Mālō e lelei, Talofa lava, Taloha ni, Kia orana, Fakaalofa lahi atu, Namaste, Ni sa bula and warm Pacific greetings, 

As Term 1 comes to a close, we extend our heartfelt thanks to all our Catholic schools for your dedication, collaboration, and commitment to nurturing the holistic development of our ākonga. It has been inspiring to see the many ways you continue to live out our shared faith and values in your teaching and learning.

Thank you for the time, energy, and aroha you have poured into this term — from classroom initiatives to Kāhui Ako engagements. We are grateful for your continued support and look forward to building on this strong foundation as we journey together into Term 2.

Waiho i te toipoto, kaua i te toirua - let us keep close together, not far apart.

Have a restful, rejuvenating holiday break and a joy filled, holy Easter.

On Saturday 22nd February a group of 30 senior students from St Peter’s College and St Mary’s College went over to Christ the King School in New Windsor as part of a new initiative within our combined schools Kāhui Ako.

It was a great morning for doing tough jobs around the school and we quickly got to work painting a kids playhouse, digging the playground making it safe to play on, fixing the school library, and tidying up the school field by removing dead tree branches. It was a good atmosphere, working to ensure an authentic service project was offered, and taken
up, and a fun day was had.

Finally, I want to thank Mrs Fouhy-Mullin, who organised the project and the great muffins, sandwiches, and pies we had for lunch; Mr Mullin for his additional and valuable help; Mr Hadnett, the principal of CTK (and Old Boy of SPC!) for allowing us to come; the 15 St Mary’s girls who volunteered to help; and finally to the boys for agreeing to come along on a Saturday morning. See you all at the next one!

Christian Domilies, 
Prefect, St Peter’s College

Marist School Stations of the Cross

Hub 2 Year 4 & 5 children have created art to go along with the Stations of the Cross for Easter.

Link is here https://drive.google.com/file/d/11Q_V9kJCO_V1qMOoMn7dpteITUVO3ECx/view?usp=drive_link

A blessed Easter to you all

Marist, Herne Bay have been fundraising for the past two years for a new school playground for their senior students.  We were all pleased to see our new senior playground completed and the children were all very excited to finally be able to play on it after all the planning and anticipation over the last two years.

We have named our playground ‘The Pompallier Playground’, dedicating it to Bishop Pompallier who is an important part of our school history as well as the Auckland Catholic Diocese.

We had a lovely blessing, led by Father Rory.  We were also extremely surprised and excited to see Father being the first person to use our playground by climbing up to the top and then coming down the slide.

We are looking forward to many years of fun on this wonderful new structure.

‘Small but mighty’ gathering of staff whom we were able to engage, share and show support with the roles they held at their school. Ensuring each were able to bring their school voice to the table on Pasifika kāhui ako initiatives proved to be insightful and valuable. Research shared was research empowering.

Our research has shown that achievement for Pacific people in education should be focused on the authentic development of self (Perrot, 2015; Chu, Abella & Paurini 2013). When education and learning environments develop students as strong positive people who have confidence in their ability, no matter what the circumstances; when education builds quality nurturing relationships with staff educators and the school; and when environments are inclusive so that they reflect and legitimise Pacific culture, connections and values; the result is academic achievement. If educators apply the law of ‘indirect effort’ by steering their focus to the development of the person through authentic cultural learning environments and the building of quality relationships with students, achievement will follow.

Hangi and Umu (Hosanna and Millan-Whanau Leaders, St Dominic's Primary)

On the 13th of March our school had a Hangi and Umu.  Our classes learned loads about the Maori and Pacific Islander traditions on how to make a Hangi and Umu. We started the day off by seeing the men make the food for  the Hangi and Umu. In the umu they added all the vegetables such as Kumara, Potatoes, Palusami, and Taro. In the hangi they added all the Chicken, Pork, and lamb  and many more meats. They added hot coal rocks on top of all the food and let it cook for 3-4 hours. A couple of minutes before  the bell rang for lunch all classes went out to see the Hangi and Umu to see it open. As the people lifted up the hot rocks the kids' voices exclaimed with joy. The extraordinary smell was addictive. We all lined up, and screamed with joy. Every step we took forward we smelt a piece of Heaven. As we ate the food we all tasted a luscious yum taste!

Polyfest, now one of the largest Pacific festivals in the world, began in 1976. The objective of Polyfest was to demonstrate the pride of cultural identity, and to bring schools and the different cultures between them, together.

Since then, the Manukau Sports Bowl has been home for Polyfest, catering up to 100,000 visitors every year, and a mecca for Pacific arts and culture, food stalls from different cultures, and a growing number of student performers taking part in a diverse range of cultural groups and speech competitions.

In 2025, Polyfest celebrated its’ 50th anniversary which once again saw the Manukau Sports Bowl come alive with the sounds of passion, pride, and culture as Auckland's secondary schools returned for ASB Polyfest.

Congratulations to our kāhui secondary schools that participated in Polyfest on the following stages:

Marist College - Māori and Tongan groups

St Mary’s College – Māori and Samoan groups

St Paul’s College – Samoan and Tongan groups

St Peter’s College – Māori, Samoan and Tongan groups

A special congratulations to St Mary’s College for their return to Polyfest after a 30year hiatus. The kāhui ako acknowledges – The Polyfest Trust, Komiti Whakahaere, Schools Community and Black Sei Productions who make it possible for our  rangatahi to learn, grow, express and share their culture and identity with the world.

On Wednesday 9th April, 2025 the Secondary schools of the Auckland Diocese came together to celebrate their leadership Mass, ‘Praise and Pizza’. Involving over 200 students, this Mass reflected the strong leadership evident in our Catholic schools and the camaraderie between the staff and students demonstrated the true fellowship of what it means to be a young Catholic in Aotearoa, New Zealand today. 

Using the readings for Passion Sunday, our celebrant, Monsignor Farmer, helped unpack the deeper meaning behind these Scripture passages, connecting people across a 2000 year old Christian faith tradition.

Hosted annually at St Peter’s College this Mass is a chance for the new leaders of 2025 to find their own support systems and create meaningful friendships as they navigate their influential role in each of their colleges, as living members of the body of Christ. 

At the start of the Term 2 school holidays, Sophie Hyde will be heading to Samoa as a volunteer with Marist College and the Catholic Kāhui Ako, working alongside SVSG (Samoan Victim Support Group). 

A huge shoutout to our Pasifika group, who recently organised a school-wide stationery drive – and thanks to your generosity, we’ve collected over 160 pencil cases filled with supplies! These will be delivered to local schools in Samoa that have limited resources, making a real difference for students in need.

We’re incredibly grateful for all the support and donations – fa'afetai tele lava! 

https://www.facebook.com/NapierGirls

       
A group of 27 disciples quietly prepares themselves for the work they will embark on in Samoa during the first week of Term 2 holidays. Some are uncertain, many are excited and all are leaving it to ‘faith’. We continue to work under God’s guidance and protection; trusting that He will lead us to work in the unseen and the unforeseen.
We are very grateful for the support we have received so far from our kāhui ako schools, family, friends and organisations such as  - Day for Girls, Project Uplift, Hello Period (links below).

It has been a real team effort. God is GOOD … ALL the time!  We extend our sourcing for donations til’ the end of Week 5. 

Fa’afetai tele lava.

Welcome to another year of our annual Language Weeks Art and Speech competitions. Over the years, these two forms of expressions have become more than the subject itself. This has provided an opportunity and supportive space for our students, with their whānau to express and share their proud culture and identity. Through the use of powerful and creative images, the sharing of rich cultural practices and stories, our tamariki are helping us to grow our cultural responsiveness, awareness and relationships. We look forward to the 2025 entries!

Art Competition Organiser                                                                             Speech Competition Organiser

 Mr Ryan O’Hanlon                                                                                          Mrs Makerita Tagomoa-Papali’i

Theme for the artwork - “Culture - the gift we can give to all”

This theme will be the same for each language week competition:
This could be conveyed in a variety of ways; for example looking at traditions and values and how these are now used and seen as a gift to share with others and looking to our ancestors / whakapapa to guide us and learn from the connections to help keep these tradions alive.

• Art medium - any medium (crayons, felts, pens, charcoal, paint etc)
• Size - at least A4 size (can be bigger)
• Take a photo of your art piece so we can see it clearly and take another photo of yourself holding your art piece in your school uniform
• Entry – one entry per student, for each competition.

Please check the deadline details on the competition poster.

Submit your artwork photos and a brief description of your artwork to acckaleaders@gmail.com or rohanlon@stpaulscollege.co.nz

Organiser: Ryan O’Hanlon - Across School Teacher

On Friday 28 March, St Mary’s College held its much-loved annual Twilight Picnic – a wonderful opportunity for our school community to come together to mingle, chat, enjoy delicious treats, and support fundraising efforts.

The autumn weather set the perfect scene for an evening of connection and celebration. Musical performances from a variety of student groups provided a vibrant backdrop, many of them showcasing pieces in preparation for the upcoming Tauranga Jazz Festival.

Stalls offered an impressive range of goods – from homegrown produce and handmade beeswax wraps to colourful scrunchies and more. And of course, no picnic would be complete without an abundance of tasty food and refreshing drinks!

The Twilight Picnic has become a cherished tradition at St Mary’s, growing in scale and spirit each year. With so many groups involved, it truly is a whole-community effort. We are always grateful to the PTFA and all the dedicated parents, staff, and students who make this delightful event possible each year.