Thursday 31st August 2017

August Issue

JOHN PAUL II HIGH SCHOOL

Kia ora from the Princ ipal

KEY DATES TO

REMEMBER

Sep 4-8 Tournament Week

ERO

Sep 11 Early Finish 2pm

Sep 12 Student Elections

for BOT Rep

Sep 13-14 Yr 13 Bio Trip to

Orana Park

Sep 18 Jnr Get2Go

Challenge

Sep 28 Jnr Community

Service Day

Snr Academic

Conferences

Sep 29 Last Day Term 3

Sep 30 School Hols Begin

Oct 16 Day 1, Term 4

Level 1 Art Due

Oct 19 Jnr Futsal

Level 2 Art Due

Oct 23 Labour Day (No

School).

Oct 24-27 Yr Boyle River

Camp

Oct 26 DVC Tech Due

Oct 30 Level 3 Art Due

We have started the third term at school and while there are still some interrup-

tions to our usual school days to come, such as tournament week, staff and

students are all starting to feel the pressure of the looming NCEA exams –

internal and external exams. Our students are reminded to keep planning their

work, including their study time. Good results come about due to hard and con-

sistent work.

I was asked recently by several parents about school homework, especially in

senior classes as their children had informed them that they weren’t having

much. NCEA often involves students being self-directing, so basically our senior

students have on-going homework for all of their subjects. If formal homework is

not set for an evening it is expected that they are reading and working through

their lessons and notes from that day. They are expected, for example, to be

continually working on and amending their Religious Education essays – each

NCEA year there are three to complete. They are also expected to be continually

adding to their reading experiences, so that they can complete their reading

responses at all NCEA levels in English.

Columba Hall has had its earthquake strengthening completed and it is great to

now be using it again. The Civic Centre is having one final engineering report

completed and we hope to gain out-right ownership of it very soon. These are

indeed very exciting and positive times for our school community!

We have recently been informed that we are having our next Education Review

Office review of our school in week seven of this term as part of a three-year

cycle. I think this is good timing for us and we look forward to this process with

confidence and pride in our wonderful school. God bless!

Nga mihi nui!

Angus Wallace Wins Trustpower Youth Community Spirit Award

Christ is the key Christ is the key

On July 11th, Angus was awarded the Trustpower Youth Community Spirit Award at an event held at the Regent Theatre in Greymouth. This award recognises service to school, community, and the Grey District. To be eligible for this award, Angus had to be nominated by the school, then attend an interview where a panel questioned him about how he contributes to his community.

Angus stood out because of his work at school as part of the student leadership team, his service to St Patrick’s Parish, and his membership of the Runanga Volunteer Fire Brigade. Angus was awarded $500 and a further $250 to donate to a community group of his choice. Angus chose to donate this money to The Cancer Society.

The Trustpower Youth Community Spirit Award is a great opportunity for a Yr 13 student to be recognised and rewarded for their community involvement, and publically acknowledged.

Well done, Angus! You represent the spirit of servant leadership, which is a core value of our school.

P A G E 2 A U G U S T I S S U E

Spec ial Charac t e r Repor t w i th Mrs Webs te r

The students who had spent some time fundraising for

their trip to Samoa, left in the second week of the holidays.

They were away for the first week of school and returned

tired, but happy, with some of them recuperating from a

tummy bug. Their report back to the school spoke about

how they were surprised at how little the people had yet

were able to do so much. Their stay with families made

many realise how fortunate they were back in New Zea-

land. Thanks goes to the three teachers who accompanied

them, Celia Costelloe, Rachael Carson and Susan Smith. Mr

Andy Smith also accompanied them and put his construc-

tions skills to use in one of their projects. The students

spent time in a Mercy school which helped them connect

with the Charism and students. Several students have spo-

ken about organising things to be sent back to help the

school.

Our Kapahaka students performed at the Montessori pre-

school in Puketahi Street. This was their first performance

and there were a few nerves. However, the presentation

was a success

and gave the

students much

needed confi-

dence. They

have been busy

for all of August

preparing for

the up-coming

festival. Thanks

to Mrs Singer, Mr Renau and our volunteer trainers. It was

also great to see some of our students going to St Patrick’s

to help them learn the Waiata for Assumption Mass and to

demonstrate our school Haka.

Once again, our Science Department challenged our stu-

dents to achieve well in the Science Fair. This is an oppor-

tunity for students to investigate an aspect of science that

interests them and helps them to strive for excellence.

Thanks to the teachers involved, not only in preparing the

students, but spending time marking the displays and tak-

ing the winning students to the West Coast Fair in West-

port. Congratulations to Asher for his win.

Our students are achieving well in a number of sporting

arenas. They are being chosen to represent the West Coast

and to attend a number of training sessions with others

from around the South Island. The Winter Season has pro-

duced some nail-biting finishes for several sports, with our

students stepping up to gain placings and recognition in

their end of season awards. Cards of congratulations have

been sent to them. A congratulations card has also been

sent to Sr Theresa Scott for celebrating her Jubilee of Reli-

gious Profession, along with eight Sisters of Mercy celebrat-

ed their jubilee of Religious Profession (Platinum, Diamond,

Golden and Silver) with a total of 435 years of service to

God in Aotearoa.

Several students have lost loved ones this month. Not only

are sympathy cards sent, but they are prayed for in class.

We know that this will not cure the pain but it will help

them to know that they are being thought of as they say

goodbye.

Six students represented the

school at the funeral service for

Mrs Pat Dunn. Pat worked in the

office at John Paul II for 13 years,

establishing many of the account-

ing practices that are still in use

today. A card was also sent to

Georgia Smith (Year 13, 2016)

expressing our sympathy on the death of her father.

The students who attended the Caritas Leadership pro-

gramme in term one, organised activities for House. These

were designed to help raise the awareness of students to

the lack of fresh drinking water in the Pacific and what we

can do to help.

Several ex-students have asked for prayers this month as

they face major surgery or await results of tests. Classes

have offered prayers for them. This has been a good exer-

cise as it reminds them that God answers prayers.

Mrs Webster attended a Best Practice meeting with the

Christchurch Year 13 teachers, via SKPYE. This saved a 6-

hour trip for a one-hour meeting. She also attended the

Directors of Religious Education meeting via the same

method.

With the completion of the earthquake strengthening of

Columba Hall, we were able to join together with St Pat-

rick’s Primary School for the Assumption Mass. A large

number of people were involved in organising this – from

the students’ who wiped down 240 chairs, removing reno-

vation dust, to the Special Character Leader and team who

organised readers and participants. It was great to have

Leo Whitcombe and Jayme Beynon leading the waiata. St

Patrick’s organised the Marian focus and their junior classes

brought over their own chairs as they were a much better

height for them. Father Peter said the Mass and comment-

ed on the fact that we have such a great hall for use for

both schools.

Now that Columba Hall is available, the whole school is

gathering for Monday morning prayer. This is something

that used to be done many years ago. It is an opportunity

to bring the school together for prayer. Students stand

around the hall in their house groups and are encouraged

to focus on someone to prayer for during the day.

The Christchurch Diocese Mission Team visited the school

and spent time with our students. It was great that they

were able to reconnect again with the students who

attended the Retreats at the beginning of the year.

The registrations for the Marist 125 Reunion are open.

Anyone who attended St Patrick’s Primary, Dean Carew,

St Joseph’s (The Marist High School) or John Paul II are

invited to attend. There is a Facebook page

Greymouth Marist Reunion 125 and website

http://maristcelebrationsgreymouth.nz/ The Reunion

takes place on the first weekend in December. If you

have been thinking about a class reunion, this is a prime

opportunity to get together and have others do the

organising for you.

A U G U S T I S S U E P A G E 3

Obituary—Patricia Dunn

My first working experience with Pat or PFD to those of us who associated with or worked with Pat, was when I was Secretary and she was Treasurer of the Mercy Sisters Centennial celebrations in 1982. I became aware of a very efficient 'money handler' so when John Paul II High School integrated into the State system, and Pat was appointed as Bursar.

Pat was very efficient, and I can state that her book work was amazingly correct and neat. This was in the days of still working manually with accounts and Pat's hand writing was exemplary—enrolment registers will verify this. Those were the days of 'Banda', 'Xerox photocopier', 'and Gestetner' for Newsletters, Exam papers, etc.

Drama Success—Year 10

On the 16th August the Year

10 Drama Students success-

fully completed a Grade 5 The-

atre in Action Exam for

Speech NZ last week. It was

the first Drama exam they

have sat and it was an equiv-

alent level to NCEA Level 1.

WHAKANUIA JUBILEE celebration

August saw the Mercy Sisters celebrating jubilees. These women have lived into the mystery of God’s mercy over many years. Eight Sisters of Mercy celebrated their jubilee of Religious Profession (Platinum, Diamond, Golden and Silver) with a total of 435 years of service to God in Aotearoa New Zealand and Tonga. From left to right: Sisters Tui, Mary, Lorraine, Theresa, Eileen, Judith, Enid and Mary (who is in the photo on the table). Thirteen other Sisters of Mercy also celebrate jubilees in 2017. Ngā mihi nui me te aroha nui! Congratulations and best wishes from John Paul II High School.

Pat and I shared a ‘castle’ at the top of the school and over the years she watched the students from both schools 'grow up'. There were 17 steps from the ground floor to our office, so we kept our waistlines trimmed without extra fuss. We were also part of several 'renovations' from upstairs to downstairs.

Pat 's tenure at John Paul II was 13 years, during which time she worked with five Principals - Sr Anne Fennell, Br Brian Sklenars, Peter Fava, Chris England and Angela Sloane. PFD had great friendships with and respect from those she worked with and from the students she saw grow up and achieve.

It was a blessing to have known and worked with Pat.

Rest in Peace Patricia....... MDK

Pat looked after the students' needs - many a story to tell there!!! Especially from the late comers. Her interaction with staff was great. We all enjoyed many a 'social' function - BBQ's, dinners and had lots of laughs. Pat even enjoyed the ribbing she got for wearing two different coloured shoes to school (one black, one navy blue).

The West Coast Secondary Schools’ Junior Basketball Tournament was held at the Westland Recreation Centre on the 17 August

2017. The team was made up of the following Year 10’s: Ravin Brown, Geordie Gibson, Caleb Mahuika, Finn Sharp, Jacob Smith,

Leo Smith, Mikey Wallace, Leo Whitcombe.

The tournament was a round robin with 7 minute quarters. First game up was against Grey High School. Although the Grey High

School (GHS) team had several A - grade players they failed to dominate the game. The JP II team put in a spirited performance to

restrict Grey High’s win to 47 – 35.

The second game against South Westland Area School (SWAS) enabled the JP II team to coast in for a 55-6 win. The SWAS team

comprised mainly younger players and should create a more formidable opposition in the future. Full credit to SWAS travelling to

gain the experience of competition.

At 1.10pm JP II played Westland High School (WHS) to play a nail biting game that JP II won 27-23. It was highly unfortunate that

an overly vigorous shoulder barge by one of the WHS team members knocked Jacob Smith to the floor to inflict a hip injury,

removing Jacob from the competition. The JP II team struggled to regain its composure after this serious infringement and missed

Jacob’s leadership and skills.

It was unfortunate that JPII were playing in the final against GHS immediately after playing a hard game against WHS. The first

halves were neck and neck with equal scores. In the last two quarters fatigue set in, meaning JPII started to slip behind the more

rested GHS team resulting in a 64-44 win to GHS.

Congratulations to the JPII team for displaying excellent team work and basketball skills. Many thanks to the grandmother (a past

national referee) of one of the players who provided support and advice. The team shows a lot of promise and a refinement of

lay-up skills will ensure future success.

West Coast Secondary School’s Junior Boys Basketball (with Mr Adams)

The basketball winter season has now finished. Thanks to all those involved with the management of the teams this year – in particular Carolyn Wilson as our Basketball Co-ordinator; also, our appreciation to the coaches and managers – Mickey Brownlee, Joanna Wilson, Tina Singer, Jennie McMillan, John Adams, Shelley Mahuika, Seini Nusi, Kelly Swinburn, Chris Calder, Jane Brownie, Garth Wilson, Shannon Bowman & Anita Calder.

Congratulations in particular to the Bishops & Angels who won their respective competitions, and to those named below who were recognised at the WCBA Prizegiving:

MENS B GRADE WINNER: JP II BISHOPS WOMENS B GRADE WINNER: JPII ANGELS

INDIVDUAL TROPHY AWARDS

Downes Tyre Service 1st Round Winner Mens B Grade JPII Bishops

Downes Tyre Service 1st Round Winner Womens A Grade JPII Saints

Rover cup of Merit - Womens Duty, Dress & Service JPII Angels

Revingtons Hotel Cup - Club Coach of the Year Tina Singer

MENS B GRADE

Most Outstanding Offensive Player Hayden Wilson

Most Outstanding Defensive Player Sam Wallis

Most Improved Offensive Player (Shared) Leo Smith

WOMENS A GRADE WOMENS B GRADE

Most Improved Offensive Player: Abby Newcombe Most Outstanding Defensive Player: Emma Wilson

Most Valuable Player: Seni Nusi Most Improved Defensive Player: (shared) Brenna Swinburn

Most Valuable Player: Emma Wilson

Basketball Season Wrap & Results (with Louise Stone)

A U G U S T I S S U E P A G E 4

WCSS Senior Netball Tournament—Hokitika

A U G U S T I S S U E P A G E 5

International Languages week at JPII

John Paul II celebrated International Languages Week from the 14th –18th of August. New phrases were added to the daily notices from languages that our teachers and students use, and the teachers were encouraged to talk about languages they have studied in the past as well as ones they are currently using. At John Paul II our families speak at least 17 different languages at home and at the moment Maori and Japanese are offered to our students. Senior students are also able to continue language study through Te Kura. Some students from Mrs Singer’s Maori class and Mrs McMillan’s Japanese class participated in a video that will be shown in Otago in a feature about what’s happening on the West Coast. Studying a language encourages students to be risk takers, thinkers and competent communi-cators. It also develops life skills such as persistence and commitment that universities and employers value. Language learning deepens cognitive development and improves literacy skills in the first language, too.

Shwmae Hello Welsh Kumusta ka? How are you Tagalog Mālō e lelei Hello Tongan Danke Thank you German Sugoi Great Japanese

The senior volleyball tournament was held in Westport on 8th August. The girls got 1st equal, and the boys came 3rd. Well done to you all.

On the 2nd August the senior girls netball team travelled to Hokitika to compete in the West Coast Secondary Schools Flora Beynon Cup. The girls did exceptionally well taking out Karamea and Reefton, but succumbing to a well drilled Westland High. Therefore playing off for 3rd & 4th against Grey High, with John Paul II taking the honours, finishing in a respectable 3rd place.

After travelling through the winter climate of Arthur’s Pass we were ready to take the next step in our adventure to Samoa. Excitement levels were high, months of raffles, odd jobs, part-time work and oth-er fundraising activities were finally going to be rewarded with our trip.

We all met at Christchurch Airport. As per usual no group check in goes completely smoothly, but we all managed to board the delayed flight to Auckland. This flight was seriously delayed, the result being that the walk from domestic to international in Auckland was more than brisk as our delay meant that we were arriving in Auckland after the boarding call. There was certainly no time for shopping in duty free as we went straight onto our flight.

Arrival in Apia introduced us to the heat straight away. While we had the usual customs concerns over whether or not to declare items, a fellow passenger taking a bucket of KFC to family in Apia alleviated our fears somewhat. A van ride to our first night’s accommodation was filled with nervous chatter, it was good to finally be here! Our first night was simple, a walk to a supermarket to buy copious bottles of water and we were off to bed.

Our first full day was a visit to the cultural display at the infor-mation centre; traditional tattooing, husking coconuts, and pre-paring an umu were on display. A quick trip around the main streets of the city then catching our wooden bus to visit Paul VI College. Here everyone was split and off to their homestays, nervousness and anxiety were at their highest, meeting our host families and going home with them for the evening.

School the next morning started with prayer and a traditional Kava ceremony welcome and some tradi-tional and other random (very random) dancing. The students at Paul VI danced and sang with ease, while we danced and sang somewhat awkwardly, however they seemed to appreciate our efforts. The rest of the day was joining in with classes, P.E. was volleyball for the week - no matter how good you think you are at volleyball, the students at Paul VI are better - lesson learned... We were certainly all suffering from the heat and humidity! It was hot, really hot, at times it was difficult just to participate in class at any level as the heat fried our brains and concentration. Thankfully most of our families had a swim on the agenda for us after school.

Our second day at school was our chance to give back, the school journals we took over were a hit with their year 7’s and 8’s as we enjoyed the opportunity to assist them with their English reading. We were really impressed with how well they all read considering English is their second language. Some of us also helped Andy Smith with his fixing of athletic equipment. With money we had fundraised we were able to purchase some tools, wood and paint, etc, to make some general repairs around the school. Teachers also helped out relieving some lessons, it was a busy day for us all!

Samoa Service Trip—Part One A U G U S T I S S U E P A G E 6

The next day at school was a short one, the school had their school inspectors coming It’s a totally different process to what happens here, the Principal was only told the day before. So when we arrived at school we were told that the day’s programme was traditional games in the morning and school would finish at 11am. Traditional games were coconut husking and basket weaving races, the school was divided into their house groups, and each house sang to support their participants. There was more dancing, some traditional, some modern. We were given the opportunity to perform, our boys did really well with our school haka, considering there was only four of them.

Then suddenly it was our last morning at Paul VI, they held a farewell for us, and gave us gifts. While we were there we were able to find out what gift we could give to them. We were really pleased to be able to give them a new trophy for top sportsperson of the year. In keeping with our school theme this year we named the trophy the John Paul II High School Whanaungatanga Trophy, to emphasis our relationship, and our shared experience of staying with them in their homes.

The students and staff of Paul VI were so welcom-ing and friendly, we are now considered Friends of the School and friends of family there, and have all been told that we should come back whenever we can. (… to be continued in our next newsletter)

Student Response: By Georgie Anderson Brooks Overall the Samoa Service trip was an incredible and enriching experience that we certainly won’t forget. Giving back to their community and experiencing how they live their day to day life taught us a lot about how grateful we should be. Many of the Samoan families did not have a lot in comparison to everything that we have, yet these people were some of the happiest people I believe I’ve meet. From this trip I learnt how fortunate we are to be blessed with opportunities to move forward with our life. We have the materials to successfully pass NCEA Level 1,2 and 3 as well as UE where as many of the students in Samoa have very limited resources and many don’t get the opportunity to move onwards to university or further education.

One of my favourite moments of the trip was snorkeling and experiencing the different wildlife that Samoa had to offer. I especially loved the snorkeling as swimming over top of the fish was pretty cool. I also really enjoyed the To-Sua swimming spot. It was insanely pretty and such an awesome location to swim in.

A U G U S T I S S U E P A G E 7

A U G U S T I S S U E P A G E 8

Year 10 Horticulture Create Bottle Gardens

The Year 10 Horticulture class has recently produced some new 'bottle gardens" for the fence around the horticulture garden.

Year 12 Outdoor Education

The Year 12 Outdoor Education class travelled to Lake Kaniere on 9th August to complete their final tramping assessment.

It was another successful Science Fair season at John Paul II High School. We had 15

high calibre projects from across Years 9 & 10 (plus 6 from St Pats Primary School),

that were included in the West Coast Science Fair, held in the Westport Clock Tower

building on the 28th of July.

In the Year 10 category, the project by Nova Anderson and Lydia Gill along with the

Year 9 project by Mikayla Stevenson both received a ‘Highly Commended’, whilst Alice

Morrison’s project came 3rd. Asher Lambert’s project took out top honours for the second

year in a row, so it was a good year for John Paul II scientists!

Our Science Department staff were particularly impressed by the effort put into the Year

10 projects this year. For many of the Year 9 students this was their first experience of a

real Science Fair and they did well – we look forward to seeing

what they come up with next year!

Asher will be representing the West Coast at the 2017 NIWA

Canterbury-Westland Schools’ Science & Technology Fair on

the 9th of September, and we wish him continued success.

John Paul II & West Coast Science Fair

A U G U S T I S S U E P A G E 9

A U G U S T I S S U E P A G E 1 0

King & Queen photo supplied: Stewart Nimmo

Ball photos still available from Stewart Nimmo Gallery www.nimmophoto.co.nz or stewartnimmophotography@gmail.co.nz

Thanks to the following businesses for giving the students of John Paul II High School discounts when they show their I.D card:

Greymouth Showcase Jewellers

LoveHair

Noel Leeming

Westland Recreation Centre

Mason’s Pharmacy

Shades of Jade

Mitre 10

Pooja Entertains at Revathi Performing Arts I had the golden opportunity of performing Bharatanatyam for the annual show of Revathi Performing Arts held in Christchurch on the 5th of August. Bharatanatyam is a major genre of Indian classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu, South India. It started as a temple dance 2000 years ago and is the most advanced and evolved dance form of all the classical dances of India. Traditionally, Bharatanatyam expresses Hindu religious themes and spiritual ideas. This dance style is characterised by the linear form of the body without any pronounced movement of the upper body, hand and eye movement and linear spatial patterns, which makes the dance form extremely dynamic and powerful. I had three performances, one was the opening prayer dance with the whole group; a duet perfor-mance with one other student called Kavadi Chindu, the dance was about Lord Murugan (Hindu God); and the ending prayer dance with the whole group. It was really a wonderful evening, I made a lot of new friends and got more opportunities to perform again.

A U G U S T I S S U E P A G E 1 1

A U G U S T I S S U E

School Sunday Masses 2017

St Patrick’s Church 9.30

All students are required to attend

the full school Masses. Each House

has a specific date for their Mass.

2 Sept Hokitika

10 Sept Anahere

24 Sept Full School

29 Oct Saints 5 Nov Full School Snr Exam Revision & Study Guides:

Available from the school office:

Mathematics Level 1, 2 and 3.

Level 1: Tables, Equations and Graphs - $6.50

Level 1: Chance and Data - $7.00

Level 2: $6.50 each

Level 3: Probability - $6.50

Statistical Reports - $7.50

Calculus - $6.50 each

Also some 2017 Study Guides, Revision Guides, and fold out notes are available in store at Paper Plus. They are hap-py to order in if they don’t have what you require in store.

There are still a large number of ball gowns here from the fashion show last term.

Can students or parents please collect them A.S.A.P. Thank you.

Friendly Reminders: Boys are expected to be clean shaven at

all times.

Girls may only wear one stud in each

ear.

Only school jackets can be worn.

Girls hair must be tied up at all times...

SECONDARY SCHOOLS TOURNAMENT WEEK

3-9 SEPTEMBER All the best to our teams attending tournament:

Senior Girls Basketball - Girls "A" Grade - Westport

Mixed Hockey - S.I.Mixed Hockey - Ashburton

Under 15 Rugby - Rural Livestock Under 15 Rugby - Greymouth

P A G E 1 2