Newsletter Wk9 27th June 2022
Holy Cross Catholic School Papatoetoe
Our Vision: Learning and Growing in Christ
Dear Parents and Caregivers
I hope you have had a restful weekend and enjoyed our first Matariki public holiday. Matariki or Pleiades is a cluster of stars marking the beginning of the Maori New Year.
Stars from a Christian perspective have always held significance. The beautiful poetry of the Old Testament refers to stars often. Psalm 8: ‘I often think of the heavens your hands have made and of the moon and the stars you put in place.’
The wise men from the East followed the star that led them to the Christ Child. Jesus is referred to as the sun of justice and the one Morning Star that never sets. Mary has the title of Stella Maris, Star of the Sea.
The awesomeness of the stars has captured humankind down the ages. The early Maori looked up at the night sky and spotted Matariki and acknowledged their New Year with its appearance. We give thanks for the wonder of the stars and for what they signify for so many people.
First Reconciliation Service for Year 4
Message from the Principal
Dear Parents
Week 9 is upon us and as always we ask, "Where has the term gone?" It has been a rewarding term in many ways and we are proud of all our students and their achievements, which you will see reflected in their half yearly reports. You will receive these by email on Friday 1 July. If you do not receive an email with your child's report, please contact the school office on Monday 4th July.
It is also encouraging to see the attendance of the majority of our students improving and tracking closer to our 80% plus expected level. We are fully aware of the colds, viruses and Covid that are still lurking within our families and communities but we are genuinely concerned for our students who are consistently absent with unexplained reasons.
This weekend we enjoyed a long weekend, being the first year that Matariki has been acknowledged with a public holiday. Matariki is a time of the year that marks the changes in our taiao ( environment) - a sign to hunt or harvest, a signal of shifting relationships between the elements and weather, an indication of whether the year will bring hope or death or both. Matariki is a time to reflect, to remember and to set intentions. Matariki is a celebration of all these things and more. It is a time to call people together to reaffirm bonds with their whanau, friends and communities. It is a time to share kai, the fruits of the harvest, to celebrate with music, art and dance, a time to be together.
During Matariki, Maori send their manako (wishes and desires), their hopes and dreams into the stars. This is a time for learning, sharing and decision making similar to New Year resolutions but these are not centred on individual wants, rather on the community wellbeing and the environment. During this time people pay tribute to the different stars of Matariki that are associated with different environmental domains and may pay tribute to them by doing different things like planting some trees, cleaning up a beach or land area, improving their recycling skills or reducing their waste output.
Arohanui.
Nga manaakitanga ki a koutou katoa
Julie Paul
Principal
A Thought for Matariki
Parent/Teacher/Student Interviews
Week 10: Monday 4 July and Wednesday 6 July
Booking ONLINE
We will be holding Parent/Teacher Interviews on Monday 4th July and Wednesday 6th July. Appointment times will be in 15 minute blocks and will start at 2pm to 4.45pm and restart at 5.45pm - 6.45pm. The staff are NOT AVAILABLE BETWEEN 5.00pm - 5.30pm as they will have a dinner break at this time.
Children will go to the HALL AT 2.00PM on BOTH days. Parents may pick up their children by going to the hall to collect them or by presenting a written note.
Parents must book their appointment time online. To book an appointment go to our school website www.hcsp.school.nz and click on the ‘School Info’ tab and click on ‘book an interview’ from the dropdown list. You will be taken to the School Interviews website.
Once on the School Interviews website you will be prompted to put in a school code. The school code is kyzz3. Once you have logged in with the code you will need to enter your email address, your name and your child’s name. You will also need to know the name of your child’s teacher.
Available times for interviews with your child’s teacher will be displayed. Select the time you require. If you need to change your interview time at any stage you can do so by logging in and selecting another time. Only 1 time can be selected per child.
The website for booking appointments is now open. Please book appointments for ALL of your children by following this process.
Maori Hui
Last week, as part of the Matariki celebrations, our Maori students attended a hui where they participated in Maori songs, dance, traditional stories and writing their pepeha. The block concluded with the sharing of some kai and korero about their activities. It was a most successful event and it was enjoyed by both the akonga and kaiako.
All of our students on our database who identify as Maori were given a letter and invited to attend this hui but unfortunately some students felt they had been left out. If this was the case we apologise and ask parents of those students to contact the office by telephone or email to enable us to update our database.
Scholastic Book Orders
Anyone wishing to order any books from Catalogue 4 please complete the online order by Thursday 30 June as this is the last day for orders before the holidays.
School Hours
We are concerned about the consistent number of students arriving late to school on a regular basis as this is not teaching them to self manage and be on time for events. School starts at 8.45am and all students are expected to be in class and ready to start their learning at that time.
Our school day finishes at 2.50pm and we expect all children to be off site by 3.15pm or 3.30pm at the latest. Children are not supervised after this time as teachers are either attending meetings, coaching sport, involved in classroom preparation or off site at netball or professional development.
School Jackets
Please ensure that they are named and are being worn to school as we are still keeping the classrooms well ventilated and do not want children to be cold.
Hand Sanitiser
We have had several boxes of small bottles of hand sanitiser donated to the school which we wish to distribute to any families who may need them.
If anyone would like some hand sanistiser please collect it from the office. Unfortunately we are not allowed to send it home with students, an adult must collect it.
Friday Night (1st July) Disco for AIMS Team
This year due to COVID we have decided to send only one Netball Team to Aims and we are helping them to raise money to cover some of their expenses.
On Friday night there will be a disco between 6pm and 8pm in the hall. Entry is $2 per child. There will be sausages, water and slushies on sale. Children will also be able to purchase glow sticks. Prices are as listed below in the poster. Please bring small change to help the sellers.
Auckland Netball for Year 7 and Year 8 Tuesday 28 June 2022
Below is the draw for the Years 7 & 8 teams for Tuesday 28th June 2022
HCS Y8 Blue vs St Cuthbert's Y8 1 at 4.00pm on Court 3
HCS Y8 Red vs Farm Cove Intermediate Blue at 4.00pm on Court 9
HCS Y7 Blue vs Marist College Kowhai at 4.00pm on Court 4
HCS Y7 Red vs St Cuthbert's College Y7/1 at 4.00pm on Court 2
Papatoetoe Sports Tournament
Years 5 / 6 sports teams will all be playing at Bruce Pulman Park, Papakura.Tuesday, 28th June.
Years 5 - 8 Waterpolo Session!
Where: Manurewa Aquatic Centre, Sykes Rd, Manurewa Time: 5.45pm - 6.45pm, Friday 1st July What: Skills training session and fun games.
Revitalisation of Old Papatoetoe Town Centre
As part of the revitalisation of the Old Papatoetoe town centre, the development of a potential community hub building is being considered by Auckland Council. This would be a place where the community can come together and connect and participate in a range of community activities under one roof.
Auckland Council staff want to understand what sort of activities, programmes and services people of all ages would like to see provided in a community hub (in addition to library services).
A short online survey is available on Auckland Council’s Have Your Say website as an opportunity to provide your feedback and say what you feel is important to be included in a new community hub facility.
The survey is open until 10 July through this link https://akhaveyoursay.nz/ or hard copies of the survey can be found and dropped off at the Papatoetoe Library and the Alan Brewster Centre.
Principal Awards
Harinui
R1 Kelvin Karati, Rurick Gonslaves
R4 To’oa Krone, Telina-Nia Misa
R5 James Fifita, Alexis Laulu
Aroha
R4a Katina Ioane, Elijah-Brooklyn Cocker
R9 Roman Collins, Joshua Kumitau
R10 Angela Lai Alama, Philip Lemisio
Arohanui
R1a Slade Crichton, Sahara Faamoana Galoiola
R2 Ioane Putairi, Nava Misa
R3 Alexander Ah Ching, Grace Mealamu
Te Matauranga
R11 Ariana Tupe, Reuben Rai
R12 Veronica Micheal, Archie Stowers
R13 Nerysa Payne, Liko Tuitea
Tumanako
R16 Sophia Fonoimoana, Amelia Jobit
R15 Lindon Coe Zeno Bergonia
Manaakitanga
R18 Faimanifo Collins, Miguel Jefferson
R19 Kharlyn Ngan Woo-Matoha, Genevia Singh
R20 Daisy Michael, Lionel Yusif
Atawhai
R17 Osteen Fruean, Neriah Sa’u-Tipelu
R21 Sioeli Bloomfield, Ta’utapu Tonga
R22 Andrew Aleas, Ceejay Lolo
Rangimarie
Halo Toiaivao; Nevaeh Paleaaesina, Jiselle Tuiafitu; McKenzie Phillips Fawdry
Alanah Carson; Emily-Alice Feao
School App
Download our school app (which is free) so that you receive announcements and newsletters from school to keep you up to date.
This is what the app looks like on either the PlayStore (for Android phones) or the App Store (for iPhones). Please download it if you haven’t done so already.
Contact Us
Email: office@hcsp.school.nz
Website: https://hcsp.school.nz/
Location: Holy Cross Catholic School Papatoetoe 21 Carruth Road, Papatoetoe, Auckland, New Zealand
Phone: +64 9 278 8224
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hcsp.school.nz