Newsletter Week 8 Term 2 2022

Principal's Message

Kia ora Koutou,

We are very blessed with the sunshine on this crisp winter morning. Our school is missing some students and staff this week as families are recovering from winter illnesses. There are lots of bugs going around, coughs, colds and a touch of the flu. We really appreciate you keeping children at home when they are unwell. They need to rest and feel better.

Today our year 7 and 8's are competing in a Winter Tournament against other Catholic Schools across the Waikato. Hockey, Football and Netball are the sports that we have entered teams into. The games are played at Sacred Heart and St John's Colleges. Thank you to the managers and coaches of the teams. What a great opportunity for our students to be among other peers from their age group.

We have the blessing of our prayer garden next Tuesday and we would love you to join us for this special dedication. 11.30 am onwards.

Have a lovely Matariki. What a special time to be about to share this with your family. On Wednesday and Thursday mornings we are hosting breakfasts in school for Matariki. Your child's classroom teachers will communicate the plans for the class to you. A reminder that Friday is a public holiday.

Have a fantastic week, take care and God bless.

Arohanui

Andrea Colebourn

Principal

Congratulations

A special congratulations to our students who have received the Sacrament of Holy Communion. It was a very special day at Mass on Sunday and we are so honoured to share this special time with you. Well done Gabby Arnephy, Nial Luiz, Bella Jumawid, Charlotte Van Eijk, Cienna Ball, Alyse Horan, Kobe Martin, Chelsea Marwick and Lauren Fraser-Jones. A special thank you to their families for supporting them on their faith journey. Our school would like to thank Frances, Katherine and Barbara for leading the courses this year.

Districts Cross Country

We had a team of 24 represent St Joes at the Morrinsville Schools District Cross Country last week. There was a newly designed course at the Tahuna Golf Club where the children ran up and down big hills and through a lot of sheep poo! Once again, our school placed extremely well. We will share the official results once they come through. A special thank you to parents who provided transport and supported the runners, and too Tahuna School for their awesome organisation. See our Facebook page for more photos. https://www.facebook.com/StJosephsMorrinsville

Blessing of Our Prayer Garden

This Tuesday 28 June we are going to bless our beautiful prayer garden. Our prayer garden is dedicated to the Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions. For us at St Joseph’s Catholic School, this is the story of the Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions (the Mission Sisters) and how they founded our school.

St Joes was founded by this order in 1930. Whakatipu Hub was the original building which was located in the middle of the school field. Oak trees were planted at the school over 90 years ago. In fact, children used to tie their horses to the trees to give shade, and then rode them home again.

The Sisters lived in the Convent which was up on the hill ,and taught at the school until 1988. Sister Bernadette was the last Sister to be the Principal of St Joes. The Convent closed in 2017. Our School Prayer Garden is dedicated to the Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions to thank and bless them for their amazing work and continued dedication to our school community.

Euphrasie Barbier founded The Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions or Les Religieuses de Notre Dame des Missions (RNDM). The charism is contemplation, community and mission. Today, RNDM sisters continue to live out Euphrasie’s vision, working with women and youth on the margins of society throughout the world.

Our school core values reflect the charism of the Mission Sisters and the charism of our school.

Please come along and celebrate with us, Tuesday 28 June at 11.30 am.

Reflection

Matariki,

Matariki is the Māori name for the cluster of stars also known as the Pleiades. It rises in midwinter and for many Māori, it heralds the start of a new year. Iwi across New Zealand understand and celebrate Matariki in different ways and at different times.

Traditionally, Matariki was a time to acknowledge the dead and to release their spirits to become stars. It was also a time to reflect, to be thankful to the gods for the harvest, to feast and to share the bounty of the harvest with family and friends.