Principal's Message

Tēnā koutou katoa,

On Saturday we were delighted to consecrate the college chapel, which will now become the centre of school life. Bishop Steve celebrated the Mass and we were so grateful to have many people who played a part in the formation of the college present to celebrate and be acknowledged. As we know, our college already has a long history in its development. 

Seeing some of the students serving at the consecration Mass was a real reminder of the richness of a Catholic education. Some of our students could be seen on the day competing on the sport fields, earlier serving in the kitchen to help with the hospitality and then later undertaking ministries at the Mass. It was a wonderful experience for all adults present to find God in our students by seeing their levels of commitment to God through their commitment to their own personal excellence, growing towards who they are called and created to be.

This theme continued this week with an excellent Young Vinnies assembly, where students led the reading to educate others in the work of the Society of St Vincent de Paul in Auckland and how we can help. One way is that we are having a 'Wear Your Own Clothes Day' on Friday 31st May next week.

This was further followed up by 60 of our students (which is nearly one fifth) competing at the Franklin football tournament on Wednesday. Students gave their best effort and were shining examples of the greater glory of God, not only for their wonderful effort but  by the example they were to one another and other schools; being sporting, being supportive and being proud to represent our college. Long may that continue.

Inveniens Deum in omnibus,

Dean Wearmouth

College Life

English

In Year 7 and 8 English, we are currently doing novel study and some of the classes are part of book club groups. Each group agrees on a page range to read and what roles each member is doing, which include: Illustrator, Summariser, Passage Picker, Travel Tracker, Discussion Director, Character Analyser, Connector and Word Master. After the tasks have been completed, the group meets to share their opinions on the book and the work they've done between meetings. Many students have enjoyed the chance to take ownership of their learning and learn social skills in the process.

Engaging children in conversations about what they are learning is crucial for their development and academic success. Our Year 7, 8s and 9s are all currently enjoying novel studies and would love to talk to you about it. Be sure to ask them about what they are reading and learning in English. 

Sport

Netball

Our girls look fantastic in their new uniforms. They showed great school spirit on Wednesday night during their games at Bruce Pulman Park. Three teams played in the Counties Manukau Secondary Schools competition. The Year 7 and 8's Gold Team had a convincing win 21 -3 over a Strathallan Team.

Football

Yesterday, Mr Wearmouth and Mr Blincoe took 5 teams to the Franklin Zones Football Tournament in Tuakau. 

All teams represented the school with pride and had a fantastic day. Please see overall placings below and photos attached. 

Year 7 Boys - Finished 1st - They went undefeated in the whole tournament, scoring 23 goals and conceding only 3 goals! The boys played with passion and pride and as a team! 

Year 7 Girls - Finished 2nd overall. The girls played with great enthusiasm & energy! 

Year 8 Boys - Finished 1st overall. Boys demonstrated some excellent skills and played well as a team! 

Year 8 Girls - 4th Place. A great effort, they played fantastically as a team and had lloyds of fun. 

Year 7 & 8 Mixed - 5th Overall. Lots of fun and team spirit.

Basketball

Our Year 7 and 8 Basketball team played on Friday night. For many of the players it was their first game of competitive basketball. They lost to Waiau Pa  24 - 12, but put in a great effort for their first game. 

Long Distance Running

Our students gave their all at the College Sports Distance Running Cross Country Championship event held at Lloyd Elsmore Park in Pakuranga on Wednesday. 

Ākonga Electives

Nacho News

Issue Four out now! Follow the link in the News section at the bottom of the Newsletter!

Taekwon-Do

Ākonga / students have the unique opportunity at St Ignatius to experience a wide range of electives on a Tuesday and Thursday. One of their choices has been to experience the Korean Martial Art of Taekwon-Do.
Taekwon-Do was named on April 11th 1955 but has its origins in the ancient Korean martial art of Tae Kyon which is thousands of years old. After WWII, Tae Kyon and various aspects of Japanese Karate were integrated together to form the Taekwon-Do we see today.

Known as the Korean Martial Art of Self Defense, ākonga / students have been able to taste the various aspects of Taekwon-Do under the tutelage of Mr Raukura who is a 7th Degree Master.

Taekwon-Do is known for its kicking and self defense but also heavily focuses on developing the individual, The 'Tenets of Taekwon-Do' are extremely important and make up a large part of the training.

Ākonga / students are taught the value of courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control and indomitable spirit. 

Taekwon-Do can offer focus, discipline and pathway to personal health and fitness. So far everyone seems to be having an amazing time and great fun!

International Relations

This week a group of our Year 9 students were given the opportunity to partake in a two-way exchange lesson with Wuhan Jian'Gang High School in China. This was a lovely opportunity to proudly share our Ignatian vision and Kiwi culture, whilst learning about the Chinese culture and the art of watercolour painting. We learned about the history of watercolour painting and were shown how to paint a lotus flower. Our students took turns explaining the Korowai's cultural significance and history in New Zealand and then engaged in a Q and A session afterwards. It was a rewarding experience where they were able to understand another culture and learn a skill at the same time. There will be another session next week where they will see a typical day in China and will be able to compare it with their own experiences.

Ākonga Achievement

John Glynos is a member of the Franklin County Archery Club. John has been shooting since mid 2022. He's coming up to his 2 year mark soon.
While shooting with them he has broken quite a few records. Just since this year has started he has received 3 record breaking certificates for the Marked league series.

John starts the first of 4 rounds for the Interclub series at the end of May, the Regional indoors Nationals will also be a 3 day event in June and he has the Unmarked rounds starting in July. In October he will be shooting in the IFAA Asia Pacific Regionals hosted in New Zealand. This will be a 3 day shoot and will be quite good for John, as he will be shooting against the New Zealand clubs and International clubs. 

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam

Celebrating Ākonga
This week the following ākonga/students were recognised by their Manutaki for having received an outstanding Weekly Excellence Review in Week 10, Term 3.
Year 7 -  Caitlin McFadden
Year 8 -  Simon Joseph Vicente
Year 9 - Oliver Yee

There were also two Principal's awards given to:

Alexis Collins for her outstanding artistic contribution to the House Displays
Hailey Zhao for his Christian witness in the House Display competition.

We celebrate these ākonga/students being more fully alive and reflecting the greater glory of God through their work and actions.

House Competitions

Congratulations to Acutis Magdalene who won the House Display competition.  The judges commented that the AM display really captured to way the house patrons inspired ākonga.

Social Science House Quiz
The latest House Competition at Saint Ignatius was planned by the Social Science Faculty and involved students completing a quiz. Questions were based on content covered during class time across Years 7, 8, and 9, with some general knowledge questions thrown into the mix. There were three categories in the quiz, covering the topics of Politics, Geography, and History. Students were divided into teams of six, with a mixture of Years 7, 8, and 9. All houses did extremely well and showed great enthusiasm for Social Science.

Are you smarter than an 11-13 year old? Try answering some of the questions from the quiz:
1. Who was the first elected female Prime Minister of New Zealand?
2. Which country spends the most money on military spending?
3. What famous lake in New Zealand is known as the "lake that breathes"?
4. What are the names of four of the world's oceans?
5. In what year was the Treaty of Waitangi signed?
6. Who is the only New Zealander to win two Victoria Crosses?
7. In what year did women gain the right to vote in New Zealand?
8. Who was in the Triple Entente?

The winners of the quiz will be announced at next weeks assembly.

Cura Personalis

Next week we celebrate Samoan Language Week in college.  We will find out more about this next week in a special assembly on Monday which one of our cultural groups have prepared for us.  On Monday ākonga may wear cultural attire. 

Upcoming Events

Samoan Language Week - Monday 27th May - Friday 31st May
Whānau Smiles Dental for Year 9 - Monday 27th May - Friday 31st May
Parent and Caregiver Formation Evening "Focused Attention" - 6:00pm - 7.30pm Monday 27th May
Literacy Co-Req Trial - Wednesday 29th May 
Year 8 Retreat - All day Thursday 30th May
WYOC Day - 'Wear your own clothes' Day Friday 31st May

Catholic Character

Love Requires a Relationship

Our school’s Companions of Jesus Chapel was finally consecrated last Saturday. Bishop Steve Lowe presided over the Mass which was attended by some members of the school community as well as representatives of the local parishes, the Auckland Diocese, the Jesuit Order and JACSA (Jesuit and Companion Schools Australasian network of education). The chapel is part of our integral effort to facilitate faith development of our students. Alongside academic excellence and other co-curricular achievements, faith development is fundamental to our mission as a Catholic school.

Now, fundamental to our identity as Christians, we believe in God the Trinity, which feast we will celebrate on Sunday. We can understand the Trinity as an experience of Love. A Jesuit scripture scholar, Fr. Brendan Byrne SJ suggests that love requires the existence of another. Love requires a relationship. The Trinitarian God expression gives us a glimpse of that perfect relationship of love: of the Father, the Son and the Spirit – who work collaboratively and in harmony with each other, united, for a mission – mission of Love. In human history, it eventuated in God’s Incarnation in Jesus, whose whole life was dedicated to Love. In Jesus’ suffering and death, the only thing that could make sense to us is his relationship of love with the Father and the Spirit which remained intact. Indeed, Jesus’ resurrection is also an event that is born of that everlasting love. 

This love is offered by God to us; including to our school community. With the vast diversity of our school community members, it can sometimes feel easy to see differences and otherness more as distractions or threats. Jesus knows this human reality very well, hence his teaching, “Love one another as I have loved you.” (John 13:34). We are always invited to deepen our relationship with Jesus and to experience God’s love, the holy love. If we have that kind of love burning within our hearts, our natural response and disposition in life would simply be to love. As love would require relationships, it would then define and shape our relationships with one another and with God’s whole creation. Our chapel can hopefully serve as a place for these important reflections and prayers, a place for God’s holy love to flourish in our hearts.

Young Vinnies

At Monday's assembly, our two new Young Vinnies leaders, Annabelle Shields and Ignatious Noue, were blessed by Father Eka and given a leadership starter pack by the Young Vinnies Auckland Coordinator. Annabelle and Ignatious then delivered a speech on Term 2's service project: Fundraising for a non-profit charity called Pro Love. The charity was born in 2020, when the founder, Melissa Dobbs, responded to God's call to support expectant mothers, who are facing financial difficulties, with essential items for babies. Their motto is 'The Greatest of all is love' and their focus is to help families in tangible ways, without judgement. To fundraise for this special cause, we will be having a non-uniform day on Friday the 31st of May in exchange for a gold coin. 

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