Dear God,

You come to us in Jesus who teaches us that the way to happiness is through our love for one another.

Watch over the teachers, students and families of Sacred Heart Cathedral School as we try to be faithful to this teaching.

Help us to be a welcoming and joyful community, so that others may come to know your love and peace.

We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord,

Amen.

Kia ora koutou e te whānau,

I hope you all had a wonderful break and that everyone is recharged for another exciting term. 

Special welcome to Malakai who has joined Room 1. Malakai you are going to have a wonderful time at Sacred Heart Cathedral School and will make lifelong friends.

This term, our students will need to wear their winter uniform. There will be a transition time of two weeks.

We have an exciting term plan - our Readathon will be the absolute highlight. As a staff, we are looking forward to inspiring our children with books that will take them to magical places including places of knowledge.

Arohanui,
Bernadette Murfitt
Tumuaki
Sacred Heart Cathedral School

Poipoia te kākano kia puāwai

Nurture the seed and it will blossom. 

I have traveled 220,000 km to take my Principalship to another level. 

I have been inspired by my colleagues - Jen, Sue, Luana, Deb, Karolina, Janet, Jo, Katrina, Jenny, Donna and Kay. The conversations that we have had during transfers walking to breakouts, over breakfast, lunch and dinner have well and truly filled my bucket.

We had an incredible visit to an Indigenous Learning Centre in Calgary with the Department of Education hosting us. We learnt about culturally responsive practices and how the Canadian Education system integrates indigenous cultures and well-being into daily life. We participated in a smudging ceremony, toured the school, and shared about our bicultural practices in Aotearoa.

We then traveled to the ULead 2024 Conference in Banff. Out of the 1,100 delegates, 189 were Principals from Aotearoa. There was a range of outstanding keynote speakers and workshops on topics including neurodiversity, trauma-informed practice, indigenous education and wellbeing. My time in the mountains has enabled me to expand my networks and renewed my energy. I have picked up some big rocks and have stepped outside my comfort zone.

At the end of the conference, we traveled by train to Vancouver, viewing spectacular scenery. We visited a Catholic School called Our Lady of Perpetual Hope and learned much about the  Canadian Catholic education system.

International relationships are not just about networking, they are about creating a global community of educational leaders who are committed to excellence, innovation and improving the lives of the students we serve.

Principals bring new ideas, perspectives, and practices to their schools through these connections, enriching the educational experiences of countless young minds and preparing them for a future. Engaging with global colleagues has allowed us as a Principal group to not only shape the present but pave the way for a more promising, equitable tomorrow.

School leadership in Aotearoa can be lonely. As a result of attending this delegation, I feel stronger and sharper. The conference has allowed me to self-reflect and look in the mirror, I have upskilled in a variety of areas for example leadership, wellbeing and indigenous education. I have so many ideas as to how I can continue to raise achievement and reduce disparity at Sacred Heart Cathedral School.

I wish to be more of an instructional leader. I need to make sure that target students receive excellent instruction.

I want to continue to build our Sacred Heart Cathedral School whānau by the way I engage with all stakeholders.

I will strengthen and tighten my leadership capacity through my identity as a leader, presence, impact, vision, and purpose.

I need to give to myself spiritually, physically, emotionally, and mentally.

Special thanks to:

• Sacred Heart Cathedral School Board of Trustees who were so enthusiastic and positive about my wish to lead a Delegation to ULead in Canada at the end of term 1 over the holiday break.
• Sacred Heart Cathedral Staff who continued with business as usual for the last two days of term 1 2024, delivering an enthusiastic learning programme for our students.
• Lori Prichard, Director of Indigenous for Calgary - who set the scene for our wonderful time of learning and growing in Canada. Lori gave us the most comprehensive overview of what works for Indigenous students and helps them to thrive.
• Our Ministry of Education who have recognised the importance of wellbeing and development for New Zealand Principals.

This delegation has been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity - words cannot describe how grateful I am.

Bernadette Murfitt

April 2024

2024 Sacred Heart Cathedral School – Read-a-thon Fundraiser

We are thrilled that our school is running its first Read-a-Thon fundraiser. The funds raised will go towards much-needed digital resources for our classrooms.

Our students will seek online sponsorship for their efforts during our Read-a-thon. We are very excited that our children will have access to digital resources that will further develop their reading skills, enhancing their vocabulary, comprehension, and critical thinking abilities.

How will this fundraiser work?

We have partnered with Go Raise It to bring our Read-a-thon to life and make it easy for everyone to participate. Go Raise It, is a fundraising company that uses an online platform to track, manage and collect donations. Being online, it is incredibly simple to connect our Read-a-thon with family and friends who live outside our neighbourhoods, city and even country to generate more support and donations. The Read-a-thon will run from May 6th until May 26th. Look for the letter and booklet your child will bring home today and help sign them up. There are many spot prizes!

To ‘Light the Spark’ for our Term 2 Inquiry, Journeys, the syndicate will be heading to Te Papa to learn about how early navigators found their way to NZ. We will be walking to Te Papa and busing back to school at the end of the day. Thank you to the parents/caregivers who have completed the online form. If you have not done so, please complete this Google form for your child. We will need 4 helpers for each class on the day.

On Wednesday, 8th May, the students are invited to bring up to 5 books they have read and no longer want, to swap at our Book Swap. The students will give their books to thier classroom teacher to swap and the student will receive a ticket to spend at the Book Swap. This will be a great way to get new reading material for the Read-a-thon in Term 2.

Save the date and come join us on Monday, 13th May for free Netsafe presentation at the school library, 5pm.

Our students can come to school dressed up as their favourite book character on Thursday, 16th May.

The Juniors will spend the day on the waterfront on Tuesday, 11th June at Te Wharewaka, Te Papa and Frank Kitts Park. We will be doing a walking tour led by Mana Whenua. Here is the link to the Google form with more details.

The Inspire Photography Team are excited to be back at Sacred Heart Cathedral School this year! We will be photographing your children and their classes on the 29/05/2024 & 30/05/2024.

As part of Sacred Heart Cathedral School’s fundraising for the year, Inspire Photography will donate 10% of all sales made during the first two weeks of ordering directly to Sacred Heart Cathedral School.

What we offer on the day :

• Group photos of each class.
• Individual portraits and siblings photos.
• A totally relaxed and unique style of photography.
• Friendly and easy-going photographers.
• Fun, games and general silliness to get even the shyest children smiling.

On Wednesday the 29th of May, we will be photographing:

• Sports and Cultural Groups
• The Leavers Group
• The Whole School Group Photo, if weather permits.

Thursday the 30th of May, we will be photographing:

• Out of School Siblings will be photographed between 8.15am-8.40am.
• All Classes and Individual Student Portraits
• In School Siblings will be photographed during the school day.

About 2-3 weeks after your photo days, our online galleries will be ready to go. You will receive login details from the school office.

If you have any questions, please feel free to get in contact with the Team at Inspire, info@inspirephotography.co.nz or ring 04 384 8009.

Ngā Mihi,

The Inspire Team 

Phone 04 384 8009 |  info@inspirephotography.co.nz

Inspire Photography 

Courtyard / Level 1 

3/177b Thorndon Quay  

Wellington, Pipitea 6011

BASKETBALL: First Game of the Season

Sacred Heart Ruamoko (Year 5/6) vs WBS won 35-12. Player of the day was Jackson (Room 6).

Sacred Heart Tangaroa (Year 5/6) vs Scots Hammers lost 12-18. Player of the day was Rafael (Room 7).

Sacred Heart Tawhirimatea (Year 5/6 All Girls) vs Seatoun Storm won 20-8. Well done to the all girls team!

Jackson (Room 1) recently achieved the rank of yellow belt in Karate during his grading in his white belt. Great job!

Louie (Room 8) competed in a karate tournament in the holidays. He was in the age bracket of 12-13 years and came third in both kumite and kata. Well done!

A reminder that on the first Friday of every month until the end of the year, we will be making a donation to the Parish Foodbank. If you would like to donate any non-perishable food items, please drop it off at the office. Thank you very much.

Students have the option of ordering a subway each Wednesday or a sushi lunch each Friday. Orders must be placed before 9:00 AM on Wednesday and Fridays for the orders to be delivered that day.

Splat! will be running a fun drama class from term 2 onwards at school.

The drama classes are filled with awesome games and original scripts. These lessons are designed for every child to have a great time and improve self-confidence in a fun, judgement-free space.

Lessons run for 8 weeks (Mondays) and the students will practice a hilarious script that they get to perform for family and friends at the end of the term.

Spaces in these classes are limited to 15 students, to sign up for a free trial lesson, book in for the term, or find out more info – please email josh@splatnz.com or visit our website www.splatnz.com.