekend for her Hip Hop team Ka-Motion out of the Groovit dance studio. They competed in the U12 Cadel Future Champion Crews division & brought hope Gold for their efforts!
Well Done Ariana & team!  |
Virtue Awards
At the end of each term all our staff have the opportunity to nominate ākonga who have displayed one of the 7 virtues. These are the 3 theological virtues of Faith, Hope and Love and the 4 Cardinal Virtues of Prudence, Fortitude, Temperance and Justice. When we display these virtues it is an indication that a person is directing their lives towards God.
Some ākonga have received more than one Virtue award during their time at school so far. There is a special award given to ākonga who receive all 7 of the virtue awards during their time at St Ignatius.
A full list of award winners, and photos, are available on our website in the Recent News section, or via the News link at the bottom of this newsletter. |
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Show Stoppers - The Best of Broadway
Over the past two terms, 52 students from Years 7 to 10 have been hard at work preparing for our school production both as performers and in backstage roles — rehearsing during electives, after school, and even on some weekends.
It’s been an incredible journey, bringing together students with all kinds of experience — from seasoned performers to those stepping on stage for the very first time.
Our show, Showstoppers – The Best of Broadway, was a high-energy medley that featured songs, scenes, and dances from more than 15 iconic musicals. It truly celebrated the magic of musical theatre.
Professional photographs of the production are available on our website in the Recent News section, or via the News link at the bottom of this newsletter.  | |  |
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  Magdalene House Mass
On Wednesday 25th June, the Magdalene House celebrated their annual House Mass with Fr Eka Tanaya SJ. It was a celebration of their House Patron Saint, St Mary Magdalene, asking for her intercession to help us to develop in God's gifts of inner peace and humble courage to become witnesses of faith for God. Being one of the first disciples to share the Good News of Jesus' Resurrection, we can learn from Mary Magdalene of what it means to hand over our old selves to the Lord, as well
We had Magdalene students represent us in readings, and altar serving, as well as Arjun Bal giving an insightful reflection on the Gospel and Samuel Speedy even playing the cello for us! Parents of the students also were in attendance. Such a beautiful celebration of a wonderful Saint - Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam! Year 9 Winter Wellness Challenge
The Year 9's have been doing a Winter Wellness Challenge. Each week they are set a wellness based challenge, then they enter their names into a draw. Well done to all those who have entered over the last two weeks.
In week 8 the challenge was to get at least 8 hours of sleep at night, with the drawn winner winning a faily pass to the Stars netball game. Congratulations to Jacob Ennor, whose name was drawn first. Jacob then opted for it to be re-drawn to go to someone else who could use the prize. Well done to Amaria matia for winning the tickets in the re-draw!
This week's challenge was to eat at least 5 servings of fruit and vegetables each day. The prize for this week's challenge is a box of fresh fruit and vegetabels, donated by Fresho Pukekohe. The winner of this great prize was Madi Kennedy. Congratulations!  | |  |
Book Week Contest Winners
In assembly on Monday Mrs Bamber-O'Malley announced that Romero-Aubert House had won the Book Character Parade this year. Congratulations to RA House!
The winner of the Magis Centre Where's Wally contest was Natalia Ramos, who found Wally and all his friends hiding around the library.
The winner of the guess the title of the book with no title contest was Deanna Fermin, who accurately guessed ALL of the titleless books!
The book mark design contest had some amazing entries, and in the end there was a tie for first place between Anne Finau and Jamie Barillas. Their designs will be made into bookmarks that can be found in the Magis Centre.
Congratulations to all our winners!  Join Us in Celebrating Language Weeks Term 3– Save the Dates!
We are excited to invite all families to be part of the planning and celebration of our upcoming Language Weeks in Term 3. These events are opportunities to honor and embrace the rich cultural heritage within our community.
Upcoming Whānau Meetings:
Cook Islands Māori Language Week Planning Meeting. Follow the link to attend this meeting.
Date: Tuesday, 15 July 2025
Time: 5:30 PM
Magis Centre
Tongan Language Week Family Meeting
Date: Tuesday, 22 July 2025
Time: 5:30 PM
Magis Centre
Māori Language Week Whānau Hui
Date: Tuesday, 5 August 2025
Time: 5:30 PM
Magis Centre
These meetings will provide a platform to share ideas, plan activities, and collaborate on how we can best celebrate each language week. Your involvement is invaluable in making these events meaningful and inclusive.
Further details, including formal invitations and RSVP information, will be shared at the start of Term 3. We look forward to working with you to plan the celebrations in our community.
Save the Dates:
Cook Islands Māori Language Week: 3 – 9 August 2025. The 2025 theme for Cook Islands Māori Language Week is 'Ātui'tui’ia au ki te raurau a tōku matakeinanga – “Connect me to the offerings of my people'.
Tongan Language Week: 17 – 23 August 2025
Māori Language Week: 15 – 22 September 2025   |
CHINA TRIP 2025 - July 5th to July 17th
Monday Community Mass - Each Monday morning during term time at 7:30am
FOSI Meeting - Monday July 21st at 6:30pm
Franklin Zone Hockey - Tuesday July 22nd at 9.00am
Whakarangatira Tu - Raising Respect Programme - Tuesday July 22nd at 9.00am
Please note 2025 Teacher Only Days
Term Three - September 19th 2025
Term Four - October 22nd 2025
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The Importance of Prayer in Sport
At our school, sport is more than just competition, it’s an opportunity to live out our Catholic character and school values. Beginning a game or training with prayer helps remind us that God is present in all things, including the field or court. It sets the tone for how we play: with gratitude, humility, and integrity.
Taking a moment to pray as a team encourages unity, focuses our intentions, and invites God to be part of our efforts. It also reflects our commitment to being men and women for others, showing respect for teammates, opponents, coaches, and ourselves.
Prayer grounds our sport in faith, reminding us that win or lose, how we play matters most.
Team Prayer:
Gather together in a circle or huddle before your game.
Acknowledge God’s Presence
“Let us remember we are in the holy presence of God.”
Give Thanks
“Thank you, Lord, for the chance to play today, for our teammates, coaches, and the opportunity to represent our school.”
Ask for Help
“Help us to play with courage, respect, and fairness. Keep everyone safe from injury and guide us to do our best.”
Bless Others
“Bless our opponents, the referees, and everyone involved today. May we all enjoy the game and grow from the experience.”
Amen.
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La Storta and College Life
A big mihi to all of our sports teams who have adapted so well during the closure of La Storta for our school production. We appreciate your patience, flexibility, and commitment in finding alternative training venues during this time.
It's inspiring to see many of our ākonga involved in both sport and the arts, demonstrating versatility and the ability to transfer skills across different areas of college life. This collaboration reflects the depth of talent in our school and the strength of our community spirit.
We look forward to seeing La Storta humming with energy again in Term 3 as our sports teams return.
If you are wanting to train over the school holidays please contact the Sports Department to check availability.
Year 8 Sports Camp 2025
We are excited to offer the opportunity for 40 Year 8 students to attend the Y Sports Camp in 2025.
Location: Camp Adair, Hunua
Dates: Monday 8th – Friday 12th September 2025
Cost: Approximately $295.00 per ākonga
This camp is open to students who are not attending AIMS Games and focuses on developing teamwork, leadership, and personal growth through a wide range of sporting activities.
Students will participate in events such as Ki o Rahi, climbing, mountain biking, archery, netball, cross country, flag football, orienteering, volleyball, and basketball.
We will require a number of parent volunteers to support the camp throughout the week.
Please complete the following link to register your interest:
Sports Camp Expressions of Interest
Congratulations
Arjun Bal & Ignatious Noue for being selected to attend the Counties Manukau Rugby UNDER 16 Boys Development Day. This will be held during the school holidays.
Junior boys football had their first win over Manurewa on Monday, awesome effort from the boys & the coach. This team is growing & improving every week and holding themselves graciously against some tough teams.
 July School Holiday Training
Any Pukekohe based Distance running, Cross Country, Orienteering or future Duathlon/Triathlon students this is for you!
Click here to view the training schedule & click here to register what days you can attend.
Not in Pukekohe area but would like to follow a training plan - email Ms Knight
Term 3
There are plenty of events happening in term 3, winter sports codes will resume their competitions.
Year 7 & 8s have one day tournaments for Hockey 5 a side, Netball & Basketball plus Cross Country for Franklin Zone.
Year 9 & 10s will participate in Road Race Champs and we have 2 teams heading to the Get2Go Challenge.
We’ll also start musters for term 4 sports & host an in house Badminton competition on Tuesday afternoons.
Make sure you check the Google Sports Classroom for updates.
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Join Us for the Next FOSI Meeting!
Friends of St Ignatius (FOSI) warmly invite you to our next meeting on Monday, 21 July at 6:30 pm, held at the school. All are welcome! Come along to help us plan the rest of our events for this year and beyond! Your ideas, energy and support are vital as we continue to enrich and support our St Ignatius community. See you there! |
Please support our sponsors!
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Term 2 Subject Magis Awards 2025
Term 2 Subject Magis Awards are for students who have been working towards their own personal excellence during the term in a particular subject. | |  |
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Term 2 Virtue Awards 2025
On Monday the 23rd of June we held our Term 2 Virtue Awards. | |  |
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Show Stoppers - The Best of Broadway
Show Stoppers - The Best of Broadway, was our very first major production, it wowed audiences, and received fantastic reviews. | |  |
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