Newsletter No: 14 October 2008

Dear Parents / Caregivers

As we reflect on all that was achieved throughout Term 3 there can be little doubt that Sancta Maria College continues to grow in all aspects of daily life. The academic results recorded in the Science, Mathematics and Language competitions, the superb performance of our Senior Debating Team, the many successes of our Winter Sports Teams and the involvement of our Music and Kapa Haka groups in public performances are the result of hours of commitment from students, teachers, parents and other friends of the College.

Our Special Character Review Report has been received and comments very favourable on this vital component of school life. It is best summed up in the comment by the Reviewer Brother Terence Costello FMS:

The Board, Principal, staff and students are to be warmly congratulated on the strength of the College’s Special Character and the many fine expressions of that Character. Both the cogitative and affective dimensions of the Special Character are given the attention that they fully deserve in a Catholic school.

The Proprietor can rest assured that the College can justly be described as a vibrant faith community. That this has been achieved in so short a time is a testimony to the commitment all in that community have to the school’s Special Character. It is embedded on solid rock.

It was a pleasure and a privilege to be part of the College community for the days spent on the campus and all sections of the school are thanked for openness, honesty and hospitality.

May God bless you all as you continue to live out your Special Character.

During the holidays I attended, along with 23 other NZ Catholic Secondary School Principals, the Australian Catholic Principal’s Conference in Adelaide. This was an inspirational conference with many worthwhile presenters. Throughout the conference I was able to reflect on a number of links to Sancta Maria College and to our acronym. Some examples are:

We want our school to be SAFE. Within our environment we want a peace that is more than the absence of conflict. We want a peace that comes form the right relationships from wholeness and integrity. A peace that describes God’s own life and the world that God wants for humanity and creation promised in the Gospel of God from the beginning.

In a world that is so obsessed with the physical appearance we need to see God in others and to appreciate and nurture the value of difference.

We want our young people to leave Sancta Maria College with Mana. I have Mana when what I say and what I do is because what I believe about God, others, self, about my purpose in my life and my response to my world.

What we must realise is that to achieve this all of us must work together. Our school communities are the holders of the story and must be the articulators of the story to our young people.

May God Bless you all

Paul Daley

Principal

STRATEGIC PLAN

The Board of Trustees and Senior Staff have carried out the first stage of the review of the Strategic Plan. This is the document that will describe the direction of the school in key areas over the next 3 years. You are invited to read the document and give feedback to the Board by completing the questionnaire and / or adding any further comments. You may feel that there are areas that are not given enough emphasis or some that are given too much emphasis! We would value your input. From the Strategic Plan each year our Annual Plan will be formatted to enable us to progress towards our strategic goals.

If you wish to comment (even a simple endorsement would be appreciated if you agree with what is written) simply complete the relevant parts of the questionnaire and arrange for the sheet to be dropped into the school office.

Closing date for submissions is Monday 3 November.

Michael Stride

Board Chairman

 

SCHOOL FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS

With this newsletter you will have your up to date billing statement showing automatic payments to the end of term 3. Term 3 financial contributions are now overdue if you are paying by the term. Please ensure that these are paid as soon as possible. Term 4 contributions are due by 24th October. If you will have financial difficulty having your account clear by the end of the year please contact Mrs Littlejohn before the end of October to come to a suitable arrangement to pay the outstanding debt.

CONGRATULATIONS

Mr Wannamaker’s Botany Swarm Ice Hockey Team travelled to Christchurch recently to take part in the National ice Hockey League’s final. His team won the National Competition and Mr Wannamaker was awarded Player of the Tournament.

ICAS COMPETITION – SCIENCE RESULTS 2008

(formally known as Australasian Science Competition)

Distinctions – 9 (Top 5% of NZ)

Year 7 Daphne Tse and Marcus Wong

Year 8 Sam Foliaki, Michael Nes and Alan Ho

Year 9 Henry Conquer

Year 10 Phillip Walker and Stephen Rendle

Year 11 Stephanie Morgan

47 Credits were obtained (Top 21% of NZ)

UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES MATHEMATICS COMPETITION - 2008

This year we entered 194 students in the University of New South Wales Mathematics Competition.

7 students gained High Distinction, 18 students gained Distinction and 57 students gained Credit.

High Distinctions	Distinctions	Distinctions
Year 7 Kerry Lam-Po-Tang	Year 7 Kathy Chan              Christiana David             Julia Lee	Year 10   Rose Louise Hernandez                  Mary Kim                  Waldron Martis
Year 8 Sam Foliaki             Leo Kang              Nick Reed	Year 8 Alan Ho              John Kim             Eileen Xu	Year 11   Rossa Jeong                  Elliott Lam-Po-Tang                  Stephanie Law                  Andy Um                  Mary Um
Year 9 Henry Conquer	Year 9 Kevin Crow             Ha-Ram Jo              Sang-Hyun Kim	Year 12 Alastair Munro
Year 10 Brian Tse
Year 11 Jonathan Kim

YEAR 7 AND 8 SPEECH WINNERS

Congratulations to Kezia Jaffar (Year 8) and Jinan Dodd (Year 7) who were the overall winners of the Year 7 and 8 Speech Finals held on Friday 29^th August.

Other finalists who should be commended for their hard work and excellent effort are:

Year 7

Abigail Lillo, Calvin Singh, Jonathan Kaveney, Grace Mataitini, Katie Cammell

Year 8

Niki Siasoco, Nick James, Nick Reed, Nicole Hedder, Moevao Lologa

OLYMPIC QUIZ WINNERS

Katelyn Sorensen, Angelita Santawirya, Caitlin Hanna, Larissa Curry

ANNUAL ZONTA DEBATE

For the fourth year running a lively debate was held between Sancta Maria College and Botany Downs Secondary College, sponsored by the Zonta Club, East Auckland. Each competitor received an engraved silver cup and $50 book voucher,

with the winning team receiving a cheque for $300 for the school library. The SMC team comprising Charlotte

Vincent, Julia Young and Ryan Sainsbury held their unbeaten record and brought home the shield again, affirming

“That women in Management bring a more balanced perspective to the workplace.” We express our sincere thanks

to our hosts BDSC and the generosity of the Zonta Club for organising this annual event. For further information

about the debate there is a report and photograph on http://zontaeast.zonta.org.nz/en/page 20.

MUSIC

Eileen Xu was awarded a medal at the Auckland Junior Music Contest, held at Dilworth School Junior Campus on Saturday 30 August.

BALLROOM DANCING

Nicholas Liyu (9GDN) has just returned from the NZ Ballroom Dancing Champs. He has won two golds and a silver in Ballroom, New Vogue and Latin for his grade and a bronze in New Vogue competing one grade higher. He now goes on to compete at the world champs in Australia in December.

LANGUAGES

Sancta Maria College is off to France!

Flights have been booked for this exciting trip which takes place in April 2009. We are off to Arras, a town 50 minutes by train north of Paris. Students will stay with families for two weeks followed by a few days discovering Paris. Students from Arras will be coming to stay with us mid-February next year. Watch this space for more updates….

FRENCH DEPARTMENT

ALLIANCE FRANÇAISE ORAL COMPETITION SEPTEMBER 1^ST AT AUCKLAND UNIVERSITY

Congratulations to the following students who were selected to enter in this year’s competition:

Year 13 Julia Young, Deborah Simmons

Year 12 Callan Jaffar, Melissa Wing

Year 11 Abby Pearce, Dominik Osika, Sam Vincent.

All the students have been attending extra classes to prepare and performed very well. We are delighted to announce that Special congratulations to Sam who made the finals.

LANGUAGEPERFECT

Japanese and French students in Years 11-13 have been involved in Vocabulary Olympics – an on-line New Zealand wide competition. It was very competitive and our students did very well.

Congratulations to Thomas Tele and Noel Sheck who received Gold (Level 1)! An outstanding effort.

Julia Young Bronze Level 3 Callan Jaffar Bronze Level 2

The following students all received Bronze Level 1 - Mary Um, Charlotte Wilton, Alexandra Osika

The following students all received Credit - Cindy Ahn, Melissa Wing (Level 2), Ellen Field, Danielle Stride, Lauren Kubala

JAPANESE

Utsunomiya-Manukau Sister City Short Term Exchange

At the beginning of this term we welcomed two Japanese students from Utsunomiya City for a five week short term exchange. They were hosted by our Japanese language students and attended classes at Sancta Maria College. The two students were Chiharu Fujita who is a Year 1 student at Utsunomiya Kita Senior High School and Maho Tashiro who is a Year 2 student at Utsunomiya Tankidaigakufuzoku Senior High School. Both Chiharu and Maho have thoroughly enjoyed their homestay and school life experiences at Sancta Maria College. They have expressed their deep appreciation for the kind hospitality of their host families and the kind and friendly welcome from both students and staff at Sancta Maria College.

Japanese Student Group Visit/Exchange

This year we welcomed two Japanese student visiting groups to our school. The first was a group of 27 Japanese high school students from Utsunomiya City who visited us for a morning of language and cultural exchange. The second group was from St Mary’s Gakuen Junior High School in Nagasaki City. There were 14 students accompanied by their English teacher and the school’s principal. They were with us for two weeks doing language and cultural exchanges. This trip was the school’s second visit, their first was in 2005.

These visits gave our students the opportunity to put into practice their Japanese language skills and to learn more about their Japanese students and their way of life. In addition to this experience, our students were able to share with them their own unique New Zealand way of life. The students - both our students and the visiting Japanese students - had found the interaction to be most enjoyable – one of learning experiences. We look forwards to their future visits.

INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGES WEEK (17^th August ~ 23^rd August 2008)

2008 International Languages Week celebrated UNESCO International Year of Languages. This year’s theme was ‘Languages Matter! And once again, there were a number of fun-filled lunch time activities organised for our students. The International Languages Week opened with our very own Theatre Sports Student Group performing their lines to the theme of the International Languages Week: LANGUAGES MATTER!’ at the school assembly and a further performance in the library. Students were given lots of opportunities to have fun during this week and also eat delicious crêpes. They enjoyed activities such as Japanese movies, haiku/poetry/jingle competition, quizzes, building Eiffel towers with marshmallows, a vocabulary dart competition, making windmills and being rewarded with sweets when they greeted teachers in a foreign language. Many thanks to all the teachers and students involved who made it such a success. Special thanks to Mrs. Arrowsmith for her wonderful crêpe making skills and the students who assisted her.

Visit: http://www.unesco.org/en/languages on ‘Languages Matters!’ and www.sanctamaria.school/department/japanese/ILW for best haiku, photos of the week activities and more…

SPORT

U19 Boys Basketball Team – 3^rd Overall

Thomas Cho Malcolm Cooper Scott Crowe Mikhal de Jesus Bon Koon Wai You

James Stolten Andrew Tuyay Tuitu’u Vaiangina Kory Whitford-Banks

U15 Girls Basketball Team - Manukau Secondary School - Champions

Gailene Alarcon	Kirsty Lakay	Makalya Samaeli	Jessie Wilson	Yvonne Wilson
Taylor Shrimpton	Nicola Wing	Itagia Fale-Manupule	Simone Morrogh	Brittany Homan

Counties Manukau Secondary Schools Netball Competition – Year 10 Champions

Luci Mackenzie	Eloise Packham	Courtney Deed	Ciara Rhodes	Ann-Margaret Leung-Wai
Chelsea Couchman	Jemma Bicknell	Paige Widelko

Hamilton Allied Netball Tournament – Year 10 Champions

Paige Widelko	Jemma Bicknell	Emily Stonehouse	Rebecca Cooke	Alex MacFarlane
Patria Harris	Candice Stalls	Aryana Seitefano	Georgia Lucas

Auckland Secondary Schools Hockey

Girls Open East Grade Competition Runners-up – 2^nd Overall

Lea Abuyan Gianina Castro Elizabeth Cooper Jessica Goldsmith Kate Goodman-Creed

Katie Howell Emma Hutchinson Dayna Johnstone LeeAnne Lydiate Andrea Malto

Stephanie Morgan Sonya Morrogh Rachel Nath Nicole O’Rourke Victoria Shrimpton

Kurangaituku Netball Tournament

Sancta Maria College was represented by 6 teams at this tournament in Rotorua. The Year 10 team won the Year 10 competition and the Sportsmanship Award with Candice Stalls winning Player of the Tournament Award.

Candice Stalls (Captain), Alex Wirepo-Macfarlane, Aryana Tanoai, Patria Harris, Emily Stonehouse,

Paige Widelko, Jemma Bicknel, Rebecca Cooke, Georgia Lucas

MORNING BUS SERVICES

Some of you may be aware that the Ministry is currently reviewing funding for school bus services. We have been informed that some of our buses are light in the mornings, in particular Route 088 from Pakuranga. If we are to avoid any changes to our services, we need to increase the student loadings. We encourage students living on any of our bus routes to make the buses a preferred option. We will keep you informed of any future developments.

If you have any queries regarding buses please contact Teresa Young.

ELIZABETH MICHAEL CORORATE WEAR – SCHOOL UNIFORMS

All made to measure uniforms need to be placed no later than 28 November 2008 for 2009. You will be required to pay a 50% non refundable deposit at the time of ordering.

Contact details are: Telephone: 358 1680, 357 New North Road, Kingsland. Email: uniforms@elizabethmichael.co.nz

SANCTA MARIA COLLEGE CULTURAL FESTIVAL - Saturday 21^st March 2009

Preparations are now commencing in readiness for what we know will be a great and enjoyable event for all of us. The College Cultural Festival is an opportunity for all college families to intermingle with each others' cultures through cultural performances and fine ethnic foods. Our first Cultural Festival was held in 2006, it was very successful and afterwards it was decided to hold a Cultural Festival every 2 years. So now is the time to get thinking about how YOU might like to contribute towards this great event! For food stall organisers there will be a meeting on Wednesday 15^th October at 7.30pm at the school. Please do attend if you are thinking about running a food stall. The meeting will present details about how the stalls will be organised. If you would like to know more about the meeting please contact Francie Morgan on 0274902243.

PTFA TRIVIAL PURSUIT EVENING - 30^th AUGUST

This was the 4th annual Trivial Pursuit event organised by the PTFA. True to tradition, teams rallied together, ex champions and new faces, and this year there were TWO teachers' tables! This most certainly put the 150 players into slight trepidation! This year's Master was Martin Devoy and his partner Anne. Together they sorted the players into occasional moments of doubt, however, not to be phased, the Manurewa Library Team tallied up the points to become this year's Champions! The "Mad Scientists" teachers' table scored the best themed table and a certain table, mentioning no names!, received the honourable Wooden Spoons Award! Approx, $700 was raised from this evening. Thanks to all who helped make this evening a success. Particular thanks to our small group of senior students who helped keep the point scores honest on the night, not to mention their awesome coin flipping synchronisation for Heads'n'Tails games, as well!

As you are aware, to celebrate 2008 as a significant year in the incredible journey of the establishment of Sancta Maria College, an ICON has been written. This is now installed in the chapel, so please feel free to view at any time. We have had produced some beautiful cards with the ICON on and are selling these in packs of 10 for $10.00. These will make ideal Christmas cards and can be purchased through the cashier’s office.