St Catherine's College Newsletter
Kia ora whānau of St Catherine’s College,
Welcome to Term 4. It has already been a momentous time with many of our senior students voting for the first time. I am sure they will always remember the decisions they were entitled to make for the future of our country. No matter what options were ticked, there is now a sense of ‘let’s get on with it’.
In that regard Term 4 is the culmination of the year’s work and effort. Our Year 11, 12, and 13 students start their Derived Grade Examinations next Tuesday 27 October. These are significant events for students to show their learning for their external Achievement Standards. If, for whatever reason, they were unable to sit the NCEA external examinations, which start on Monday 16 November, then the results of their Derived Grade Exams count. So students must seize these opportunities and present themselves to the best of their ability. All senior students will be on Study Leave for the duration of our exams and normal classes recommence on Tuesday 3 November.
It is then a sprint to Wednesday 11 November when we celebrate our Leavers’ Thanksgiving Mass at St Patrick’s Church at 12.15pm. We invite all whānau to attend this special Mass with us. Senior students are then on Study Leave until NCEA exams begin on November 16.
However, students may attend school to study, attend tutorials, or complete Internal Achievement Standards. The whole purpose of pushing out NCEA exams this year is to give students and teachers more time to cement learning across their courses.
Our Sports Prizegiving will be held on Wednesday 4 November during our Assembly at 12.00pm. While sport has taken a number of major hits this year, we still have much to celebrate and our Sports Coordinator, Anna Ward, has prepared a full prize list. You are welcome to attend.
Year 9 and 10 students start their Junior Assessment programme on Thursday 12 November. This is an important time for students to reinforce their learning and have practice for their NCEA assessment programme in coming years.
On Tuesday 17 November there will be a Teacher Only Day. This day will see every secondary school in Wellington engage in the NCEA Review programme.
Last Friday night the Senior Ball was held at The Pines function centre. The School Ball is not every Principal’s dream night but I can report that students and their partners were beautifully presented, and everyone respected and enjoyed the occasion. Congratulations to all Year 12 and 13 students for making the night a real success.
Year 13 students are staying over at the Home of Compassion this Thursday evening as part of their Leavers’ Retreat. They will engage in reflections on their time at St Catherine’s where they have been immersed in the Mercy values of Catherine McAuley. All 30 students have strong plans for 2021. Every one of our Year 13 students has a course of study lined up at either a university or accredited tertiary provider. Please keep our young school leavers in your prayers.
We have conveyed our congratulations to Mr Andrew Murray on his appointment to the role of Principal of St Mary’s College in Wellington. Andrew is currently the Deputy Principal at Sacred Heart College in New Plymouth and he taught at St Mary’s for 5 years a while back. He will move to the capital with his family to commence his principalship at the beginning of 2021. We wish Andrew every best wish for his new role.
Our PTA continues to fundraise for school projects and build community spirit on the way. Their latest event is a Quiz Night at the Gasworks in Miramar on Sunday 8 November at 6pm. The PTA does an amazing job; please show your support by entering a team of 6. Tickets are $15 each and obtainable from the office.
The final notice of an upcoming event is our SCC Prizegiving on Thursday 3 December at 7pm in the St Patrick’s College Hall. Please calendar this occasion as a ‘must attend’. We hope to celebrate 2020 with all its speed bumps by filling the hall with the whānau of our students, staff and stakeholders.
Pope Francis has released his latest encyclical (fancy name for letter) entitled, Fratelli Tutti. It means ‘Brothers All’ and, while possibly not the best title for the inclusiveness he promotes, Pope Francis wills us all to live without borders or barriers in our lives. It is a call to reach out particularly to those disadvantaged and in need.
I saw a great example of that on the front page of that mighty publication, the Hutt News. The report is about a pizza shop owner in Lower Hutt who saw a homeless man waving the lid of a pizza box with the words “seeking small change” written on it. The pizza shop owner stopped, and offered the man a meal and coffee. On learning that he had lost his job and was living rough, the shop owner offered him a job in his pizza shop.
Prayer to the Creator (from Fratelli Tutti)
Lord, Father of our human family,
you created all human beings equal in dignity:
pour forth into our hearts a fraternal spirit
and inspire in us a dream of renewed encounter,
dialogue, justice and peace.
Move us to create healthier societies
and a more dignified world,
a world without hunger, poverty, violence and war.
May our hearts be open
to all the peoples and nations of the earth.
May we recognize the goodness and beauty
that you have sown in each of us,
and thus forge bonds of unity,
common projects,
and shared dreams. Amen.
Ngā mihi nui
Steve
Principal