Come and join us at our wonderful community celebration between 4:30pm to 7:00pm. Contact Megan Williams markandmegs@xtra.co.nz for further information.

YEARS 7 TO 13

MARIST COLLEGE

Catholic School for Girls Term 1 - Number 4

Friday 26th February, 2016

31 Alberton Ave, Mt Albert, Auckland 1025 Ph: (09) 846 8311 Fax: (09) 815 1441 www.maristcollege.school.nz e-mail: admin@maristcollege.school.nz

FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Dear Parents and Guardians,

There are many meetings to get the year underway and being part of these listening to the aspirations of our community is always invigorating. The PTFA is working hard on preparing a wonderful community celebration on March 10th, the hui was full of ideas, the Community of Schools meeting with the vision of bringing a group of Catholic school communities together is an exciting opportunity and the Board of Trustees has met for the first time this year. At that Mrs Christine Magness stepped down as Chairperson and we thank her most sincerely for her three years of outstanding service to the school. Mrs Damaris Kingdon was elected as the new Chair. We urge you all to consider standing for the Board of Trustees in the upcoming elections. Nominations will be called for in March.

Regards,

Monica Johnson Principal

KEY DATES

WEEK 5 (A)

Mar 1st T Athletics Day, Mt Smart Stadium Pasifika Fono, 6:00pm, Room 216

(use back entrance to school) 4th F ID photos/portraits catch up Rotation 5-2

WEEK 6 (B)

Mar 7th M Y12 PE Camp 8th T Y12 PE Camp 9th W Y12 PE Camp 10th Th Informal Opportunity to meet Y7

Homeroom teachers 3:30pm -4:30pm

OPEN AFTERNOON

Marist College is holding an Open Afternoon for 2017 enrolments on:

Prospective students and their families can view our facilities and talk to staff

and students. Interviews for preference enrolments for 2017 for Years 7 to 9 are

available now.

We require the assistance of a number of students for the Open Afternoon, but the majority of students will be released at 1.20pm.

Please note this early closing time, alternative transport arrangements may need to be made for students travelling on school buses shared with Mt Albert Grammar School.

WEDNESDAY, 16TH MARCH 3.00PM - 6.00PM

Please do not drive into the staff carpark on Kitenui Avenue when dropping your daughter to school or picking her up. Please do not park in the bus stop on Alberton Avenue or use the staff/visitor carpark. Traffic wardens will issue tickets for illegal and inappropriate parking.

Alberton and Kitenui Avenue are very dangerous areas between 8am-9am and 3pm-3.30pm due to the amount of traffic generated by three schools.

PRIME MINISTERS YOUTH PROGRAMME 2016

Each year 100 students are selected throughout Auckland to take part in the PMYP . Through a rigorous selection process we were able to have seven of our wonderful students from Marist College, take part. It involved a week long camp over the school holiday break where they learnt about servant-ship and resilience. These camps took place in Rotorua and Taupo. A dinner was held with the Honourable Prime Minister, John Key to acknowledge the student’s success of overcoming barriers and challenges they may have faced in their lives. It was also lovely to see ex-students, Ivy Hunter and Dayna Skelton be team-leaders at these camps. Special thanks to Danny Liuliu-Afoa and Village Mentoring Trust for being fantastic mentors to our students. Their ‘presence’ is invaluable and we look forward to working closely with them this year.

“It was an unforgettable experience and one worth over-coming challenges. This programme helped me overcome barriers and motivated me to take on leadership with a positive approach.” Sisifa Lui.

Check out Sisifa Lui’s interview about PMYP on bFM http://95bfm.com/bcasts/report-the-pms-youth-programme/

Mrs Tagomoa-Papali’I

JUSTICE LEADERSHIP DAY

On Thursday the 18th of February, Rachael, Angela and I got the opportunity to represent our school at the Justice Leadership day, which was hosted by Caritas. Not only were the sessions highly informative, but they were equally inspirational. The Caritas Leaders encouraged us to think of different approaches we could take to address some societal issues. We learned about both big and small ways on how we could act “justly” in the Community and in our respective School environment. It confirmed for us that some of our initiatives in the School, in terms of the work being done by the “Outreach” group, are steps in the right direction. We were also quite enlightened by some of the perspectives shared by participants from other Catholic Schools. Overall, it was a great experience and the three of us look forward to implementing some of the things we learnt in our school this year.

Juvanka Rebello, Year 13.

YEAR 7 PARENT MEETINGS

Year 7 Parents will have the opportunity to meet their daughter’s home room teacher prior to the Family Festival on Thursday 10th March.

This is an opportunity to catch up informally with home room teachers. They will be available in

home rooms from 3:30pm to 4:30pm. School will finish at the normal time of 3:10pm.

Coaches and Managers Needed!

We are currently seeking volunteer coaches for our winter sports teams. If you are interested in coaching or

managing a team for Marist College this year please contact Jennifer Taylor: sports@maristcollege.school.nz

ABSENCES: Please email absences@maristcollege.school.nz

before 9:00am on the day of your daughter's absence.

OUR LENTEN JOURNEY, WEEK TWO GOSPEL REFLECTION

On the mountain, Peter, James and John were startled and afraid when the cloud enveloped them, as they had just witnessed the miraculous appearance of Jesus, Elijah and Moses conversing with them, amidst radiant light. This was a life changing, awe-inspiring experience for them. The cloud in scripture is associated with the presence of God, as it is an account of the transfiguration. It was in the presence of these two that God’s voice was heard, “This is my Son, the Chosen One. Listen to him.” This was an affirmation from the Father that Jesus is His anointed one, whom he loves. The Transfiguration does not change who Jesus is but rather reveals that He is God. This was giving the disciples a glimpse of the Divine glory of Jesus Christ, showing them who He truly is. It was also a preparation to strengthen them in faith for their further trials and that which was to come, after Jesus’ resurrection. The gospel calls for a response of listening to and following Jesus. He is ‘The way, the truth and the life’, the true God and true man. Upon seeing Elijah and Moses with Jesus, Peter says “Master, it is wonderful for us to be here; so let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” We can identify with the apostles because in our own joyful experiences we too want to ‘stay’ and don’t want them to end. But then in our moments of trial we want to flee. For us today, the Mass is our mountain-top experience which prepares us for our trials. Jesus invited the apostles to go up the mountain with him and like them, as followers of Christ, we are invited to celebrate the Eucharist during Mass. Instead of a transfiguration, in Mass, the bread and wine are transformed, into Jesus Christ. In the joy of communion we, like Peter, want to stay but we must continue on and face our trails after the mass is ended. Similar to the apostles, sometimes we don’t fully realise God’s Devine presence, and so during lent we are reminded to draw closer to God, follow in Jesus’ ways, be present and in a way, transform during the Lenten season. The transfiguration of Christ, gives us a taste of what is to come during Easter.

Jade Tannen

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

On Thursday 18th February the International students went to Hees Garden restaurant for a welcome luncheon. We were a group of 14 from China, Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand, Korea and Russia as well as Mrs Solloway and Ms Suuring.

“It was delicious” Helen and Yuuki “It was fun talking to others” Honoka and Waka “I’m really full now” Haruma “It was good” Yoshino

Mia did an excellent job ordering food for everyone and even Mrs Solloway tried things that looked scary. By the time we left the rain was pouring down but everyone was happy and had made new friends.

GATEWAY TO WINEMAKING

Helaina Dorreen, an academic high achiever, gained Excellence endorsements for both NCEA levels 1 and 2. However, that doesn’t make her decision regarding which pathway to pursue beyond school any easier! Excelling in sciences, she also enjoys the outdoors and would like an occupation that’s not limited to an indoor working environment. On researching possible options the field of viticulture seemed an ideal way to combine her interests. Lincoln University offers the only Bachelor’s degree in Viticulture and Oenology in New Zealand and Helaina was considering enrolling there for 2017. Choosing a university involving a move to the South Island is a big decision. To help to confirm her choice, Helaina opted to begin a Gateway programme at the end of 2015.

This Gateway programme in Viticulture is a first at Marist College. Helaina will gain L3 credits in a certificate programme in viticulture offered by NMIT. For the work experience component of her programme, Helaina worked at Kumeu River vineyard immediately after her NCEA exams finished last year. Impressed with Helaina’s work ethic, once the Gateway requirement of 2 weeks’ unpaid work had been met, she was offered further paid work until vine trimming was completed.

Helaina’s Gateway experience has given her valuable insights into what the viticulture field is really like to work in and she now has ongoing opportunities for paid work during school holidays in the future. Her understanding of the various roles in the industry has expanded.

TWELFTH NIGHT THEATRE VISIT

We were lucky to attend the first ever matinee for schools at the Pop-up Globe in Baird’s Yard. Some of us were worried about the challenge of being groundlings but we were accommodated in the middle gallery which gave us a good view of the play’s lively action. We loved the visual gags and the physicality of the all-male theatre company who communicated to all sides and all levels. We also liked watching the interactions and reactions of the audience. This live theatre experience is giving us a valuable insight into the features of Elizabethan theatre, our present research topic. Take the opportunity to pop into a Pop-up Globe performance over the next month. Only $10.00 for groundlings! Year 10 Drama