Principal's Message
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Tēnā koutou St Ignatius Community,
Welcoming everybody back this week, it was great to see so many happy and smiling faces of the staff and students, looking forward to another great term ahead. On Monday and Tuesday we were joined by the Education Review Office (ERO) who visited to evaluate how the school has established itself. The feedback about our students, staff and school was excellent and we look forward to sharing their report with you when we receive it.
Thank you to all parents and caregivers who completed our end of term one survey. The themes that came out of the survey are your appreciation of our great support staff and teachers, high expectations around behaviour and the building of community spirit. Another aspect that was the appreciation of opportunities to come into the college. Please read the Newsletter each week fully because there are many opportunities to engage coming up this term and next.
This week in assembly, I reminded our school community about the importance of valuing ourselves and who we can become; serving God through acknowledging the gifts and talents that we have been Blessed with and how we might put them to use. A mistake we can make with this is when we compare ourselves to others. It can take all of the joy of our own efforts and achievements. We should always go for our personal best in all that we do and how we contribute to the communities that we live in. When somebody else might do it better then good on them, we can celebrate their gifts and talents too; we are all unique. This approach is further unpacking in our motto, we can find God in ourselves and we can find God in others; we can find God in all things. This is the target set for our students this term. To be their best and to celebrate the best efforts of others too - without comparing. To find God in themselves and others around them in our school community.
In veniens Deum in omnibus.
Dean Wearmouth |
Social Studies
We had a fantastic Term 1 in Social Science across Years 7, 8, and 9. The Year 7 students now have a greater understanding of the geography of New Zealand and have developed fantastic mapping skills. They will begin their journey of discovering more about Te Tiriti o Waitangi, which is a great starting point for understanding how New Zealand developed in the 19th Century and beyond.
The Year 8 students spent Term 1 learning about some of New Zealand’s most famous natural disasters and the impacts they had on both people and the environment. They are now studying some of New Zealand’s greatest leaders such as Apirana Ngata, Kate Sheppard, and Sir Keith Park. Soon, they will be writing and delivering speeches on who they believe is the greatest New Zealander and why.
The Year 9 students had a great term learning about the origins of WWI and were introduced to important historical concepts like nationalism, imperialism, militarism, and diplomacy. They have started the term by learning about New Zealand’s involvement in WWI, which includes a deep dive into the Gallipoli Campaign. In Week 5, the students will embark on a virtual tour through Te Papa guided by one of their excellent historians. We are all looking forward to an exciting Term 2, where there will be so much learning taking place.
“I like Social Science because we learn about what happened in the past in the country we live in. We learn about our History and why we are the way we are today. We also learn about the world.” Jasmine Matangi
I like Social Science because we learn about who we are today and we learn about world problems. By studying Social Science we learn about how people behave and interact.” Sian Balle
“Social Science is really fun and enjoyable. I didn’t know much about it before I started at St Ignatius so now I can learn new things every lesson. I always tell my parents what I learn about and they like learning about it too.” Elias Contreras |
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Sport
Swimming
Our talented team of Paikea Harris-Fourie, Annabelle Shields, Saskia Balle, and Elysia Rollo represented the school at the Counties Manukau Southern Zone swimming competition. They achieved some incredible results.
As a team, they came 3rd in the Girls 15 & Under 100m Free Relay, 3rd in the Girls 15 & Under 200m Free Relay, and 5th in the Girls 15 & Under 200m Medley Relay.
Elysia and Paikea came 11th in the Girls 13 & Under 50m Fly, with Annabelle coming 13th.
In the Girls 13 & Under 50m Backstroke Elysia came 4th, Paikea 6th, and Annabelle 7th.
In the Girls 13 & Under 50m Breaststroke, Annabelle came 1st, Paikea 7th, and Elysia 15th.
In the Girls 13 & Under 50m Free Paikea was 6th, Elysia 7th, Annabelle 10th, and Saskia 21st.
These are all amazing results, especially considering they were facing much older competitors in the Under 15 races. We congratulate the girls on their successes.
 Ākonga Electives
Empowering Students: Taekwon-Do in Ākonga Electives
In our Ākonga Electives, students have dove into Taekwon-Do, showing progress, a positive attitude, and dedication in Term One. They mastered kicks and embraced challenges, showing a great effort. With Term Two approaching, their enthusiasm to continue is really evident. Taekwon-Do instills discipline, focus, and respect, essential for academic success. The camaraderie formed in the Dojang enhances the school community. Through Taekwon-Do, students learn martial arts skills and develop character traits crucial for life beyond just the physical aspects of training.   Ākonga Elective - Nacho News hot off the press!
Please click on this link to see the first edition of our ākonga newspaper - "Nacho's News".
The Nacho's News journalists meet every Tuesday and Thursday to learn about newspaper writing and creation. In Term One we were busy learning about source checking, effective question asking and how to write a newspaper article. Term Two is learning about deadlines and working together as a team - we are raring to go and aim to bring you an edition as often as we can.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DTmMBpP5Ui-shWtZlCWJQuBv4-q81aTV/view?usp=sharing
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Ākonga Achievement
Annabelle Shields was competing at the New Zealand National Age Group Championships for swimming in Hawke’s Bay earlier this month.
The event sees the best age group swimmers from around the country race for the national title in their respective age group (13 - 18 years). This is the pinnacle age group long course competition in NZ, and is a chance for the best age group swimmers from around the country to compete at the national level.
Annabelle had qualified for 3 events in the 13 year old girls category -the 50m breaststroke, 100m breaststroke and 200m breaststroke.
She qualified for all 3 finals and achieved 100% personal best times earning a Bronze medal in 200m Breaststroke (3rd fastest for her age in NZ), 7th in the 100m Breaststroke and 8th in the 50m Breaststroke.
 The 2023-2024 softball season has been a successful one for Zachary Harris. Zachary was the pitcher for the Pukekohe pirates under 13s, who won the Franklin championships, only losing one game.
Zachary was also selected for the Franklin under 13 representative team that came 3rd at the Brad Rona Classic. He was awarded the sportsmanship award for his Franklin representative team and MVP for his Pukekohe team.
On top of all that Zachary has been selected for the New Zealand International Softball Academy and will be representing the under 13 New Zealand softball team in Sydney this September.
Incredible mahi Zachary!  Over the holidays Rupert Archer competed in the vocal section of the North Shore Performing Arts Competition. Classes were large with up to 11 singers in each, with placings only awarded to the first four. Rupert performed a number of classical, folk and musical theatre songs winning or placing in every class. He was also the overall winner of the 12-13 years vocal championship.  |
Celebrating Ākonga
As we begin a new term we are looking forward to celebrating more moments when ākonga have reflected the Glory of God in our community. This week the following ākonga/student were recognised by their Manutaki for having received an outstanding Weekly Excellence Review in Week 10, Term 1.
Year 7 - Jasmine Matangi
Year 8 - Lauren Hartland
Year 9 - Norma Stephens
We celebrate these ākonga/students being more fully alive and reflecting the greater glory of God through their work and actions. |
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BUS UPDATE
As advised, in the last week of Term 1, there has been some changes to the bus routes.
Over the course of Term 1, the Ministry of Education reassessed the bus routes for St Ignatius, redesigning them according to their criteria and the needs of our families. We would like to kindly remind all parents and guardians of the importance of ensuring that your child catches the bus they are allocated to for health and safety reasons. As some buses are currently operating at capacity, adding extra students to a particular route can result in seats being taken away from those who are allocated to that route.
Please understand that our bus service is not designed as a door-to-door transportation service. Rather, it is allocated based on the geographical location of each student's residence. This allocation is crucial for maintaining efficiency and ensuring that all students have access to transportation.
We kindly request your cooperation in adhering to the assigned bus routes. If your child’s route or bus has changed, you will need to familiarise yourself with the new route and timings. The timetable information provided by the bus operator is currently tentative and will be confirmed by week 2 of Term 2.
In addition, children are allowed to stand on school buses. The NZTA determines the loading limit for every passenger service vehicle, including the number of standing passengers. This limit is specified in the vehicle's Certificate of Loading. Transport service providers are responsible for ensuring that they don't exceed loading limits.
Thank you for your understanding and support in keeping our transportation system safe and efficient for all students.
Any questions please email me during office hours, on [email protected] Loyola Medical Centre Update
We are delighted to have Emily Foster join our Ignatian community this week as our School Nurse. You can find out more about Emily and the work she will do below.
My name is Emily and I am very excited to be setting up the Loyola Medical Centre at our college. I have been a Registered Nurse for 9 years and am joining your school from the wider school nursing family in South Auckland. My role here focuses on the wellbeing of children and adolescents, but you can also find me working for the local Counties Urgent Care.
As part of the whole school Pastoral Team, some of the daily services I will provide here in the school clinic will be first aid, rheumatic fever prevention, bacterial skin infection treatment, acute asthma care and referrals to wider community teams as needed. For each year 9 student, I complete a comprehensive holistic assessment, which includes growth checks, vision and a basic ear exam.
For parents who have indicated that their child has a medical concern or for whom we hold medication for onsite, I will be in touch with you by week 3 of this term to document an official management plan.
As a mother, with three of my own children, I understand the importance of communication and am looking forward to working together to ensure our children are healthy, happy, and eager to learn!
I will be onsite from 10am until 2pm, but if you have any questions or concerns, do not hesitate to email me on [email protected]
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International Students
We are looking for families to become homestay caregivers for our short-stay international students.
We have students joining us in Term 3 from various countries looking to learn about New Zealand and have a "genuine Kiwi experience".
The length of stay for our first few groups is 1 week.
You do not need to know any other languages as they would prefer you to speak in English. Families will be reimbursed financially for looking after the students.
If you are interested in becoming a homestay caregiver, please get in touch with us at [email protected] and we will send further information. |
Important Dates to Remember:
Term Two Winter Uniform Dress Code in effect for all students (see page 17 of the student diary)
Marian House Mass - Wednesday 8th May at 1:30pm
Mother's Day Mass and Breakfast - Monday 13th May, 7am (This is a ticketed event due to the capacity of the Chapel. Tickets are available through School Bridge.)
Veneration Mass - Thursday 16th May (This is a ticketed event due to the capacity of the Chapel. Please see the link in the information below.)
Year 7 Parent and Student Loving for Life Health Evening - Tuesday 21st May, 6pm.
Loving for Life Year 9 Retreats - 21st-23rd May
Teachers Only Day - 24th May  Mother's Day Mass and Breakfast
Tickets are now available for the Mother's Day Mass and Breakfast on Monday 13th May at 7.15am for $12 per person. Please follow the link below:
https://www.ignatius.school.nz/etickets
Mother's Day Breakfast - Volunteers Needed
We are looking for adult volunteers to help prepare the food for the Mother's Day Breakfast on Monday 13th May. If you think you could help then please email Mr Grevatt [email protected]
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World Day of Prayer for Vocations
In the second week of the Term break, the Church celebrated the World Day of Prayer for vocations. It invited us to reflect on God’s call to all of us as a community of faith; and to us individually as members of the Church. As Pope Francis suggests, some of us are called to “embody the beauty of the Gospel in different states of life” including religious or priestly life.
Currently, our school has only young students. However, these young people will one day assume various roles in our society. That is the beauty of our ministry in education. It is a ministry of hope. In his time, St. Ignatius of Loyola provided a foresight in opening Jesuit schools: “For the children of today become the adults of tomorrow, so their good formation in life and learning will benefit many others, with the good results of that spreading more widely every day, to the greater glory and service of God our Lord.” Today, there are over 2,300 Jesuit and companion schools in the world. The schools have nurtured and formed thousands of high-calibre individuals, men and women who lived their lives for and with others as ministers of hope, faith and love in various professions. Many of them chose the path of Catholic consecrated lives.
Pope Francis mentioned in his message for the World Day of Prayer for Vocations this year:
Consecrated men and women ... offer their lives to the Lord in the silence of prayer and in apostolic activity, sometimes on the fringes of society, tirelessly and creatively exercising their charism by serving those around them. And I think of all those who have accepted God’s call to the ordained priesthood, devoting themselves to the preaching of the Gospel, breaking open their own lives, together with the bread of the Eucharist, for their brothers and sisters, sowing seeds of hope and revealing to all the beauty of God’s kingdom.
To be pilgrims of hope and builders of peace, then, means to base our lives on the rock of Christ’s resurrection, knowing that every effort made in the vocation that we have embraced and seek to live out, will never be in vain. Failures and obstacles may arise along the way, but the seeds of goodness we sow are quietly growing and nothing can separate us from the final goal: our encounter with Christ and the joy of living for eternity in fraternal love.
The pope is calling all of us to embody and communicate the Gospel message of hope, especially in a world marked by today’s epochal challenges. One of the ways that our school community can do this is to pray for vocations, and also to nurture and encourage our young people to consider and discern such life-giving possibilities.
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Catholic App  | | Click To PrayClick To Pray is the Pope’s prayer app which helps us pray for the challenges facing humanity and the mission of the Church.
Click To Pray offers you three brief moments of prayer each day which invite you to meet with Jesus and pray for the intentions of the Holy Father. |
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Each prayer is an invitation to unite your heart with the heart of Jesus and make yourself available for a mission of compassion towards the world. Click To Pray is a digital community of prayer where you can share the intentions of the Holy Father and pray together with others. The community builds bridges between generations, where we all pray as one. |
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