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,

Every week at this school is wonderful - last week was extra special.

Highlights being having our Archbishop with us, MP Erica Stanford, Musical Bingo, and having the most spiritual experience with our Grandparents. Thank you for all the support you gave us and all the encouraging feedback.

I am so grateful to the wonderful team that we have here at school. Our staff will always do the very best for your child at school.

A special welcome to Cristiano (Room 1), who joined our school on Monday, 28 July. You will love being at our school and will make lifelong friends.

Please note that there will be no school this Friday, 1st August as we have our Kahui Ako Professional Development Day.

Have a wonderful week and please reach out if you have any concerns.

Arohanui,
Bernadette Murfitt
Tumuaki
Sacred Heart Cathedral School

A separate newsletter on the Parent Elections has been emailed out this afternoon.

Please note that Nominations close at noon this coming Monday, 4 August.

Attendance continues to be a top priority for the government, which has set a target of 80% of students attending school for more than 90% of the term by 2030. To achieve this, schools must aspire to reach an average daily attendance rate above 94%.

Last week, 21st-25th July, we were 87.84%.

Please use SchoolAppsNZ to report your child's absence to the school. Thank you.

Thank you to all our Grandparents who celebrated with us last Friday for our liturgy.

What a night team!  $3000 was raised for the school camp.  Thank you, thank you, thank you. The actual night was mind-blowing.

Congratulations to our raffle winners: 

Jaco (parent) - won the TV.
Our general raffles were won by the Aldred family, Kobe-Max (Room 6), and Thuy Minh (formerly a Sacred Heart student).
Matthew (parent) won the wine.
Lana (Room 6) won the Woolworths voucher.

Thanks to everyone who supported us! You were all amazing!

Special mention to the awesome Sacred Heart Cathedral School staff. Absolute gifts and real taonga to us all. They teach by day and support events at night.

Adele, Jay and Niamh for having a vision to bring our school community together.

Geraldine, Nicola, and your team of awesome helpers with all the delicious food and snacks (you made feeding 200 people look easy ).

Thank you to everyone who gathered items for raffles, donated prizes, sold raffle tickets, set up, and cleaned up.

It was our first time having an EFTPOS machine. Thanks to Lisa for operating this for us.

St Mary's College for the beautiful venue.

A BIG THANK YOU to the following families and companies, who generously donated gifts, tickets, treats and vouchers for our raffles and spot prizes:

We are all blessed to be in others' lives.

https://youtu.be/V6NUBs-RiQ4

https://youtu.be/5EwM2A25V7M

https://youtu.be/VjJHJEA6OS4

https://youtu.be/wwGa2AMZnQY

Middles:

Yesterday, the Middle Syndicate went to Akau Tangi Sports Centre. We had a fantastic time! The students tried some new sports such as badminton, korfball, floorball and ultimate frisbee.

Seniors:

Some of our seniors today, went to Akau Tangi Sports Centre to represent the Inter School Handball Tournament. Congratulations to Sacha and Zachary (Room 8) for winning the Most Impressive Attack Award and the Most Impressive Defense Award, respectively. You have also made our school very proud for winning the Teamwork Award.

On Friday, 1st August, there will be NO SCHOOL as our teachers will have their Kahui Ako Professional Development Day.

Our Middle Syndicate students will visit the Government House on Thursday, 7th August. All parents of our Middle Syndicate must click and complete this Google Form for your child - Middle Syndicate Government House Visit Term 3-2025. 

On Tuesday, 12th August, the Performance Group (Year 4-8 student volunteers) is participating in the Wellington Catholic Kahui Aho Primary Cultural Celebration. This is a fantastic opportunity for our tamariki to share their talents through the arts of Kapa Haka performances. The event will be held at St Patrick's College on Tuesday, 12th August. Please fill in the Google Form giving permission for your child to attend if you have not done so. The link can be found here.

If you have registered your child for one of the sports subs below, please ensure that you have paid their subs fees to the following details below:

For Basketball Subs:

Account Name: Sacred Heart Cathedral School Board

Account Number: 12-3140-0325505-00

Reference: "BBALL TERM3"

Please note the amount corresponding to your child's year level: Year 3/4 - $39.00; Year 5/6 - $48.00; and Year 7/8 - $58.00

For Futsal Subs:

Account Name: Sacred Heart Cathedral School Board

Account Number: 12-3140-0325505-00

Reference: "FUTSAL T3"

Amount: $68.90

Please note that this is an after school sports activity that the school does not cover. We would appreciate it if you could please take the time to settle this matter, as we have received an invoice for payment.

Thank you very much for your cooperation.

NETBALL:

Sacred Heart Ferns (Year 5 & 6):

The Ferns have had two great games back this term after over a month off! Our first game back after the school holidays was against HVS Eagles, where we won 11-8. The player of the day went to Tilomai (Room 5), who did an awesome job moving around in the shooting circle and being available - then putting her shots in! The whole team did great, coming back from a big break with some of the girls playing in different positions to what they are used to.

Over the weekend, we had our second game for the term against Worser Bay School Net Stars C, where we won 6-3. This was a tough game where the girls had to make sure they played strong defence until the end and looked after the ball when passing to each other. The team managed to do what they needed to and get the ball into the shooters as much as possible. The player of the day went to Blandina (Room 6), who started the game in centre, which she doesn’t usually play, and then slotted into defence, where she did her usual great job of putting pressure on the passers and picking up lots of beautiful intercepts. Well done, team!

Sacred Heart Marvels (Years 5 & 6):

The Marvels put on a great comeback show on Saturday, beating Nga Mokopuna 8-3 in an exciting and thrilling game. After being behind at halftime, the team came together and found their form in the second half, pulling ahead to take the win.

The player of the day was Margaux (Room 6), who was fantastic in mid-court, driving forward well and getting great passes into the circle that helped the team score. Special mentions go to Ella and Colette (Room 5), whose great play and never-give-up attitude throughout the match helped the team succeed.

Sacred Heart Aces (Year 7 & 8):

A great second game in the A grade against SWIS on Saturday. SWIS fought back to win Q2; however, Sacred Heart took it out with a convincing win of 26-5. Amazing result. Thanks to parents and supporters for bringing their children out early on a very cold winter’s morning! The player of the day was Harper (Room 10), who did outstanding shooting from anywhere in the goal circle and worked to draw the defence out from under the goal posts to create space to shoot. Another player of the day was Hannah (Room 8), with exceptional intercepts through midcourt to turnover play and continually being available to receive passes. The magic moments were Asu and Iris (Room 9) - Asu for putting into practice some new skills to defend, block and retrieve rebounds, and Iris for interrupting play with intercepts while on D.

BASKETBALL:

Sacred Heart Dunks (Year 3 & 4):

Fantastic effort by the Dunks on their amazing 33–9 win against the Ngāio Panthers (Monday, 28/07). It was an outstanding game showcasing incredible teamwork, strong defence, and excellent ball movement from every player on the court. You all worked so very hard. A special shoutout to Xander (Room 3), who was named player of the day for his all-around performance, displaying superb ball skills, flair, and solid defense throughout the game. Well done to Xander and the whole SH Dunks, keep up the great work, team!

L-R: Tilomai, Ella (Room 5), Xander (Room 3), Dougal, Sandy and Alex (Room 5).

Sacred Heart Hoops (Year 3 & 4):

The SH Hoops have had an awesome time getting the season started with 2 grading games under their belts now. The first game against Amesbury showed lots of resilience and learning taking place as they quickly worked to understand the rules and where they should be on the court. The player of the day went to Jacob (Room 3) for his fantastic dribbling and hustle. 

This week, we played Bellevue, and the team showed a huge amount of improvement with their dribbling and passing, and worked well to use the space on the court. The player of the day went to Simone (Room 5), who did a great job attacking the hoop and scored the first points for the season with her free throws!

L-R: Simone, Dylan, Lexie (Room 5), Jacob (Room 3), Iris, Arlo D (Room 5) and Khoi (Room 3).

Sacred Heart Dunkin Donuts (Year 7 & 8):

The SH Dunkin Donuts lost 12-37 against St Brigids. Despite the lost, they gave their best effort during the game. The player of the day was Lucas (Room 10).

Sacred Heart Lay Ups (Year 5 & 6):

The SH Lay Ups had a fantastic effort out there! Although, the Paparangi Panthers claimed the win, it was an epic showdown filled with determination and spirit. A special shoutout to Xavier (Room 6) for his standout performance.

CONGRATULATIONS:  Congratulations to Asu (Room 9), who has been selected to play in the Under 14 Wellington Basketball team. She will be playing in a warm-up tournament in Levin in September before traveling to the regional basketball tournament in Hawke’s Bay in October.

Tennis Tournament 2025

To purchase an entertainment book, click on the following link:  https://subscribe.entertainmentnz.com/fundraiser/

Don’t miss the chance to watch the movie, Tinā (Mother), now the sixth-highest grossing Kiwi film of all time. It tells the story of Mareta Percival, a Samoan teacher who, after losing her daughter in the Christchurch earthquakes, finds herself teaching at an elite private school and using music to inspire her students and rediscover her own passion. The film is a box office success in New Zealand, praised for its heartwarming story and performances.

Event Date: Saturday, August 23, 2025.

Event Address: Lighthouse Cinema, 52 Beach Street, Petone, Lower Hutt.

Arrival time from:  10:00 AM

Screening time: 10:30 AM

Ticket prices are: Adult: $25/ticket, Senior & Student: $20/ticket.

Tickets will be on sale after every weekend masses starting, 19th July 2025. You can also purchase your tickets online by scanning the QR code or by accessing the link: https://forms.gle/NKvqxuq9zbSwtJ2A7.

We are seeking sponsors to help make this fundraiser event special. Please contact Joy at (021) 048 1216 or mcsh.fundraising@gmail.com.