Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.' - John 8:12
Dear whānau,
'We must strive to do ordinary things extraordinarily well' is one of Catherine McAuley's most famous quotes and the kids in Room Tui did a fantastic job of sharing the ordinary, everyday things they are going to strive to do extraordinarily well this year. The ideas they shared, portraits of Catherine McAuley they had created and the fact that they could all say the word 'extraordinarily' was super impressive.
Athletics Day on Tuesday was a raging success with no rain and no injuries sustained (not even in the dad's race). Last year we were unable to have supporters join us due to Covid so it was cool to have a really good turn out of whānau and hear all the kids being cheered on. Our kids always do us proud on days like this, showing bucket loads of faith, hope and love. They put lots of effort into doing their best in each event, have another go if the first one didn't go quite as well as they wanted and they show sportsmanship and kindness to each other too. Information for kids who qualified for Eastern Southland Athletics on Tuesday 7th March will have a timetable etc sent home tomorrow after our long distance races at SPC (9am).
On Wednesday morning we joined the parish and Father Elie for Ash Wednesday Mass at the Church. Our teachers had the special job of anointing the children with ashes to mark the beginning of Lent (more below). My day was well and truly made when a lovely parishioner made a special point of coming over and telling me how beautifully behaved and reverent our children were throughout the Mass.
On Thursday the kids got together at the Church with Caritas leader Justine to learn more about the Catholic social teaching principle of solidarity - whakawhanaungatanga. The Catholic social teaching principle of solidarity is about recognising others as our brothers and sisters and actively working for their good. In our connected humanity, we are invited to build relationships - whakawhanaungatanga - to understand what life is like for others who are different from us. Caritas + me = love and action. The staff are off to Invercargill after school today to get some more gems from Justine and her team.
If you've got something exciting to share, feel free to email me a photo(s) and a short blurb by Thursday 9am each week and I'll pop in the newsletter for us all to celebrate together - mallory.hood@stmarys.school.nz
God bless.
Cheers,
Mallory
Acting Principal
Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday Marks the beginning of Lent. Our school will be following the Lenten programme. The theme for Lent 2023 – “I am the Light of the World” – reminds us that Jesus brings light to a world often darkened by disease, disaster, violence, lies and hypocrisy. Jesus’ life, and his proclamation of the truth, is a challenge to each of us to lead our lives following His example.
Ash Wednesday is the first day in the season of Lent. Lent can be observed by all Christians, and it is a beautiful way to remember Jesus’ sacrifice for us and prepare us for the Easter season. We pray extra prayers, fast, and give to charity during this season of Lent. Ash Wednesday has many traditions for Catholic families and ways to observe this day, and also, anything you are doing for the length of Lent will start on this day.
Principal Appointment
Tēnā koutou St Mary’s whānau
As you will be aware at the end of last year our principal, Mrs Annie Nelson, resigned. For the best part of a decade, St Mary’s has been blessed by Mrs Nelson’s leadership. We are grateful for Annie’s dedication and service to St Mary’s and wish her all the best with her future endeavours with the Ministry of Education.
The Board is now beginning the process of finding a new principal who will continue to lead and uphold the vision of St Mary's School. To ensure a thorough and fair process, we will have engaged with the New Zealand School Trustees Association and the Dunedin Diocese Catholic Education Office to help guide us with the appointment process.
We believe it is important to involve the wider school community in this process, and as such, the Board will shortly be consulting with a range of groups such as parents, teachers, and students. Your input will be essential in helping us to identify the skills and attributes we should be looking for in appointing our next principal.
In the meantime, we would like to take this opportunity to thank the staff and senior leadership team for ensuring the smooth running of St Mary’s during this transition period. We deeply admire the ongoing māhi and aroha you generously provide to all our students
We will provide further updates as the process unfolds, but in the meantime, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us.
On behalf of the St Mary’s Board
Brendan Terry
Presiding Member
