Tēnā koutou katoua ngā whānau,
This week we gathered as our school community for Mass to celebrate the Feast of the Assumption of Mary and to celebrate our founder Father Garin. We thank Father Paul Finlayson for presiding over the mass and also thank our students and staff for their celebration in the mass through prayer and song. Father Garin as a Marist priest modelled his life on the person of Mary. He also was quick to do God’s will, and to follow God’s call to bring the Gospel to our region. Father Garin valued the education of young people and saw them as the way to change the world. As a relatively young school that opened in 2002, we are conscious that we continue to share in holy eucharist and nourish our Catholic faith tradition amongst our staff, learners and community. This being our second school mass this year, we were pleased to gather as a whole community once again.
Thank you for your patience and understanding in recent days as we have had to contend with making the decision to close the College for two days this week due to the impact of the weather storm across the Tasman/Nelson region at this time. Our thoughts and prayers are with all affected, particularly those of you who have been evacuated or have received damage to property and possessions. Please let our school office or myself know if you are in this situation and advise of what assistance we may be able to provide you. The cumulative effect of weather, Covid, winter illness, economy, environment and world events requires great resilience within each of us to overcome; often we are resolute, push on ahead, and go it alone! Please reach out to each other at this time, know that we are stronger as a community, and in community we will find solutions and build resilience to overcome the challenges we may face.
We are pleased the Ministry of Education and NZQA have acknowledged the impact of Covid on teaching and learning this year. The announcement that learners will receive learning recognition Credits along with changes to the credit threshold for NCEA credit endorsement and University Entrance is the step up our learners deserve. I thank our teachers and learners for their dedication and resilience throughout term one and two to achieve the success we are witnessing in teaching and learning. I wish our learners well for continued success throughout term 3 and 4.
We wish out Year 12 and 13 learners every success for the Garin Ball this Saturday evening to be held at the Rutherford Hotel. This will be an absolutely awesome evening of dancing, dining, fun, laughter and photos for all. Thank you to our Ball Committee: Emily Mason, Ava Turner and Ms Butler for the organisation and planning. Have a great night.
Year 9-12 Learner Course Selection Year 9 – 12 learners course selection is underway for 2023. I encourage Parents and Caregivers to engage in conversations with your student about their career goals and the subject choices they are to make for 2023. Learners have received course information. Parents, Caregivers and Whānau are invited to attend our Course Selection Evening next week Monday 22 August 4.30 – 5.30pm in our College Library.
COVID – Mask Wearing Thank you for your support in encouraging your student to wear a face mask at school in all indoor settings as was required within our Safety Action Plan for week 1 to 4 of this term. Students have been extremely supportive and responsive wearing face masks throughout this period. I am positive that this has helped reduce the risk Covid-19 and winter illnesses transmission. As we move into week 5, we have reduced evidence of community cases of infection. I confirm that the Garin Covid Safety Plan highly recommends mask wearing for students and staff in all indoor settings and we will continue to encourage this. Students may bring masks from home and if necessary we have a limited supply of masks available from our school office and within many classrooms. Please note that the MOE requires that all ākonga (students) aged 12 and over must wear face masks on school transport.
New entrant enrolments for 2023 close next week on 26 August . This is an exciting time for students as they plan their secondary education pathway. If you have family or friends considering secondary schooling for their children, please encourage them to contact our college office for an application pack and an opportunity for a tour. Scholarship information is also on our college website.
God bless,
Ngā manaakitanga,
John Maguire
Take a moment –
God, bless each and every person affected by this rain storm across our region and Aotearoa,
surround them with Your love, compassion and protection.
Let each one know many are praying for them and their loved ones.