Newsletter

Sunday, March 12, 2023

Gospel Reading

John 4:5-42

Jesus reveals himself to the Samaritan woman at the well.
(shorter form: John 4:5-15,19b-26,39a,40-42)

Background on the Gospel Reading

On Sunday and the next two Sundays, we break from reading the Gospel of Matthew to read from John’s Gospel. The Gospel of John is the only Gospel not assigned to a particular liturgical year. Instead, readings from John’s Gospel are interspersed throughout our three-year liturgical cycle.

In Sunday’s Gospel, the dialogue between Jesus and a woman from Samaria is among the most lengthy and most theological found in Scripture. The most startling aspect of the conversation is that it happens at all. Jesus, an observant Jew of that time, was expected to avoid conversation with women in public. The animosity between the Jews and the Samaritans should have prevented the conversation as well. The woman herself alludes to the break from tradition: “How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?” Yet Jesus not only converses with the woman, he also asks to share her drinking vessel, an action that makes him unclean according to Jewish law.

The initial conversation between Jesus and the woman is better understood if we consider the importance of water, especially in the climate of Israel. At first, the woman understands Jesus’ promise of “living water” in a literal sense: “Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.” With no running water, the daily trip to the well by the women of the community was of paramount importance. The women of the town would have travelled to the well in the early morning, but this woman came to the well at noon, the hottest time of the day. The timing of her visit is a clear sign that she is an outcast within the Samaritan community. We learn in her conversation with Jesus that she is an outcast because of her “many husbands.”

Behind the conversation lies the animosity and rivalry between the Jews and the Samaritans. Samaritans shared Jewish ancestry, but Samaritans had intermarried with foreigners when they lived under the rule of the Assyrians. Samaritan religion included worship of Yahweh, but was also influenced by the worship of other gods. When the Jews refused Samaritan help in the building of the Temple at Jerusalem, the Samaritans eventually built a temple for themselves at Mt. Gerizim (the same mountain mentioned by the woman at the well). Like the Jews, the Samaritans believed that a Messiah would come.

The high point of the conversation is when Jesus reveals himself to her as the Messiah. His answer to the Samaritan woman’s questions about worship is meant to predict a time when worshiping in truth and spirit will become the way to worship.

After the conversation, the Samaritan woman becomes a disciple. Even though she is an outcast and not a Jew, she returns to her town to lead others to Jesus and to wonder whether she has found the Messiah. The Samaritan townspeople return with her to meet Jesus for themselves, and many are said to come to believe in him.

The significance of the encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman has many levels. The first is personal: The woman is herself converted to belief in Jesus as Messiah because he knows her sin but speaks with her just the same. The second is social: Having come to know Jesus as the Messiah, the Samaritan woman becomes an evangelist to her own people.

The third level of the story is educational: Jesus uses his encounter with the Samaritan woman to teach his disciples that God’s mercy is without limit. The disciples return from their shopping quite confused to find Jesus talking with a Samaritan, and a woman at that! But the conversion of the Samaritan townspeople is a foretaste of the kind of open community that will be created among those who believe that Jesus is the Messiah.

Tihei mauri ora, nau mai, haere mai, tena koutou katoa, E nga whanau, e nga kaiako, e nga tamariki, e nga manuhiri, tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa

Kia Ora Whānau

I would like to thank our school community for their support so far this Term with our school events. We have had fantastic support for our Masses, liturgies, swimming sports and classroom activities, it has been great to have families around. This week and next will be busy again as we navigate the Teacher strike. Thank-you for keeping children home as we are unable to safely support the supervision of students with the amount of staff here at school.

Thank you to parents who attended conferences today. If you did not manage to come today then you still have an opportunity to come next week on Thursday 23rd March. As you know this date was changed due to the Teacher Strike tomorrow. School will finish on Thursday 23rd at 12pm to accomodate all the conferences. We would like to make contact with all families so if you are unable to attend a conference your child's teacher will be in contact with you. Thank-you again for your ongoing support.

Booking a Parent-Teacher conference

Parents can book a conference time by going to School Interviews and using the event code m32gf, or by using this booking link to go directly to the booking page.

Due to key staff members being absent during the school holiday's we are unable to offer a Holiday Programme this term. We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience this may cause.

Thank you to Father Adam for blessing our new playground last Thursday. Many children have experienced the joy of playing on the playground this week. We would like to recognise the huge amount of support and fund raising the PTA have done to make our new playground a reality. So on behalf of our whole school community we send the PTA a huge thank you! A special mention also to Rebecca Morell who has spent many hours in behind the scenes to make it happen.

The PTA have their Movie night this Friday and I know the children are very excited. Be sure to pack a picnic and head to school this Friday afternoon!

We will be celebrating the Feast of St Joseph and St Patrick through classrooms and a Liturgy rather than a mass this week because of the strike. The children will receive an ice-block and maybe some extra playtime so there will be no need to bring any shared food.

This week Annette Laban has been working alongside Amber Armstrong in preparation for parent interviews and to hand over the reins for the remainder of the year. Amber Armstrong will be in the class for four days from Monday to Thursday, and Tess Johnson will work on Fridays. Annette will be embarking on her Masters in Education through Waikato University undertaking a dissertation in evaluating strategies for Pacific student success. Both Annette and Amber look forward to meeting with parents during conferences.

We welcome Amber back into the classroom and wish Annette all the very best with her studies.

School and home are a partnership and we want to work together for each child to reach their potential. If there are any concerns throughout the year with your child, please contact your child's classroom teacher in the first instance. If you feel you need to speak with someone else, then make contact with the Team Leader. Mrs Akkerman (Yrs 4-6) makkerman@stmarystga.school.nz or Mrs King (Yrs 0-3) cking@stmarystga.school.nz. If you still feel you need to speak to someone else, then please make time to come in and see Mrs Lisa Broadmore lbroadmore@stmarystga.school.nz, Mrs Fay Warnock fwarnock@stmarystga.school.nz and then myself jmurray@stmarystga.school.nz. It is imperative to follow this process. Your child's class teacher should always be the first port of call. There are many things that happen for children in their day and if you are concerned it is best to email them with a time to meet to discuss your concern. We need to make sure we have all the information before we discuss the concern. We need to work in partnership to grow the capacity of our children.

Nga mihi nui

James Murray

Principal

It was wonderful to welcome so many of our St Mary’s families to our School Parish Mass. Well done to our beautiful Maramatanga and Tika students who shared ‘God is Everywhere’ before the beginning of Mass. Their singing, energy and enthusiasm were highly evident and we were very proud of them. Thank you to our choir, readers and all the families who were able to join us for the Mass and at the picnic back at school. Our next School Parish is in Term 2 on Sunday 11th June at 10.30am.

This term our students are learning about the Charism of our school and the work of Blessed Anne-Marie Javouhey and our Cluny Sisters. Whānau Anderson have made a Charism tree in their class and Summer and Ellie have shared more details of their learning:

Whānau Anderson has created a class Charism tree that represents our school. At the bottom of the tree there is a seed with Blessed Anne-Marie Javouhey’s name on it, this is because she started the Cluny Sisters who founded St Mary’s Catholic School. Our values are shown on the roots of the tree, Aroha, Whakapono, Maramatanga and Tika. Our motto that comes from Blessed Anne-Marie’s teaching is ‘Do a little good each day’ - this is written under a picture of her that Summer and Mikaela created together. Levi sketched and coloured Jesus and this is on the trunk of the tree beside our school vision, ‘Love, learn and serve in the Cluny Spirit’. At the top are the branches and leaves which are St. Mary’s Catholic school community, together we live our Charism and follow Jesus everyday.

By Summer and Ellie

Last Saturday Sister Gabrielle, celebrated her 75th Jubilee, which is a remarkable achievement. Our students made special cards, which were presented to Sister Gabrielle during her celebrations. She was thrilled to receive the cards, and very thankful for the thoughtful messages from the children.

Just a reminder of the open invitation to join us for the coffee and connect time in Te Kōpuha Hapori - our Community Bach & Library on Friday 24th March from 8.30 - 9.30am . This is a time to meet and mix with other parents to find out more about life at St Mary’s. Feel free to come along and bring others with you. Our team of parent volunteers are providing some lovely baking, so please do join us.

God Bless

Fay Warnock

Director of Religious Studies/Deputy Principal

As the school is closed tomorrow due to the Teacher strike we will hold those who have ordered Sushi over till next week. Many thanks.

Do you have a two seater couch that we could use in a classroom breakout space? We are also looking for a free standing lamp and a rug or mat. Please send a photo with dimensions to Noeleen Kenny to access if these items will fit into our space. nkenny@stmarystga.school.nz

It has taken some time this year to get our music programme up and running, the shortage of tutors being the issue. However we have managed to secure a new violin teacher who has just moved to Tauranga. We are happy to announce the start of lessons next Monday 20th March. This will be at lunchtime in the music room. The cost of these group lessons will be $3, this will be charged to your school account at $30 for the 10 week term, although this term the charge will only be $10. We currently have 4 school violins for hire at the additional hire cost of $20 for the term. The availability of hire will be dependent on the child being the right size for the violins.

We now also have group lessons being offered in guitar. Although our current tutor, presently and will continue to offer 30 minute private lessons at $20, he will now be included in our Ministry funded programme and will offer group lessons at the same price as violin. A time for these lessons is still to be decided and is number dependent.

We also hope to be able to offer tuition in keyboard and ukulele some time soon. In the meantime we ask that you register your interest for either of these instruments.

If you would like to enrol for any of the above, please email me at kmulhern@stmarystga.school.nz, with your child's name, year level and if they are a beginner to a musical instrument. Please note that all enrolments are for students in year 2 and above.

A nation-wide campaign to raise awareness of how everyone can stay safe on our Catholic social media platforms starts next Monday, 20 March. Check our Facebook, Instagram and other social media each day from Monday for tips on how to keep yourself safe. Details of the campaign are here: https://www.catholic.org.nz/news/media-releases/socialmedia-safety/

An option for parents or whānau with children experiencing anxiety.

Term 1 - Thursday 2 February - Thursday 6 April

Monday 6 February - Waitangi Day

Parent Conferences;

Wednesday 15th March, 3.15 pm-6.15 pm

Thursday 23rd March 1.00 pm-6 pm. SCHOOL CLOSES AT 12PM Thursday 23rd March.

There will be NO AFTER SCHOOL CARE OR AFTERNOON BUSES ON THIS DAY.

Term 2 - Wednesday 26 April - Friday 30 June

Monday 24 April - TEACHER ONLY DAY

Tuesday 25 April - Anzac Day

Monday 5 June - King’s Birthday

Tuesday 6 June-KAHUI AKO TEACHER ONLY DAY

Term 3 - Monday 17 July - Friday 22 September

Parent Conferences

Wednesday 19th July, 3.15 pm-6.15 pm

Thursday 20th July 1.00 pm-6 pm. SCHOOL CLOSES AT 12PM Thursday 20th July.

There will be NO AFTER SCHOOL CARE OR AFTERNOON BUSES ON THIS DAY.

Term 4 - Monday 9 October - Wednesday 20 December

Monday 23 October - Labour Day

Friday 10 November-TEACHER ONLY DAY

Parent Conferences

Wednesday 6th December, 3.15 pm-6.15 pm

Thursday 7th December 1.00 pm-6 pm. SCHOOL CLOSES AT 12PM Thursday 7th December.

There will be NO AFTER SCHOOL CARE OR AFTERNOON BUSES ON THIS DAY.

In addition to the core curriculum requirements, money raised through our Gold Group sponsorship contributes to the many extra opportunities that we run as a school. Please generously support the Gold Group Sponsors as they generously support us.

Email: office@stmarystga.school.nz
Website: https://www.stmarystga.school.nz/
Location: 11 Thirteenth Avenue, Tauranga South, Tauranga 3112, New Zealand
Phone: +64 7 578 8066
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stmarystga/