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Kia ora e te whānau,
I hope lots of you had the opportunity to spend some quality time with your families these past holidays. It was a breath of fresh air walking around the school and seeing lots of happy and excited children including the new students; Curtis, Joshua, Mikiyas & Daniel. Unfortunately, a close friend, cousin and brother of mine, Willie Leota passed away during these holidays. There was lots of support from family, friends and community and I was blown away by the sheer number of people he had connected with in his short life. I was also incredibly humbled to be asked to speak about Willie at the family service. I would like to share the main points of the speech I gave.
Lessons learned from Willie:
I met Willie as a young 19 year old about to navigate the world of parenting. His connection to me is; brother in law (Lucy and Frances are sisters), distant cousin through the village Avao, Ex-Work colleagues, good friends and he also treated me like a little brother. We worked together at the bank, attended family events, hung out lots and grew up together navigating the world of parenting. Although he always had lots on with coaching the SPC 1st XV and work he always made time for me and my family. The weekend before he passed, he invited himself over to watch the All Blacks play England. Throughout these years, I have learnt 4 key lessons from Willie; Be proud of who you are, Be better, Be kind and Be a funny guy and have a laugh.
- Be Proud of Who You Are: Willie taught me the importance of identity and being proud of who you are. For us that meant being proud of being Samoan. Standing strong in the knowledge that your ancestors and family stand behind you regardless of what you do or what you know. This phrase can also be true of the things that inherently make you an individual. Be proud of being a young father, be proud of enjoying singing and musical theatre, be proud of enjoying playing rugby or being a teacher. Be you, be proud and don’t apologise for it.
- Be Better: Willie taught me to strive to be better. He helped me get my first job at the National Bank when I believed that I had no chance because I had no qualifications. I didn’t get the first job I applied for but I was offered another job at the bank (through his connections). From then, he has been someone that I would talk with about future job opportunities and vice versa. Even now in my current job, he sat me down at the advertising stages and told me I had to apply for the Principal role at Holy Cross because I could help others like us to see themselves in roles like this.
- Be Kind: Willie was the type of person who knew everyone. I would often walk down Courtney Place with him and we would be stopped every 30 metres because he knew someone and would need to say hello. At a deeper level it was because he was a kind and humble person. He would treat everyone the same. The way he would talk to a CEO would be the same way he talked to a friend or family member. He was consistently himself, humble and kind to everyone he knew.
- Be a Funny Guy and Have a Laugh: Willie always made time to have a laugh, enjoy life and be silly at the right times. When we would meet up after long days at work we would often banter and have a good laugh at ourselves. Willie also loved to dance and would often cheer people up by doing silly dances and tik toks with family and friends. The lesson I learnt here was to relax and laugh when you can and when you need it.
Willie has left a big hole in our family and community and I challenge you to pass on his legacy by living life the way he did. Ia, Manuia lau Malaga Uso (Rest in Peace Brother).
Ngā mihi nui,
Tala
There is nothing that can replace the absence of someone dear to us, and one should not even attempt to do so. One must simply hold out and endure it. At first that sounds very hard, but at the same time it is also a great comfort. Yes, the emptiness truly remains unfilled, but through this, one remains connected to the other person.
It is wrong to say that God fills the emptiness. God in no way fills it but much more leaves it precisely unfilled and so helps us preserve the authentic relationship — even in pain.
But gratitude transforms the pain of memory into silent joy. Cherish what was lovely in the past not as a thorn but as a precious gift deep within, a hidden treasure of which one can always be certain.
So treasure those precious memories!
(Inspired by theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer)
Liturgy leadership- student reflection
Willie Leota's Liturgy
On Thursday the 25th of July 2024 Holy Cross school hosted a liturgy dedicated to a special person who was a very well respected and kind loving family man and this person was William Leota.
As we entered an empty hall with nothing set up we knew this was no time to muck around. Me and my classmates got straight into action! No talking No playing we just got straight to setting up the chairs and decorating the hall. After all of that had been setup the leaders speaking in the liturgy had a practice run so they can get a briefing on how it is going to be like in front of at least 100-115 people.
It's time to get ready, the liturgy is about to start. I could already feel a different wairua not only in my body but also around me. The tension was starting to build up but no time was wasted. My friend Alazanda got to the doors of the hall and was getting ready to welcome in people. We started welcoming people into the hall one by one. It was slowly getting packed.
Once all the community finished entering it was time for the family to enter I could already feel a pouri wairua my feelings of sadness were starting to build up there were tears all around me. Once everybody was seated the liturgy started to begin. Luckily the speakers had a practice before the liturgy started so they knew what they were in for and they did it strong. After a couple of sad songs Mrs Meech a teacher at Holy Cross invited everyone who wanted to say a prayer to go get a special stone and place it on the table, I went up and said my prayer.
After the liturgy had finished the guests were allowed to go enjoy some nice afternoon tea in the hall . My friend Alazanda and I were chosen to manaaki, to serve some food to the guests. It was good to see everyone with smiles on their faces. I could hear nothing but laughs and chit chat. I went out and grabbed a nice plate of fresh brownies baked by Mrs Blewman. Shhh, don't tell anyone I just had to sneak and have one, they just looked so delicious! It ended up being a good day.
By Mason Caseley,
Rm 1, Year 8
REMINDER: Whānau conferences
Tuesday 30th July from 3pm - 6pm
Thursday 1st August from 3pm - 6pm
Note: School will finish at 2.30pm on both of these days.
Please contact the office if you haven't booked a time with your child's teacher yet or click the link below to make a booking.
Term 3 Overview for Rooms 3 & 5
Ngahere- The Forest.
In term 3, Room 3 and 5 will be focusing on learning connected to the forest as part of our Kaitiaki theme for 2024.
Field Trips- Tree planting @ Centennial Reserve Wednesday 7th August from 10.45-1pm
Zealandia- trip happening on Friday 23rd August.
From these experiences we will be looking at ecosystems, plants, insects and he manu (birds) as a focus for learning in literacy.
Olympics- Room 5 is also focusing on NZ involvement in the Olympics too.
Maths- our topic areas are number and measurement- length, perimeter and area.
Religious Education- We will deepen our understanding of the Trinity and also appreciate how Jesus is a gift to us and an example we can follow.
Health and PE- We are going to implement strategies to help change our emotions and help us be regulated. We will also have touch lessons.
Music- class music on Wednesdays.
This term in the Junior Syndicate, we will be covering the following topics in our Think, Talk, Create lessons:
- Firewise - fire safety (health)
- Reusing materials for art (arts)
- Magnets (science)
Also this term, we are very fortunate to have music lessons on Tuesday afternoons with Emily. Room 8 will be from 1.30 - 2.00pm, Room 7, 2.00 - 2.30pm and Room 11 from 2.30 - 3.00pm and these lessons will take place in the classrooms. We are very much looking forward to this.
In term 3, we also celebrate the Feast of Our Lady’s Assumption into Heaven. This is on August the 15th. Our focus in RE this term continues with God, looking at The Trinity and different images of God.
We are all very much looking forward to a full term of learning and enjoyment, and of course catching up with you in our parent/teacher interviews next week!
Happy Birthday to the following students: Oscar, Amalia, Kalypso, Katlyn, Libby, Jarvis, Zoe, Van and Amelia. Enjoy your special day everyone.
Did you know that there are karate classes run in our school hall? Karate is best known as a form of self defense, but it also helps to develop discipline, concentration, coordination and self confidence. To organize a free trial karate class on a Monday or Wednesday night call Sensei Neil on 021 979 999
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