Campion College Newsletter

Kia ora parents and caregivers, Nau mai, haere mai, greetings.

What a traumatic two weeks!

We hold in our prayers all those families who have been so badly affected by Cyclone Gabrielle.

Over the past week it has begun to sink in the extent of the damage caused by the floods and the cost and time it is going to take to repair and replace. While we join with those who mourn the loss of loved ones, we also thank God for the number of people who have narrowly escaped tragedy.

During this week we held a mufti day in support of the victims of the flood. We asked for a voluntary donation of cash or a can of food, conscious of how hard it must be for some in our community. It was staggering to see that we raised about $2,500 from the day; this is vastly over what a normal mufti day brings in. Thank you to our community for your generosity.

We are also gearing up with our student volunteer groups. We recognise that there may be an ongoing need for help in the community and we are looking at how we may sustain this over a lengthy period.

We pray that our community will continue to be supported in the months ahead as we begin to rebuild. Kia kaha!

Ngā mihi nui

Paul McGuinness

Principal

O Lord, you have surely heard the cry of those directly affected by Cyclone Gabrielle.

For those who rushed in as first responders to search for survivors

Lord, give them the strength to continue in adverse conditions

For those who will provide clinical care and support to the wounded

Lord, give them the skills and fortitude to work long hours with limited resources

For those who will bury the lost and comfort their loved ones

Lord, give them compassion and a heart for mercy

For those who will organise acts to aide in relief

Lord, give them prudence and patience to understand needs

For those invited to journey to provide relief services and medical care

Lord, give them ease and safety in their travels

For those who will report on this disaster

Lord, give them the gifts of compassion and charity in their coverage

Good and Gracious God, we bring this prayer to You knowing that You hear them and those unspoken in our hearts. We ask You to bring hope to those who are despairing.

We will remain steadfast in our commitment to those who suffer just as

You remain steadfast in Your love for all of creation.

We place our trust in You.

Mary Our Good Mother, pray for us

St Marcellin Champagnat, pray for us

St Mary MacKillop, pray for us

St Edmund Campion, pray for us.

We wish to thank all of our families for their generous contributions of cash, cans and offers of support during the past week. The outpouring of generosity truly demonstrates that we are a faith based community who live out our values of Commitment, Compassion and a sense of Community. Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou! Thank you all very much!

If you still wish to contribute, you can do so at the office or via KINDO https://shop.tgcl.co.nz/shop/q2.shtml?shop=Campion%20College&service=cyclone_gabrielle_relief_fund

Congratulations to all of our amazing students who excelled academically in 2022. We received a number of NCEA Scholarships, which is an outstanding achievement. New Zealand NCEA Scholarship assessments enable candidates to be assessed against challenging standards and are demanding for the most able candidates in each subject. Scholarship candidates are expected to demonstrate high-level critical thinking, abstraction and generalisation, and to integrate, synthesise and apply knowledge, skills, understanding, and ideas to complex situations. New Zealand Scholarship provides recognition and monetary reward to top students in their last year of schooling. We congratulate the following students on achieving at the highest level.

Spike Simperingham - Classical Studies

Jacqueline Nankivell - Te Reo Māori

Sarah Ruelens - Chemistry and Physics

Kalen Derr - Statistics and Calculus

The following students achieved NCEA with Certificate Endorsements. To achieve a full NCEA Certificate Endorsement, students must achieve either 50 credits at Excellence or 50 credits of Merit and Excellence. This requires a lot of hard work and dedication to achieve their very best and we are very proud of all their efforts.

Ash Wednesday was marked by our liturgy, beautifully led by Father Richard and our student leaders. During the liturgy our students had ashes sprinkled on their heads and were told to “Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel”. The ashes are a symbol of our mortality and remind us that one day we will pass from this world to the next. The ashes are also a symbol of humility and sacrifice. Students and whānau are encouraged during the season of Lent to focus on prayer, fasting and giving to others.

Our school photos will be taken on Wednesday, 1 March. Please return your photo order form to the office as soon as possible. Spare forms can be picked up from the office. We remind students to wear correct uniform for all photos. Please see the photo schedule below.

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If you, or anyone you know, needs any support with food, bedding, furniture or clothing then please contact the Saint Vincent de Paul Society on 020 4171 8608. They are a local Catholic organisation who is able to provide for those in need. We thank the Vinnies for all the wonderful work they do for our community, quietly and humbly in the background.

Volunteer Teams: We will be offering to assist any families in need in our community. We will be inviting Year 11-13 students to be part of our volunteer teams to help with cleanups as needed. If there are known people who we can help, please contact Karyn Sadler 0278 174 974 or Paul McGuinness 027 226 7466.

Our athletics day will be held next Tuesday, 28 February. We invite all students to dress in their house colours for this epic day of athletic battle!

Verticals 1 - 5 Marcellin (Gold)

Verticals 6 - 10 Hato Maria (Blue)

Verticals 11 - 15 MacKillop (Green)

Verticals 16 - 20 Gregory (Red)

May the best house win!

Unfortunately, we have had to postpone the Year 7 & 8 Whangara camp that was planned for next week. We are working on an alternative date and will give you an update next week.

Calling all young leaders with a passion for the environment - we have an adventure for you! In 2023, the BLAKE Trust look forward to welcoming 105 passionate, young environmental leaders to join their BLAKE Inspire programme. BLAKE Inspire is a week-long residential leadership development programme in partnership with the Ministry for the Environment. They will run three programmes (up to 35 students per programme):

• 17 – 21 April in Waikato
• 9 – 13 July in Auckland
• TBC August in Auckland

Throughout the week students will work together with scientists, environmental experts, a diverse range of leaders and other like-minded students to help them develop strong leadership skills while learning about topical environmental issues and how they can take action to tackle them.

More information and where to apply can be found here: https://www.blakenz.org/programmes/blake-inspire/

Staying connected is now more important than ever. Please keep up to date with all the wonderful things we are doing on our new Campion College Facebook Page. Head over to Facebook to check it out here.

If you haven't yet downloaded our College App, please do so . It's an easy way to stay on top of school admin.

Our church is St Mary, Star of the Sea. We are fortunate to have our church onsite. Our parish Mass times are:

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 9.00 am

Friday 12.10 pm,

Saturday 9 am and Vigil Mass 6.00 pm

Sunday 9.00 am

Children’s liturgy at every Sunday 9.00 am

We love to hear about and celebrate our students' achievements.

Please share info and/or photos with karyn.sadler@campioncollege.school.nz