 Principal's Message |
Happy New Year to all parents, caregivers, and students! It is very exciting to be on the school site preparing for our first day on 7th February. I hope you had the opportunity to see the Newshub piece last week and gained some early views of the inside of our teaching block.
A reminder that our first day is 7th February and students are expected on site for 8:30am at the latest. We hope that families will be taking advantage of our bus services and this will ease traffic at the front of the site, as Burtt Road is still being upgraded for the first 4 weeks of the school year. We will, of course, be taking an individual first day photo of every student and will share these with you later in the that week.
For day one, students are only required to bring their lunch and pencil case in their school bag. For day two, students should also bring their device and books. Please do not be concerned about students needing to carry around heavy bags, books will be kept in the classrooms that the students are taught in and any independent learning for home will be online. This means that lockers will come in time, however they are not essential for daily school life.
Our tuck shop 'The Hungry Wolf' will be open from Monday 26th February, so please ensure your child(ren) attend school with enough food for the day during the first few weeks before it opens.
The build is on track, the ICT infrastructure is in place and furniture is being delivered from Tuesday. All staff return to school next week, so we will certainly be ready!
Today is the Feast Day of the Conversion of Saint Paul the Apostle. On this day we celebrate renewal and new beginnings. We walk towards light and can see more clearly. We begin a more focused journey towards Christ. Like Paul who was accompanied by Ananias, we are not alone on our journey to begin life as the St Ignatius of Loyola Catholic College community. We walk together alongside all those who have contributed and worked for this time to come. We walk together alongside all of our brothers and sisters in the Catholic Church, the Jesuit order, Jesuit Education Australasia and the wider global network. We will walk together humbly as new members of our wonderful new school community. In veniens Deum in omnibus.
Dean Wearmouth |
All Uniform can now be collected from Friday February 2 at the Uniform Shoppe, Papakura.
Please ensure that you have familiarised yourself with our uniform. The full uniform policy can be found on the school website and in the resource folder of the school app.
Thank you for ensuring that your child(ren) arrives to school on the first day of term in the correct and full summer uniform. |
First Day Wednesday 7th February 2024
To ensure the smooth running of this first day and the safety of our ākonga / students, please note the following:
- Road works will be on-going and one entrance will be open for buses and drop-off
-The use of the college buses is strongly encouraged and familiarisation with the available routes and collection times should be carried out prior to our start day
- There will be a Pōwhiri during the morning of our first day for ākonga / students, staff and guests. Please note we unable to accomodate parents on site at this stage
- A professional photographer will be taking photos as ākonga / students arrive and throughout the day's celebrations, these will be shared with the community in due course
Your cooperation and understanding in regards to these points is appreciated.
|
All eligable ākonga/students have now received information regarding Bus Routes for this year.
The bus routes have been carefully planned by the Ministry of Education and allocated based on ākonga/student home addresses, taking into consideration both the number of ākonga/students and the health and safety for all passengers. Unfortunately, due to these factors, it's not possible to accommodate individual requests for changes in bus routes.
We encourage all eligible ākonga/students to use the Bus service provided by the Ministry. This is especially important as Burtt Road is still under construction outside the school and any ākonga/student drop offs will create unnecessary congestion.
We understand that there may be some uncertainty around school bus services while ākonga/students and caregivers become familiar with these new routes.
We would encourage parents and caregivers to stay with their children while they are waiting for their school transport or to keep in contact with them to make sure that they are picked up safely. This is particularly important for the start of our school year while both ākonga/students and school transport services settle in.
For more information on the Ministry’s route design criteria, as well as other information on the School Transport Assistance offered by the Ministry, please visit their website: School transport – Education in New Zealand |
BYOD and Digital Citizenship |
A reminder, all Y7-9 ākonga / students are required to bring a laptop every day to school and will use them as a part of a hybrid learning approach. This allows us to engage our ākonga / students in a broad, rich, cohesive and local curriculum. A BYOD device is essential for each ākonga / student.
It is an expectation of the College that students attend each day with a fully charged device ready for learning. If this requirement is not met, it will directly impact on their own learning and that of their peers.
All ākonga/students will sign a Digital Citizenship Agreement as part of their induction programme.
Recommended devices for BYOD 2024
There are many appropriate devices, and the school does not require a particular brand or model. We do have minimum specifications however, and Chromebooks, while initially acceptable for Years 7-10, will not meet requirements as ākonga reach our senior school from Year 11 onwards. So they may be used if students already have them and be upgraded when they need to be replaced.
Our minimum specs (listed below):
Minimum specification for devices:
• Battery life: 6 - 8 hours. Battery life will lessen over time. Ensure devices are fully charged at home before the school day.
• Keyboard
• Screen size of 13 inches is optimal
• Light enough to be carried around during the day
• Protective case
• 5GHz Wireless capability
• USB Drive
• Built in camera and sound recording
• RAM – 8GB is optimal
• 128GB SSD drives to ensure sufficient space for software. Hard Drive should be at least
320GB.
• Avoid AMD Desktop CPUs, we recommend Intel Desktop CPUs for efficient processing
time
• Insurance (Saint Ignatius is not responsible for damage or loss of the device)
Along with these we strongly recommend:
• Preferable OS for Windows –Windows 10/11
• Virus protection –e.g. Microsoft Security Essentials, Windows Defender etc.
• Malware protection, e.g. Malware Bytes etc.
|
As we approach the opening of our College it is a good time to reflect on how we can all prepare for a Catholic Ignatian Education.
What are the significant roles of parents in Ignatian education?
Become active members in school community’s events, e.g. attending Parents’ Masses and formation evenings.
Help ensure their children are pursuing the Four Cs, e.g. instilling their children’s commitment to uphold school values, wear their uniforms correctly and be punctual.
Build a habit of reflectiveness in the family, e.g. conversing with their children about daily events which could prompt them to a deeper sense of gratitude for God's graces.
Allow and nurture the growth of their children’s spiritual life, e.g. praying and attending liturgies / Sunday Masses together.
Students’ lives could be challenging, especially being new in a different environment. We are a community on a journey together. We commit to support each other in this wonderful Ignatian journey in education.
Tips for students to prepare themselves for Ignatian education:
Find somewhere in your heart every day where you can feel grateful for the gifts life, friendships / relationships, education, and essentially for all God’s graces.
Be a good learner. Listen, observe, think, ask questions, act, reflect and pray.
Be attentive to your life and the lives of others: physically, emotionally, spiritually. God speaks in many ways, drawing all to peace, generosity and love.
Be open-minded and open-hearted. Try to make friends, become a good friend to others.
A Prayer for students as they prepare to join our St Ignatius Community
Loving God,
We give you thanks,
for everything that is new and beautiful,
for the new school community we are about to form together.
As we start our journey with Saint Ignatius of Loyola,
we ask you for courage and wisdom in our hearts,
to find you in all things, to be grateful for your gifts,
everything which holds promise and brings us peace and joy.
We ask this through our Lord and friend, Jesus Christ.
Amen.
|
 |
 |
|
|
