Catholic Character

The most recent of these has been the Body and Blood of Christ which we celebrated at mass last Sunday. This is deeply important to the Catholic faith and in some countries such as Fiji there are great parades in the streets to acknowledge it.

The theme for Karakia with the whole school on Monday was this very special feast. We read Sunday’s gospel, reflected on it, considering the very clear teaching of the Catholic Church that the bread and wine are not symbols of God’s body and blood but are Christ truly present. We discussed in small groups or pairs how, like Christ, we could give of ourselves for others.

There were some lovely ideas that came from the students such as: helping others who are struggling with their learning, speaking to someone who seems to be on their own at break times and inviting them to be with others, being supportive and encouraging in sport or academics, giving of our time to listen when others need someone to talk to. There were many other good ideas too.

We are proud of our rangitahi (young people) here and their ability to apply their faith to their daily actions.

Winter Warmer Effort and YCC

Two ways that students and their families can get involved in supporting members of the community in need are the Winter Warmer Effort and a request from the Bishops to support a small, impoverished school in Timor Leste called Oecusse School. They have 800 students and no working toilets. The fundraising will occur on June 30 2023 across various Diocese in New Zealand including ours. It is a school that Caritas supports and they need our help to build functioning sanitation facilities. There will be more information about this in next week’s newsletter.

The Winter Warmer Effort kicks off next week and runs for two weeks. Next week students or families are asked to bring in warm blankets and clothing in good condition to give to St Vincent de Paul to give out to those who are struggling with the cold this winter. In week 10 we will ask for non-perishable food items especially ones that can be warmed up but anything that you have available will be helpful. Different numbers of House points will be awarded to the Houses based on the number of items brought in by those Houses. We ask you to support these activities which really show our faith in action.

Youth Group

The youth group continues to attract more members and we encourage all Year 9-13 students who can to come along for food, fun and faith sharing. We ask you to support this by encouraging the young person/people in your household to come along on Thursday afternoons from 3:15-5:00pm beginning in the library and then moving to the hall for more active games if that is possible for your family.

May God bless you all.