Nau mai, haere mai - welcome to a new year at Marcellin College!

It was great to see our new ākonga with their whānau at the Welcome Liturgy and Assembly on the morning of the first day, and they were later joined with the rest of the Years 7 to 9 ākonga for whanaungatanga / team building activities in both their Kaitiaki class and core class.

On the following day, we gathered as a school community to formally welcome our new ākonga and their whānau, and new staff to our Marcellin whānau with a Pōwhiri. It was great to celebrate the Pōwhiri as a full school for the first time in two years, and feel God’s Aroaro/Presence within us and within our school community.

Our school continues to grow in popularity due to our Marist Wairua o te Whānau / Family Spirit, and committed and capable staff, serving together with our whānau in a Christian community. Once again, I am grateful for your trust, care and support of our school.Together we seek and become the best! Rapu i te Pai!

We look forward to the upcoming Dedication Mass which will take place on Rāmere / Friday 17 Huitanguru/February. On this day we will celebrate our ākonga leaders, the Prefects, Peer Mediators and Eucharistic Ministers, and dedicate our school year to God. The Mass begins at 12.30pm and all whānau are welcome to join with us in communion. Please be seated by 12.15 pm in the La Valla gym. Following the Mass, ākonga will be together in Whānau groups, practising chants for the upcoming Athletics Day at the Waitakere Stadium. It’s always a great day out with both competitive and fun events building whanaungatanga!

Families new to our whānau this year and families with siblings planning to come to our school next year, please circle 28 Huitanguru / February, 3.30 - 6.30pm on your school calendar. This will be our new whānau event where ākonga new to the school this year can show their family around and all ākonga can meet staff. More details will follow by email and on the school website and social media pages.

As we commend this year to our God of hope, and pray for the intercession of our Lady of Lourdes, Mother of Christ, we pray for God to guide us! We pray to God to support us! We pray to God to love us forever and ever! Amen.

E te Atua Manaaki mai!

E te Atua Āwhina mai!

E te Atua Aroha mai!

Ake! Ake! Amene

Ngā mihi maioha

Ms. Maria Prescott

Tumuaki/Principal

Our focus on Aroaro/Presence is very timely as we think about the emotions and feelings that come with starting the new school year, those affected by the current extreme weather and floods, as well as those who are sick and facing life’s difficulties. On 11 Huitanguru/February, the Catholic Church celebrated the World Day of the Sick which is a time to offer prayers for those who suffer, who face life’s difficulties due to illness, and to pray for their caregivers and all health workers. This also falls on the same day of the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes in honour of the Blessed Mother’s apparitions to St. Bernadette in Lourdes, France in1858. To this day, visitors go to the Sanctury of Our Lady of Lourdes to experience healing and peace.

It is our Aroaro / Presence - being available to others without expecting anything in return, that makes Christ known and loved in our Marcellin whānau. It is during these times the we look to our Blessed Mother Mary as a model, strong in our belief that God is with us, and gentle in our actions as we care and be present for one another, and care for our environment.

Ngā mihi nui koutou / thank you to all our whānau and invited guests who were able to join us in the Pōwhiri, the sacred Māori welcoming ceremony, a special occasion for us all, especially our new ākonga, whānau, staff and International ākonga of Marcellin College. We had the honour of hosting our Marist whānau from St Paul’s College, Tumuaki Keith Simento and the Marist Brothers who continue to be an important presence and support for our school.

We are blessed to welcome back our wonderful school nurse, Ms. Clare Corbett, Mr. Leki Bourke who has returned as a full time kaiako in the Creative Arts, English and Languages faculty, as well as four new kaiako to our Marcellin whānau. You will find below each new kaiako’s profile and the taonga they will bring to our learning community.

“E faasaga a’e o’u mata i mauga, e o’o mai ai lo’u fesoasoani, o lo’u fesoasoani, e mai le Ali’i lea, o le na faia le lagi atoa ma le lalolagi”

Kia ora, Talofa lava and greetings to our Marcellin College whānau,

My name is Samuel Tanielu and it is my absolute honour and privilege to join the Marcellin College whānau as Tumuaki Tuarua - Deputy Principal for 2023. I have joined Marcellin from a fellow Marist school - St Paul’s College, where I served for 10+ years and learned the value of education in a Marist Champagnat and Catholic tradition.

I am passionate about the success of all of our ākonga and I believe this begins in the classroom. I see the purpose of my role as Tumuaki Tuarua/Deputy Principal of Pastoral care as removing any barriers that prevent our ākonga from achieving and being successful. I also believe that at the heart of Pastoral care is the nurturing of the spiritual, physical, social, mental and emotional well being of all of our ākonga and staff.

There are two whakatauki/ alagaupu that guide my philosophy around leadership - “Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa takitini” which means “Success is not the work of an individual, but the work of the collective.” The second whakatauki/alagaupu is “O le ala i le pule, o le tautua” which means “Leadership through service.” I am truly grateful for this opportunity to serve the Marcellin College community and I wish all of our ākonga, staff and families a prosperous 2023.

My name is Aaron D'Souza and I am a proud former student of Marcellin College.

I am humbled and proud to be able to return to my old high school in my new role as Director of Vocational Pathways and Hospitality and Tourism teacher.

I bring with me the experience and knowledge I gained working as a Chef in many of Auckland's top hotels for 18 years.

I spent my last 8 years teaching at De La Salle College running the Hospitality department and 6 years working as a Dean. I look forward to being able to share my passion for the industry as well as being able to provide strong pastoral support for all the students in my care.

2023 will certainly be an exciting year for me as it marks the beginning of a full-time teaching role at Marcellin College. For over twenty years I have worked as a Chiropractor, running my own busy practice and while I enjoyed my career, I felt ready for a new challenge. I am excited to meet new people and share the passion that I have for the Sciences.

I live in the Botany area with my wife and daughter. I am an avid aviation buff and can often be seen at Ardmore taking in the sights and sounds of aviation. I am excited about the opportunity to teach Junior Science and Physics at Marcellin College.

Kia ora koutou,

My name is Brent Rowe. I am very excited about joining the Marcellin whanau this year as a new teacher and serving the college. I have come from Liston College where I taught for six wonderful years. I am Samoan/European and love food from all ethnic groups. My wife is New Zealand Maori (also a school teacher) and we have four grown up children, as well as two dogs! I enjoy teaching English and helping students whose English is a second language, as a specialist ESOL teacher. I will be teaching some junior social studies classes as well this year. I look forward to meeting everyone and gradually building positive long-lasting relationships with you all!

Caritas Aotearoa NZ is accepting donations to help the people of south-eastern Turkey and northern Syria, seriously affected by the 7.8 magnitude earthquake and aftershocks of Monday 6 February which toppled hundreds of buildings and killed many thousands of people.

Keep the people of Turkey and Syria in your prayers as they face widespread devastation and loss of life. We're in contact with our partners on the ground as they assess the scale of the damage and critical needs at this time.

If you would like to donate, you can do so online through the Caritas Emergency Donation tab at this link: www.caritas.org.nz/donate-online (Please specify that your donation is for Turkey Earthquake)

Or donate via the Caritas bank account: 03-0518-0211216-00 (please include your first & last name and put Turkey as the code.)

Prayer:

Dear God,

Through dark and difficult moments, we know that You are always with us. Today we come to You in prayer to ask You to bring comfort, healing and hope to the communities that have been devastated by this disaster.

Let the people of these nations rest in the comfort of knowing that You are with them and that you will provide for their needs as You always have.

In Jesus' Name,

Amen.

Congratulations to our ākonga who have been awarded the Toloa Secondary scholarship for 2023. Toloa’s vision is to make a transformational impact in the communities we live in and this scholarship will support our Pacific ākonga to pursue their career aspirations and studies in the Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics courses. Each ākonga will receive a scholarship of $2000 to support their studies as well as participate in the Toloa Wellbeing and Toloa STEAM Challenge events throughout the year.

Congratulations to:

1. Ronan Gray
2. Tyler Oroanu
3. Evelingi Havea Tuitupou
4. Yolanda Tuitupou
5. Elijah Malaitai
6. Susana Havili-Kaufusi
7. Kenoni Hafoka
8. Tagimaiala Charlene Stowers
9. George Gray
10. Jahrey Mata

Br Damien Shutt informed the school of the exciting news that ex Marcellin College student Rev Monsignor Joseph Stack was conferred as a Monsignor by Bishop Steve on behalf of His Holiness Pope Frances in November last year. We send our aroha and prayers as a Marcellin whānau to Rev Msgr. Joseph Stack and his parish community at St Patrick’s Te Awamutu parish. Rapu i te Pai!

As we move into Week Three of the term, our focus shifts from whanaungatanga/connection and reconnection to ako/teaching and learning. All year levels and classes have their classwork regularly updated via either Google Classroom or Hāpara, the two online learning platforms that Marcellin College uses. This means that even if your tamariki/child is absent from school, they will not miss out on learning.

Links to all Google Classroom and Hāpara classes can be found by visiting our school website (www.marcellin.school.nz) and then selecting Menu / Our College / Our Curriculum / Distance Learning.

It is important that all ākonga/students bring their devices to school every day, fully charged. If for any reason your tamariki/child is not able to bring a device to school on a particular day, there are a limited number of devices available for daily loan from the whare pukapuka/library from 8.30 am. If there are any issues or concerns regarding stationery and/or devices please contact your tamariki/child's kaiārahi so we can offer support.

Mā te kimi ka kite. Mā te kite ka mōhio. Mā te mōhio ka mārama / Seek and discover. Discover and know. Know and become enlightened.

This is a reminder that we are a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) school, and all ākonga/students (Years 7 to 13) need a digital device that is supplied by whānau/families to support the blended learning approaches and digital assessments in class. This will be required from day 1 of 2023.

We have worked with PB Tech to offer you some solutions but please feel free to purchase a Chromebook or laptop from any supplier. To view the PB Tech discounted prices, click on the link to access their website: https://www.pbtech.co.nz/education/byod/marcellin-college?qr=pb_byod

To access the Marcellin College BYOD special pricing, type MARCBYOD in the box 'Enter BYOD Coupon Code' near the top of the website.

We recommend that whānau purchase a protective sleeve or bag for your tamariki/child’s device. There are lockers available at school for ākonga to securely store their device if they are not using them e.g. during PE or at interval and lunchtime. More information about lockers is available at Student Services.

Our last day to join the group was on Friday and it was awesome to have such a good turnout.

Practices will be on Tuesday, Wednesday, Fridays from 3:30-5:30 and 9am-3pm on Saturdays. (There is no Tuesday practice this week due to school being closed).

Fa’afetai tele lava to all our parents who came along and contributed to our Fono last week. We have confirmed a Po Siva fundraiser will be held on the 25th of February (Times TBC) and our Fiafia night will be on the 2nd of March at 7:30pm.

A non-refundable $20 registration fee for Polyfest participants is due this week to student services. This is to confirm your place in the group and will be credited towards uniform costs.

Ms Schuster

This term Marcellin College will participate in various summer sports. The very first to start is senior volleyball on 16th February. Our volleyball teams have been practicing for the competition for the last 4 weeks and are eagerly waiting to get out on the courts and test their skills against some of the other central zone schools.

Our senior touch and tag players have also been working hard to represent Marcellin College later on in the term. Touch season will be kicking off on 21st February and the Tag One Day Tournament will be on 28th February.

All training's and game times could be found on Marcellin College Sports Instagram so if you haven't already then jump online and give us a follow to stay up to date with everything sports.

Would you like to join the Marcellin College Sports Whānau? We are currently searching for whānau members to join our teams as managers and coaches. If you would be keen to volunteer and help out a team please get in touch with the Director of Sports on goundard@marcellin.school.nz

We are thrilled to announce that Te Ahi Ora will be coming to the Tāmaki Makaurau this year! We deliver free performing arts lessons to schools, followed by free evening Fire Performances and lessons for your community.

Fire Performance is an emerging community activity that is rapidly spreading across the country. This exciting discipline engages the mind, connects with the body, and is incredibly fun and stimulating.

The last few years have been rather difficult for schools, students, and families, and we aim to re-ignite the passion for learning and community in a fun and highly engaging setting.

Te Ahi Ora has 5 main goals:

• Encourage students to participate in physically challenging and satisfying activities

• Boost self-confidence, encourage experimentation and foster creativity

• Provide opportunities for personal growth and development

• Build a sense of community through shared celebration and performance

• Counter the negative effects of excessive screen time and digital addiction

See you there!

Ngā mihi nui koutou / thank you to all our whānau who completed the ‘Communication Survey’ at the end of 2022. Effective communication is key for building Wānanga (communication/problem solving, innovation) and Whanaungatanga (respectful working relationships with our ākonga/learners and their whānau / family ) to improve the learning and wellbeing outcomes of your tamariki/children at our school. Email and the school newsletter are the main methods of communication always used and are also the most preferred. Our school has other methods of communication including the School website, School App, KAMAR Portal and the Facebook and Instagram social media pages. Support will be offered to all whānau at our ‘New Whānau / Meet the Kaiako’ afternoon - see the poster below for more details.

Email and phone calls will be the primary methods of direct and targeted communication with ākonga, their whānau, and staff. It is vital that contact details, including emergency contact details, are accurate and updated if any changes occur. Please email office@marcellin.school.nz if your contact details change.

Our School website is a live and dynamic site and is the method of communication which stores all the up to date information about the school including school policies, Special Character, Ako / Teaching and Learning information, Pastoral care systems and procedures, and administration. Here you will find links with other communication channels in our school.

Marcellin College Facebook and Instagram social media sites will be used as a more informal communication method for our learning community and the wider public, with updates, reminders and promotion of upcoming events. All are reminded to read through and follow the clear expectations outlined in the ‘Cybersafety Use Agreement’ that was signed during enrollment.

In case of emergency our crisis communication will go through email, school website and SMS. Health and Safety is our first priority and the Senior Leadership team have already started working alongside an independent company who specialises in emergency planning for schools, Harrison Tew ®, to update and refine our emergency procedures in our school. More information will be shared with our Marcellin whānau regarding these procedures very soon.

An email has been sent to whānau and ākonga with the username and password details for accessing the parent portal via the link below.

Kia ora koutou whānau,

Please visit the link below to see the school policies and the current policy under review for this term are:

Legislation and Administration Policy

1. Student Attendance
2. Enrolment
3. Privacy
4. Official Information Request
5. Uniform/Dress
6. Boarding House Policies

All reviewers

1. Visit the website https://marcellin.schooldocs.co.nz/1893.htm
2. Enter the username (marcellin) and password (seekthebest).
3. Follow the link to the relevant policy as listed.
4. Read the policy.
5. Click the Policy Review button at the top right-hand corner of the page.
6. Select the reviewer type.
7. Enter your name (optional).
8. Submit your ratings and comments.

If you don't have internet access, school office staff can provide you with printed copies of the policy and a review form.

Please email office@marcellin.school.nz if you would like to have a hard copy provided and posted to you.

Our Dedication Mass will be held on Friday 17th February at 12.30pm in our school gymnasium. If you would like to attend please be seated by 12.15pm.

Mount Albert Lions Rugby League: Under 16 boys team are looking for players for the 2023 season

Pre season training has commenced Tuesday and Thursday nights.

6.20pm Fowlds Park

Mt Albert

For more information contact Gerald (Coach) 0220483425 or Georgie (Manager) 0276120572

https://www.sporty.co.nz/mtalbertlions

IF YOUR CHILD IS DOING SOMETHING FANTASTIC OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL TIME, WE WOULD LOVE TO HEAR ABOUT IT AND SHARE IT WITH THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY - EMAIL YOUR STORIES (AND PHOTOGRAPHS) TO: office@marcellin.school.nz