Tēnā koutou kātoa ngā whānau o te kura

In this first newsletter of 2023, we acknowledge and offer support to our community that may have suffered damage in the recent cyclone. We are also mindful of those of you who have whānau in the northern and eastern parts of the country that were more heavily affected by the Auckland floods and the cyclone. If we can provide additional pastoral support to your child(ren) now, please don’t hesitate to contact your child’s Dean. In these challenging times, we must remain connected and support each other as much as possible. Although we had hoped for a ‘normal’ start to 2023, again, we have been denied this opportunity by unprecedented circumstances.

The season of Lent is upon us.

The college celebrated Ash Wednesday with a full-school Liturgy led by senior students. This is the first time we’ve been able to do this for a few years. Ash Wednesday signals the start of Lent. Lent is one of the five seasons of the Catholic liturgical calendar, along with Advent, Christmas, Easter, and Ordinary Time.

Lent is a season of simple living. As the entire Church prepares for the great celebration of Christ’s Paschal Mystery in the Easter Triduum, Catholics make special efforts to pray, do penance, and do good works. During the six-week season of Lent, we are encouraged by the Church to engage in three spiritual practices – prayer, fasting, and doing good works. There is no better time to reconnect with or deepen one’s faith than Lent. We can draw closer to God during this time as we prepare to celebrate Christ’s resurrection at Easter.

Pope Francis’s message for Lent 2023 had a theme of Lenten Penance and the Synodal Journey. Pope Francis reminds us that during Lent, we are invited to ascend “a high mountain” in the company of Jesus and to live a particular experience of spiritual discipline as God’s holy people. He says, “Lenten penance is a commitment, sustained by grace, to overcoming our lack of faith and our resistance to following Jesus on the way of the cross.”

He details how this requires effort, sacrifice and concentration. Pope Francis says, “these requisites are also important for the synodal journey to which, as a Church, we are committed to making. We can benefit greatly from reflecting on the relationship between Lenten penance and the synodal experience.” You can read our Holy Father’s message here.

Throughout Lent, as a College, we pray the Angelus daily at noon. The Angelus reminds us of the Annunciation when the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary with great (if somewhat startling) news! As we read in Chapter One of Luke’s Gospel (Luke 1:26-38), God wished Mary, truly a model of humility, to be the mother of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus loved us enough to die for us so that we might live with Him eternally. When we pray the Angelus with humility and love, we emulate Mary’s faith in His goodness.

NCEA and New Zealand Scholarship Achievement 2022

As detailed in this newsletter, our students’ results in NCEA and New Zealand Scholarship in 2022 were once again outstanding, especially considering the challenges that last year presented for our students! Congratulations to our students and teachers. These results do not come without hard work and perseverance and deserve to be celebrated! Your role as parents in our college community is essential in supporting our teachers and, obviously, your children in achieving these incredible outcomes.

Term 1 Reporting and Parent-Teacher Conferences

Term 1 progress reports will be emailed out in Week 8. From Term 2, you will receive progress reports twice each term (Weeks 4 & 8). We will hold our Term 1 Parent-Teacher Conferences on Monday, 3rd April. These meetings will run from 8:30 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. Bookings are essential and will be made through SchoolBridge. Meetings are for 10 minutes, except for Year 7 & 8 Homeroom bookings, which are for 15 minutes. You are strongly encouraged to bring your child to maximise the effectiveness of these meetings.

You will receive more information about this in an email from Mr Kennedy by the end of the week. This is an important opportunity to connect with your child(ren)’s teachers to develop strategies that will enable us to work together to ensure your child(ren) reaches their full potential this year. Please note that there are no classes on this day.

My email address

My previous email address has been discontinued. If you need to email the Principal, send it to: principal@aquinas.school.nz. This email address is managed by the college’s Executive Assistant, Mrs Sheryl Flexman. Mrs Flexman may forward your email to another staff member if they are more suitable to answer your queries.

Property Projects

Further to my last update, the air quality upgrades have progressed. Students and staff now enjoy a state-of-the-art air-conditioning and ventilation system across S Block, J Block and the Wharenui. Works are ongoing in H Block, followed by M Block this term and half of next term.

The Administration Block will soon get a remodel as the first part of a two-phase project. The first phase will see a purpose-designed Student Wellness Centre, a new reception area and new offices for the Senior Leadership Team, administration staff and our Learning Support Coordinators. This project phase will also see a new unisex toilet block constructed with individual cubicles. Phase two- which will be undertaken several years later- will see the construction of a Student Hub. The Student Hub will be a space for students to connect, create, study and reflect. It will connect with the Student Wellness Centre, our College’s pastoral care network, and Future Pathways centre. This project is very exciting, and we look forward to the initiation of Phase One in the Term 1 school holidays. The project is expected to take four months to complete. A temporary office will be established from Term 2.

Finally, the new block, tied to our pending roll increase, is currently in the design phase. The architects, accompanied by a small group of staff visited some schools for inspiration in the summer holidays. Stay tuned!

Middle School Phone-Free Policy

As you know, we implemented our Phone-Free Policy for students in Years 7-10 at the beginning of this year. We are pleased with the early returns. Our students have largely adapted to this change very well. Anecdotally, we are noticing increased levels of social engagement and physical activity. Your support of this initiative is critical. Please refer to the write-up in this newsletter from our office staff about arranging the collection of your child during the school day.

Thank you for your continued, generous support of our college. I encourage you to read about the busy and exciting start to the year in this newsletter. I extend best wishes to all our students, staff and the wider college community for a positive and prosperous 2023.