Campion College Newsletter

Kia ora parents and caregivers, Nau mai, haere mai, greetings.

To all our Campion whanau, our prayers and thoughts are with you as we begin to recover from the recent flooding disaster. To those who have lost belongings and had damage to property, we pray that help is available as you begin to rebuild your lives. We especially hold in our hearts and prayers any families who have lost loved ones. May you find comfort and strength from those around you over the coming months.

Great news! As of tomorrow, Tuesday 21 February, school will open again for all students. This will be a normal school day. Students are asked to go to their vertical form class at 8.30am. School will finish at 2.50pm.

In reopening the College, our priorities are firstly aimed at providing a safe and welcoming school environment for all staff and students. Secondly, we will focus on staff and student welfare for those who have been significantly impacted by this tragedy and thirdly we want to bring our school back to normal functioning for those who are coping well.

The next few days may see a return to ‘pen and paper’ learning as our internet returns. We ask all staff and students to bear with us in the return to school normality.

We hold all families in our prayers.

Kia kaha!

Ngā mihi mahana

Paul McGuinness

Principal

The phone network throughout Gisborne is patchy at present, but we are anticipating this improving greatly over the next 24 hours. We want to be able to contact all families in case of an emergency.

Our usual landline is not currently working. To communicate with the school please text or ring one of the following mobile phone numbers:

• 027 226 7466
• 027 8174 974

If you receive this message electronically then we can contact you. If you have received this message by paper copy only, please let us know the best way to contact you (or someone in your family/friend network).

If your child/children are going to be away, please let us know, if you are able.

The school app is still working and we can receive emails office@campioncollege.school.nz

If texting, please include in the text:

· Your child’s/children’s full name- First and last;

· Reason for being away;

· Number of days they are likely to be away.

Please do your utmost to text us before 9am. This supports our follow-up processes.

The water supply through the taps is safe for drinking. At this stage, we will be asking students to limit any water use that is not needed. If, over the next few months, the water supply into the city is broken, we will have limited water on site but we will need to close the school if the break occurs before 1.00pm. If this happens, families will be notified through Facebook and email and through the alert on the Campion App. There will also be an emergency alert through the Gisborne District Council. (After 1.00pm students can remain at school for the rest of the day).

School buses will be running as of tomorrow, Tuesday. The buses will be provided free of charge for all students this week.

Volunteer Teams: We will be offering to assist any families in need in our community. We will be inviting Year 11-13 students to be part of our volunteer teams to help with cleanups as needed. If there are known people who we can help, please contact Karyn Sadler 0278 174 974 or Paul McGuinness 027 226 7466.

Mufti Day: We will be holding a mufti day this Thursday, 23 February. Students are invited to wear mufti clothing on this day. Where possible we are asking students to bring ‘cash or can’ donations to go out to those in need in our community. This is a voluntary donation. For families that have the capacity, more than a gold coin would be greatly appreciated but we understand the dire circumstances some of our whanau are experiencing and we do not want any pressure on families. We have set up a KINDO link for those who are able to donate online https://shop.tgcl.co.nz/shop/q2.shtml?shop=Campion%20College&service=cyclone_gabrielle_relief_fund

Athletics Day: This has been postponed until next Tuesday, 28 February.

Class Photos: These will now be held on Wednesday, 1 March.

Gracious God,

As we try to comprehend the destruction that flooding causes to people’s lives, our hearts grieve.

We ask for you to be with all who have suffered loss.

For those who have lost homes, we pray for shelter and community.

For those who have lost livelihoods, we ask for financial security.

For those who have lost loved ones, we pray that they know comfort in their mourning.

Lord God, we pray you give strength to all those who are providing support to those affected.

For governments, for emergency services, for faith leaders and for neighbours.

Give them all the endurance, resilience and compassion they need.

We pray especially for those who help others whilst also coping with their own loss.

Mary Our Good Mother, pray for us

St Marcellin Champagnat, pray for us

St Mary MacKillop, pray for us

St Edmund Campion, pray for us.

Staying connected is now more important than ever. Please keep up to date with all the wonderful things we are doing on our new Campion College Facebook Page. Head over to Facebook to check it out here.

If you haven't yet downloaded our College App, please do so . It's an easy way to stay on top of school admin.

Our church is St Mary, Star of the Sea. We are fortunate to have our church onsite. Our parish Mass times are:

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 9 am

Friday 12.10 pm,

Saturday 9 am and Vigil Mass 6.00 pm

Sunday 9.00 am

Children’s liturgy at every Sunday 9.00 am

We love to hear about and celebrate our students' achievements.

Please share info and/or photos with karyn.sadler@campioncollege.school.nz