Talofa lava and kia ora e te whānau,

This week brings with it a mix of exciting events, important changes, and some sad news.

Pōwhiri - Nau Mai Haere Mai!

Today we had the pleasure of officially welcoming our new students Noah, Avery, James, Arnav, Yuana, Va’a, Sang Bik and our new Kapa Haka kaiako (teacher) Matua Sharez. Welcome to the Holy Cross family!

We are thrilled to welcome Matua Sharez, who joins us through his volunteer work in our community. Matua will be working with our kapa haka rōpū every Monday, bringing his experience, passion, and deep understanding of Te Ao Māori to enrich our cultural learning.

Matua Sharez is a talented composer and will be supporting us in creating a school haka, hymn, and action song that reflect the identity and values of our kura. These waiata will become part of our cultural legacy — written by us, for us.

We are grateful to our Māori Whānau Rōpū, who will be using the funds they have raised to offer a koha to support Matua’s work. His presence will strengthen our school’s connection to tikanga and te reo Māori, while helping grow the confidence and capability of our ākonga.

Alignment to Te Āti Awa Whānui Tikanga

Today marks the change of the school’s pōwhiri with the tikanga of the local iwi - Te Āti Awa whānui. In consultation with the school. What are the changes? Te Atiawa whānui, like many iwi across Aotearoa, begin their pōwhiri with a hongi as part of the formal process of welcoming and connecting with people.

An Evening with Nathan Wallis – Brain Development and Resilience

On Wednesday night, we had the privilege of hosting Nathan Wallis, a leading expert on brain development and resilience. Nathan is well-known across Aotearoa for his ability to make complex neuroscience easy to understand, relevant, and often very funny! He brought energy, heart, and clarity to the science of how our children learn, grow, and thrive.

As both an educator and a parent, I found his messages powerful in their simplicity — grounded in research but always tied back to practical ideas for the classroom and home. His kōrero challenged us to think differently about learning and parenting, and reminded us of the huge role relationships and connection play in development.

Here are a few key things we learnt:

The first 1000 days matter – The early years of a child’s life are crucial. During this time, language acquisition has a huge impact on brain development and positive outcomes in later life. The more we talk to our tamariki, the better — every conversation helps build the foundation for learning.
The thinking brain kicks in around age 7 – From birth to around 7, a child is mainly operating from their emotional brain. The frontal cortex (the part responsible for thinking, planning and reasoning) becomes more dominant around age 7. That means we shouldn’t stress if a child doesn’t learn to read before they’re 5 — instead, we should focus on curiosity, creativity and connection.
Everyone develops at their own pace – Brain development happens over a long period. On average, girls develop a fully mature brain between 18–27 years old, and boys between 22–32 years. This means that at school, our tamariki are all developing at different speeds, and we need to respond with empathy, not comparison.
Cognitive training helps build resilience – When we support our tamariki through difficult emotions, we strengthen their brains and relationships. Nathan shared a simple 3-step process for building resilience in tricky situations:

Step 1: Calm the brain – Help the child regulate first. Find a calming strategy that works for them (breathing, movement, quiet time).

Step 2: Validate the feeling – Let them know their emotions are okay. “That must make you feel sad/mad/frustrated.”

Step 3: Be specific about the behaviour you want to see – Instead of “be good,” try “let’s use kind words” or “I need you to walk, not run.”

We are incredibly grateful to Nathan for sharing his time and knowledge with our community. A huge thank you to all the whānau who came along — your presence and engagement help strengthen our collective understanding of how to best support our tamariki. Finally, heartfelt thanks to our PSG (Parent Support Group) who organised and hosted the event. Your mahi made this valuable evening possible.

Remembering Sister Stephanie Kitching

Last week we received the sad news that Sister Stephanie Kitching RSM passed away peacefully at Mary Potter Hospice. Sister Stephanie lived in the Mercy flats next door to our school and was a quiet but constant presence in our neighbourhood. Many of us will remember her warm smile and gentle greetings as she walked by or tended the garden.

As a member of Ngā Whaea Atawhai o Aotearoa – Sisters of Mercy, Sister Stephanie dedicated her life to serving others through education, pastoral care, and social justice. Her compassionate work as a therapist and her commitment to supporting those experiencing hardship showed her deep sense of aroha and mercy. We give thanks for her life of service and the connection she had to our school and wider community. May she rest in peace.

We have a New Pope! We are excited to share that the Catholic Church has a new leader — Pope Leo XIV! He was chosen on May 8, 2025, and is the first Pope from the United States. Pope Leo has worked as a missionary in Peru and is known for caring deeply about helping others and bringing people together. He follows in the footsteps of Pope Francis and will continue to guide the Church with kindness and wisdom.

We send Pope Leo our warmest congratulations and prayers from all of us here at Holy Cross School.

A Prayer for Pope Leo XIV:

Loving God,

Thank you for our new Pope.

Bless Pope Leo XIV with strength, wisdom, and love

as he leads your Church and shares your message of peace. May he be a light to the world and a shepherd to your people.

Amen.

Ngā manaakitanga,

Tala

His Holiness, Pope Leo XIV

We join with the faithful around the world to pray for and rejoice in our new Holy Father. May the Holy Spirit guide him as he, in turn, guides God’s flock across the world.

Prayer for Pope Leo XIV

Faithful God,
You guide us on the path of life
and your goodness is our constant companion.

Be with our new Shepherd, Pope Leo XIV,
in his service of the Church.
Fill him with the power of your Spirit,
the peace of your presence
and the compassion of Christ.

May he walk with you,
in wisdom and humility,
and lead us, together with all God’s people,
to embody your love for the world.
Amen.

God Bless you, Pope Leo

Families of Faith

What a wonderful first session we had last night! So many helpful parenting tips from like minded and experienced parents and caring people! Honest, open and deep conversation about how to navigate and support our own kids’ faith journey at home. How should we answer those tricky questions? How can we make sure our kids grow up with a strong, deeply rooted Christian faith? How can we give our children values that truly shape their character? What does faith mean to you? We found out that strong family values based in faith can help build resilience in children and young adults and foster positive relationships.

“A family that prays together, stays together.”

We are looking forward to our second session on 11th September.

Learning Conferences mid year 2025

Book a time to come along to a Learning Conference on

Tuesday 24th June or Thursday 26th June 2025 between 3.00 and 6.00pm (school will finish at 2.30pm these days).

Come along and celebrate your child’s learning at the 10 minute conference.

Go to link : https://hcsmiramar.schoolzineplus.com/view-session/8 to make a booking.

Hello parents,

We would like to invite you all to view your pictures at Inspire Photography's online ordering site. This gallery and ordering system is live and working as of now. This gallery will close Midnight Tuesday 27th May and orders placed before the gallery closes aim to be dropped off at your school by Tuesday June 17th. Orders to be posted will be processed at the same time as the prints that are to be returned to the school. Digital files are purchased as is and retouching requests may incur fees.

The gallery will remain live and online for up to 12 months after the main ordering period closes, postage and packing fees may also apply as drop off at school is not available with late orders. The school does not receive any fundraising percentage on sales and payments placed after the main ordering period finishes.

To view and order your photographs:

1. Go to our website at https://www.inspirephotocart.co.nz

2. Log in or create an account. This is an important first step as it should save the passwords you use and should stop you having to re-enter the passcode every time you wish to view the images.

3. Enter the unique codes on the info leaflet(s) sent home with your child(ren) - there are multiple codes; one for individual/sibling shots, one for groups and other codes for cultural/sports/leadership groups:

If you have misplaced the codes, please contact the school office administration@hcm.school.nz for your unique code(s)

4. Save the images you would like to purchase to your ‘Favourites’

5. Groups code: Save the relevant class groups to your ‘Favourites’.

Please check your child’s name is spelled correctly and let us know before the fundraising period finishes if amendment is needed

Please check your order confirmation email closely and get in touch if you are unsure about what you wanted to order does not match what you have entered on your order. Incorrectly-ordered prints can not be swapped or reimbursed.

If you require help with the ordering ordering process or have any questions around ordering, then please feel free to call or email us: orders@inspirephotography.co.nz.

Ngā Mihi,

The Inspire Team

info@inspirephotography.co.nz

In room 7 we have been working on early multiplication skills through skip counting for maths.

We have been making fruit skewers with multiples of 2. To practice skip counting in 10s we made our own $10 notes of play money and skip counted up to $280!

In reading we have been learning about "magic -e" which changes the vowel sound (a, e, i, o, u) to it's alphabet name. We have been practicing our magic-e words outside with chalk writing. For RE we are learning about Gospel stories and are creating artwork and role playing. In PE we make the most of the good weather and practice catching and throwing balls while playing piggy-in-the-middle. Cross country running was a challenge but also fun. In art we explored the use of paint brushes and washable acrylic paints to create vibrant sunflowers. Learning is in full swing and everyone is working hard.

This term in Room 11, we’ve been exploring the Māori New Year as we learn about Matariki through stories, art, and play. In maths, we’ve been learning about equal sharing and finding pairs, using hands-on activities and games. During PE, we've enjoyed playing cooperative games that help us work as a team. In Religious Education, we've been learning about Jesus and his friends, discovering what it means to be kind and caring to others. We have loved dressing up as our favourite characters for book week! What a busy and exciting term it’s been so far.

We have begun the term looking forward to Book Week this week.

The children have been excited, thinking about what book character they could dress up as. We have also been praying for our new Pope - Pope Leo IX. We have begun looking at our topic of Matariki, then will move on to our topic of Samoa. We work hard in Room 12 and we are currently really enjoying listening to the story, ‘The Folk of the Faraway Tree’. Please enjoy our photos

Father Bill will have 2 sessions at school to sign Preference Certificates for those Year 8 students who are going to a catholic college.

Dates are Wendesday 18th June and Thursday 17th July from 2.30pm-4.30pm

Please call the office to book a time.

Our public health nurses are coming to school 12th June to provide immunisation for year 7 tamariki.

If you have changed your mind or your child’s medical situation has changed please contact us at gw-nphsimmunisation@tewhatuora.govt.nz, or call us on 04 587 2949.

If you have not yet consented, but want to, please collect a consent form from the school office.

If you declined the vaccines last year but you have changed your mind and you now want your year 8 child to receive the vaccine(s) please collect a consent form from the school office or contact us.

If your Year 8 child missed out last year and you would like them to catch up on their vaccinations please collect a consent form from the school office .

If you have any questions or concerns please contact us at gw-nphsimmunisation@tewhatuora.govt.nz, or call us on 04 587 2949

Our first Pasifika Fono for quite some time is happening this term. We are inviting all families that identify as having a Pacific culture to join us for a cuppa and a chat.

Date is Wednesday 21st May

Time is 3.30pm

Venue is Room 4- looking out on the playground.

When you come along to pick up your tamariki, just stay a bit and join us for a short discussion on how we can make Holy Cross a better place for your tamariki and your whānau. We look forward to meeting you and hearing your thoughts and ideas.

Matua Tala and Lyn

Today in the garden we were looking at all the different plants and what changed for Autumn. Kalypso and I had a special job to peel the gem corn to see if there were any pearls inside. Hana-Lucia.

We were cutting some wood. Tyrese.

I put a bit of hay around a baby plant to keep it warm. Tessa

We made little pots, then we added dirt and water and then we put a seed in it then added more soil. Kalypso.

There were 4 seeds we could choose from Mangare Pou, Snowpeas, Cornflower and Scarlet Runner. James

We were smelling plastic eggs. They had rosemary, orange, lavender and mint inside them. Nas

In the kitchen we cut onion and garlic to make the soup. Giana

We also cut silverbeet and carrot. Ishaani. We were mixing the soup in the pot. Dhreya

We also tasted and smelled different types of spices. Dhreya. We added some spices in the soup. George.

We set the tables and then we set out the soup and the year 3's came back from the garden. Ishaani.

Room 3 Garden to Table

Chef of the Day: Hope

Today we made Kawakawa biscuits and we minced Kawakawa leaves. Then we made Kawakawa tea. We got a kettle and we looked at the kawakawa leaves, and we saw a black thing around the leaf from the wind.

Gardener of the day: Winter

Maramataka

A lunar calendar is based on phases of the moon. We will notice:

Plants growth and changes
Insects / animals - when they appear
Invertebrates - what are they doing?

FBI:

Fungus

Bacteria

Invertebrates

I noticed that the garden has weeds everywhere. I noticed that kawkawa leaves are dying. I noticed that the capiscum is dying, plus its leaves. I noticed that leaves are dying everywhere too. But we found lots of worms. Worms died too, and Solomon and Emmanuel plus Hendrix did some planting with Olivia. But me, Nora and Ruby did planting. Roman and Māia did cutting too.

Winter getting straight to her writing to record what she has been noticing in the kitchen today.

Waiting to wash up chopping boards.

Sophie and Michael tasting the soup today, they noticed that they enjoyed tasting the soup bit more tasting the vegetables. I noticed everyone trying the tasty spicy lentil soup today, ka pai room 3. Vicky

To the following students celebrating their birthday over the next coming 2 weeks, we wish you a very happy fun-filled day: Cailin, Kahmaia, Jonadh, Sharvil, Hosanna, Kayden and Nerine.

St Patrick’s College Open Day
Tours

Our exciting 2025 Open Day tours are here.

For those interested in enrolling their son at St Pat's for 2026, Open Days will
be held on:

Tuesday 27 May between 10:00am to 11:30am and again from 12:30pm to
2:00pm, and Thursday 29 May between 10:00am to 11:30am and again from 12:30pm to 2:00pm.

These tours are informative, inclusive and enlightening and give families a live
snapshot of a day in the life of our College.

Online bookings are now available by signing up via a google sign-up form on
the college website – www.stpats.school.nz

Online Enrolments are now open, so go to the Enrolment Tab if you would like
to enrol for 2026 now. Alternatively you can download the Enrolment Form
and complete the appropriate forms and return them via hand or post to the
College or send through email to admin@stpats.school.nz

Alternatively, please get in touch with the College directly at 939 3070 for
further enrolment information.