Thank you once again for all your support. We could not do all the activities that we do without the way you all embrace us.

We are so proud of our students and their achievements.  We appreciate your enthusiastic responses to help us with the delivery of our curriculum.  You have been all true champions in the special way you have supported your child through another very challenging pandemic year.  We are all continuing to make history.

Have a safe and happy Christmas.  Farewell to those families who are moving to new adventures. 

Meri kirihimete.

We look forward to seeing you all in 2022.

"Lord God, as we ponder the blessings and challenges of this past year, grant us the serenity of your Spirit and openness of heart to appreciate the wonders you have done.  We will continue to be faithful to those we serve.  Amen."

Blessings and aroha to you all.

Bernadette Murfitt

Principal

Sacred Heart Cathedral School

News from the Sacred Heart Cathedral School Board

Kia ora koutou.

It was a real privilege to represent the board today at the outdoor End of Year Liturgy on a calm and warm Wellington afternoon.  We celebrated the achievements of our Year 8s and farewelled them.  We were also able to celebrate the wonderful contribution of our three departing teachers, Christine, Jane and Eli.

It was an opportunity to thank a number of people who support our school.  With help from staff, Kapa Haka tutors, Father James, Father David, Debbie and whānau (to name just a few) we are able to achieve a lot for our students.  Thank you for all your efforts in 2021 working together to make Sacred Heart Cathedral School the place that it is.

I would like to acknowledge one long standing member Trudy who we farewell as a board member at the end of this year as her family moves to Samoa.  Thank you Trudy for your support of SHCS.  We’ll miss your hard work, valuable insights and great networks in the education space!

The Board of Trustees wish you all a happy, holy and safe Christmas season.

Ngā mihi nui!

Suzanne Adair

Chair of Board / Presiding Member

suzanneadair@hotmail.com, 021 039 7558

Thank you for your feedback regarding how we teach Health Education and how we went during Lockdown.

We really appreciate your ideas which help strengthen what we do going forward.

Your feedback helps to shape the way we operate going forward.

Thank you so much to our whānau and extended members of whānau who help us at school in the classroom or on school activities.  Without the support of our whānau, we would not be able to provide the delivery of our rich curriculum.

Thank you so much for all your generous donations.  We are so grateful to everyone who has been able to pay their donations during another very tough year.

We have been able to provide numerous rich learning experiences inside and outside the classroom.  For example, swimming and ASB sports programme.

We have purchased STEM resources (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics).

More Chromebooks for the middle and senior school.

More iPads for the Junior School.

Interactive televisions to bring learning alive.

Playground equipment.

Latest book titles for our library.

Additional teacher aide hours to support learners.

Extra Reading Recovery places.

Extra Teacher hours to support groups of learners.

Tables and ergonomic furniture.

Thank you for your generosity.

• Children are given the opportunity to participate in netball, swimming, tennis,  touch rugby, soccer, and athletics.
• Challenges of training for school cross country where children’s fitness is developed.
• Ongoing Intensive Professional Development for staff with funding provided by the Ministry of Education. This has led to improved learning outcomes for all students at our school.  This has also enabled our staff to develop pedagogical knowledge and skills when implementing and delivering the New Zealand Curriculum.
• Our Board of Trustees have completed a variety of Professional Development on governance and responsibilities of Boards in a Catholic school and Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
• Accelerated Literacy Learning for target students facilitated by Learning Solutions.
• Our school is an active member of the Wellington Catholic Community of Learning.
• Staff from Sacred Heart Cathedral School presented the Sacred Heart Cathedral School Local Curriculum to members of the Wellington Catholic Kahui Ako.
• We were very fortunate to receive Pasifika Innovation Funding money from the Ministry of Education to support our Pasifika learners.  Special thanks to Julius Solia for enriching the lives of our learners.

• Successful education outside the classroom experiences where students were challenged across a range of outdoor activities including trips to Te Papa.
• Aquatic education instruction at Regional Aquatic Centre.
• Kapa Haka tuition for all students.
• Celebrated Maori Language Week, Samoan Language Week, Cook Islands Language Week, Fijian Language Week, and Tokelauan Language Week.
• Student-led market day raising money for the Cathedral Parish.
• Quality sports instruction programme at ASB.
• Student-led fundraising initiatives with a social justice focus – donations made to: Caritas, Soup Kitchen, and  Home of Compassion.

Central Zone Speech Competition

The following children won our school speech competition.  On the night of the Central Zone Speech Competition, we went into a Level 4 Lockdown and unfortunately, we have been unable to hold the competition.  To JC, Ava, Felix, and Charlotte congratulations for being able to capture an audience and get your key messages across.

Year 5  JC - Why we should stop animal cruelty.

Year 6 Ava D - Why the journey for gender equality is not over.

Year 7 Felix  - How we can reduce air pollution.

Year 8 Charlotte  - We should ban anonymous postings on social media.

https://youtu.be/-xpzzzlLZuE

Congratulations to Maia, who is the recipient of Ryan Family St Maria's Scholarship to St Catherine's College.

Oli is awarded a Pasifika scholarship for STEM.

Summative Achievement Data for 2021

77% of all students at Sacred Heart Cathedral School are achieving at or above expectations in Writing.

90% of all students at Sacred Heart Cathedral School are achieving at or above expectations in Reading. 

83% of all students at Sacred Heart Cathedral School are achieving at or above expectations in Mathematics.

Areas for Improvement

After careful analysis and scrutiny of school-wide data, the following areas have been identified and are school-wide targets for 2022

Congratulations to the following students for their achievements this year:

ICAS SPELLING:  

Merit:  Chanelle R7, Joseph R9, Edric R8, Blossom R8.

Credit:  Janiva R5, Bella G R5, Zoe M R5, Yoshi R5, JC R6, Adee R6, Jonfred R6, Nina R7, Joshua R7, Sammy B R8, Alessandra R8, Joaquin R8, Jorja R9, Iliana R9, 'Oli R9, Bianca R10, Irene R10, Toaiva R10.

Distinction:  Tala R5, Zachary S R5, Leon R6, Cielo R6, Euan R7, Keiffer R8.

High Distinction:   Tamara R8.

ICAS WRITING:

Merit:  Jonfred R6, Danielle R6, Jorja R9, Irene R10, Ashleigh R10, Harmony R10.

Credit:  Reid R5, Jaiden L R5, Leon R6, Blossom R8, Sophia M R8, Tamara R8, 'Oli R9.

Distinction:  Tala R5, Adee R6, Cielo R6, Nina R7, Sam L R7, Keiffer R8, Kezia R8, Marsy R10.

High Distinction:  JC R6, Iliana R9.

ICAS MATHEMATICS:

Merit:  Hazel R5, Jaiden L R5, Carles R6, Alex M R6, Cielo R6, Euan R7, Blossom R8, Daniel M R9, Maia M R10.

Credit: Tala R5, Zachary R5, Enrico R5, Isabella R5, Dishan R5, Leon R6, Adee R6, Jonfred R6, Joshua R7, Sam L R7, Edric R8, Keiffer R8, Joaquin R8, Joseph R9,  Felix R9.

Distinction:  Sammy B R8.

High Distinction:  Yoshi R5, Tamara R8.

ICAS SCIENCE:

Merit:  Euan R7, Edric R8, Theo R9, Sophia M R9, Daniel R9.

Credit:  Leon R6, Veronica R6, Jonfred R7, Blossom R8, Keiffer R8,  Felix R9, Maia M R10.

Distinction:  Yoshi R5, Sammy B. R8, Tamara R8.

ICAS ENGLISH:

MERIT:  Jaiden, ZoeM. R5, Malchus R6, Daisy R7, Edric R8, Daniel M. R9.

CREDIT:  Dishan, Xavier M., Isabella Y. R5, Alyssa, Cielo, Danielle R6, Nina, Ava D. R7, Keiffer, Blossom, Kezia, Sophia M. R8, Iliana R9, Irene, Maia R10.

DISTINCTION:  Hazel, Bella G, Yoshi R5, Leon, Adee, Veronica R6, Tamara R8.

HIGH DISTINCTION:  Tālā R5.

EPro8 Technology Test - Semi-finals

In the semi-finals we got a ride from Mrs Murfett to the competitions.  Once we got to the hall, we sat down and waited for the countdown to hit zero.  The host then started to brief us about the competition and we got to learn the challenges and decided what one we were going to do.

We decided on “Secret Agent”.  Once the competition commenced, we started making a structure 2 metres tall which slanted inwards to the top where we then added a laser which we made go over our heads.  We had to create a secret code.  The person who was in charge of the competition gave us a seven letter word that we had to send to each other and interpret.

We decided to dismantle it and built a bungee jump tower that we had to attach an elastic band chain to and drop a human figure.  The man had to be at most ten centimetres away from the floor but it was not allowed to hit the ground.  We used a one kilogram weight which had the same rules as the human figure but we didn’t get it to work before the time ran out.

At the end, we were tied for fourth place and we had to take part in a tiebreaker challenge.  The challenge was to build the tallest freestanding tower, but we lost.  A week later, we found out that a team had dropped out of the finals and we were able to take part.

Finals

The bell rang, Miss Regan brought us back to class where she gave us some Pizza.  We ate it and then we went out into the playground to play five minutes of tag before Mrs Woods kindly gave us a ride to Raro Intermediate.

When we got there, we were confused as to where to go so we walked around till we found the hall.  We went in and sprinted to find our spot.  When we got settled we walked around and met our opponents.

It was time to start the finals... 3...2...1 let's start.  Our first challenge was the boom camera.  There had to be a light at the end of the pole  that was connected to a battery and a switch, the camera had to extend from a base and move up and down.

Next step were wheels on the side going up and down and all around.  First points up and coming second.

We got caught by many other teams and were down to 9th.  Then we dismantled the structure and decided to do the exploding bus challenge.  We now had to make a functional bus that had to be able to move with electronics and a motor that was attached to a wheel going forward and back.  We had to add whiteboards all around the sides of the bus.

Next step was to make the whiteboards fall off the side of the bus but it was too hard and we had to dismantle it and decide to do the wheel run.

We had to build a ramp that could make a wheel jump very high.  We got that challenge easy done.  Now we had to do a challenge where we had to use the ramp to make the wheel roll up a second ramp to roll over a building, next we had to make it jump over an L&P bottle.

We ended up coming 6th (there were 12 teams).

We really enjoyed the challenges and hope we get the chance to enter again next year.  We aim to win!

Central Zone and Interzone Athletics and Swimming were cancelled this year due to Covid restrictions. 

At Sacred Heart Cathedral School, we have a lot of sporting talent across a number of different disciplines.

Congratulations to Lachie M Rm 8, who raced in the Primary Sport Wellington Invitational Cross Country which replaced the Regional Cross Country which was canceled due to Covid-19 restrictions. Well done Lachie!

We had 3 soccer teams entered in the Kelly Sports Summer Soccer Competition - the Sacred Heart Shooting Stars - special thanks to coach Declan Millin, Sacred Heart Tigers - special thanks to coach Steve Cutting and Sacred Heart Strikers -special thanks to coach Elizabeth Whitaker. 

Congratulations to the Sacred Heart Shooting Stars, who won their final in Division 7 on penalties 3:1 after a close draw of 1:1.  Second year in a row! 

We had 2 netball teams, Sacred Heart Ferns, seniors - special thanks to coaches Bernie Huynen and Michelle Ablett and Sacred Heart Pulse, middles - special thanks to coaches Amanda Gregan and Fiona Smith, who played Saturday netball under the school name during the winter terms.

Congratulations to the Sacred Heart Ferns who were undefeated for the whole season!

Mr Grevatt organises touch rugby in Terms 1 and 4.  Special thanks to Jared Buck who coached our Term 1 touch team and to Freddy Palu who coached our Term 4 touch team.

Ahena Rm 8, was selected to represent NZ Barbarians at the New Zealand Tag Football Incorporated Junior Oceania Cup 2021.  Junior Oceania Cup 2021 an International Tag Tournament was held at Pullman Park, Takanini, Auckland from Friday, 5th March to Sunday, 7th March 2021.

Adam Rm 10 is a member of the baseball team, Central Sports Club, that was selected to play at the 13u National Club Championship in Nelson against 10 other teams from around the country.  Adam was one of only 13  out of 150 awarded a spot on the Club Championship All-Tournament Team. He has also been chosen for the Baseball New Zealand 12u wider squad, who have a goal of making it to the WSBC Baseball World Cup in Taiwan.  Great achievement Adam!

Pierre R7 was awarded the 'Olympic Junior Track & Field Amanda Goldsmith Cup' for most improved athlete 9 years and under.  Well done Pierre!

Pierre also competed in the Wellington InterClub Athletics in the 9s Grade (he was competing against all the Wellington Athletics clubs) and he placed for every event.  Well done Pierre!  What an achievement to have placed first in 4 events and second in another!

Laika Rm 8 did a really good job at a fencing tournament (Wellington Region).  She came 2nd Girls in Epee and 4th Girls in Foil!  There were a lot of competitors and it was great that she entered into two different styles of fencing.  Well done Laika!

Congratulations to Steven Rm 10, who played in the Levin COB 7's Junior Tournament - his team Northern United, won the tournament and Steven was selected to play in the Under 13 Norths 7's team.  Well done Steven!

Congratulations to LilaW-A Rm 8, who won the Manawatū Junior series Masters Golf Championship for 6-hole non-hcp in the school holidays.  Well done Lila!

This is what people say about our school.

"Catholic education is above all a question of communicating Christ, of helping to form Christ in the lives of others.  Your governance role is instrumental in realising this mission and creating a vibrant faith community where students receive an excellent Catholic Education."

Jenny Gordon Vicar for Education

Dear Bernadette,

On behalf of the Cathedral Parish and the Cathedral Parish Fundraising Committee, I wish to sincerely thank Sacred Heart Cathedral School for your continued support in so many ways towards our beloved Cathedral.

The sense of “family” between the parish and the school is very dear to our hearts and something we wish to nurture and grow as we look forward to the Cathedral reopening.

Please pass on our sincere gratitude to all involved for the generous donation from last Friday’s fundraiser.

Keeping you all in prayer.

Debbie Matheson

What an amazing year we have had.

With a pandemic and all, we have still managed to do so much.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OEDovU_m9vmAq2NRAl1PICYuSQL09YYc/view?usp=sharing

Ngā mihi o te Kirihimete me te Tau Hou

Wishing you all a very Happy Christmas and a wonderful New Year!

The Pope said the purpose of the nativity scene was to teach “that we cannot let ourselves be fooled by wealth and fleeting promises of happiness” and that they were a reminder to help those less fortunate.

“From the manger, Jesus proclaims, in a meek yet powerful way, the need for sharing with the poor as the path to a more human and fraternal world in which no one is excluded or marginalized.”  Pope Francis