Catholic Character:  

This week I share with you a reflection I led with staff yesterday morning. This reflection offers us all an invitation to grow in Holiness. 

HOLINESS    TE TAPU       

       "Be holy, for I am holy" Lev 11:44

We are all called to be holy- by living our lives with love and by bearing witness ​in everything we do, wherever we find ourselves -.Pope Francis Apostolic Exhortation Gaudete et Exsultate

We each have our own individual path to holiness which invites and brings out the best in us. ​Let’s today spend time thinking about our true self - the person we are called to be.

Some words and phrases that can point to being holy include:  

being present, genuine​, approachable, honest, consistent, 

giving, forgiving, 

being there for others, going the extra mile, persevering, 

acting with selflessness, integrity, helping others, being grounded, reliable, engaged, humble, 

passionate,  compassionate, … 

Let’s pause and reflect- How many of these words describe you?  ​What might you focus on in your life to be more ‘holy?’ Choose an area that you want to work on this week.  Ask God to help you do this. 

Prayers of intercession

Lord, we ask for your blessing and guidance as we journey throughout the week.  Help us to “live your word”, to be the best we can be, so that we may in turn may be a blessing to all those whose lives we touch.  Lord hear us. 

We pray, and give thanks, for our leaders at this challenging time, may their responses be inspired with wisdom and love. Lord hear us. 

Lord we pray for those who are struggling… may our eyes, ears and hearts be open to their needs and may our responses affirm, support and empower. Lord hear us. 

Lord we ask your blessing on those caring for others, we thank you for their kindness and generosity of spirit. Lord hear us. 

Lord, we pray for the sick, may they experience peace, love and support in their journey to wellness. Lord hear us.

Lord, we give thanks for the many blessings we receive: our families, our faith, a beautiful country in which to live and the qualities we have each been gifted; may we cherish these blessings today and always. Lord hear us 

The Lord is my Shepherd    You Tube

The Lord is my Shepherd, and I want to follow, wherever he leads me, wherever he goes.

Over the mountains, the waters and by-ways, valleys and highways he’s waiting for me.

I want to go to meet him there, to lay myself down in his love.

The Lord is my shepherd, and I want to follow, wherever he leads me, wherever he goes.

And while on the journey to where we are going, he promised to be there to help us along.

And over the mountains we’ll walk on together, to know all the wonders he’s given to me

Greetings to you all this beautiful sunny afternoon,

Over the past few days we have been reading carefully the detailed information and advice provided  by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health. Our focus remains on following government advice to keep our community safe and well. 

The clear message being given for Alert Level 3 is to stay at home, other than for essential personal movement and going to work and school.  If there is a parent or caregiver available to look after children at home, stay at home.  

For those children who need to attend school there will be strict health and safety measures in place. Once we know the exact number of students who need to be at school we will confirm with families how their attendance will be managed. 

Be assured, we continue to work hard behind the scenes to ensure we are following and enacting all guidelines to support a successful return to school at every level.   

A huge thank you to you all for the prompt response to the survey sent out earlier today; to date we have had 80  responses. The information and feedback we are receiving will really help to guide our ongoing actions. 

Please complete this survey if you have not already done so.   

https://forms.gle/yLZ6aPGNRo7bCMJKA 

Once again-  please, please contact me if there is anything I can do to support your child or family in any way. 

Ngā mihi nui

Celeste Hastings

You would have seen the update that was sent out via our School App yesterday. Please click on the link to see the update.

Farewell for now: As we mentioned last term, Mrs Ashleigh Walsh, will be taking parental leave from this Friday, for the remainder of the school year.  We wish Ashleigh and Stef all the very best at this exciting time and look forward to hearing their special news in June! Thanks Ashleigh for the work you’ve put in to give your class a great start to the year; be assured you will remain in our thoughts and prayers. 

Welcome to Holy Cross: We warmly welcome to Room 6, Jeannine Winton.  Jeannine is an experienced and passionate teacher; we know she will contribute much to the wonderful teaching and learning that is a feature of our school. Jeannine has spent some time in the ‘actual classroom ‘ as well as time this week in the ‘virtual classroom’ working alongside Ashleigh, so the students in Room 6 have had a positive and supportive time of transition. 

Thanks:  I would like to acknowledge and thank our incredible staff who have been working so hard to support your child’s home learning. I’m sure you have all appreciated the support videos and materials that have been put together to support each child’s journey.   Be assured we will continue to work with your child(ren) supporting their learning in a purposeful way.

In the survey sent home today we have asked a few questions that will give us information about your experience of our programme.  Please take the time to complete this survey by using this link.

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Unfortunately at this point in time the Assyrian and Tongan languages are not included but we have requested that Google look into this.