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De La Salle College Newsletter “Aoga tokoluga Katolika he fanau taane, muitua ai ke he fakaholoaga ha LaSalle”

in this issue

TERM 4 WEEK 2 - COLLEGE NEWSLETTER

College Principal - “Creating Young Men founded on Rock"

Deputy Principal - "Keep going"

Special Character - Director of Mission

AP Curriculum - Academic Updates

AP Pastoral - School Summer Uniform

ICT Academy - 2021 BYOD Information

Literacy Centre- Millionaires Club

2020 Young Enterprise Scheme

Tongan NCEA exams

Stories from the Southside

2020 Sports Prizegiving

In the Community

South Island Endorsement trip

Notices

Enrol Now

Contact Us

“Creating young men founded on rock”

Mr Myles Hogarty

College Principal

Greetings to you all,

The Gospel reading from Matthew 7:24 is a great reminder to the staff and students, of the educational foundation that we aim to achieve for our young men at the College.

“The wise man builds his house on rock, to withstand the damaging forces it is subjected to”.

A metaphor that our community needs to have regular reflection on. What is the “rock” that we need to build our young men’s education on? What are those damaging forces that they must stand up to ?

Some suggestions:

  • Quality teaching and learning that challenges our students in the moment but is also aspirational in them seeking to pursue further Tertiary study as lifelong learners.
  • Deepening and strengthening of their faith and spirituality through regular prayer and personal reflection on their relationship and encounters with God.
  • Insistence that every young man completes his Service hours to his local community so that in losing himself in Service to others, he finds himself.
  • Desire to be “Excellent” in all aspects of his education, not excellence as a purely lofty ideal, but excellence as seen by a daily habit of doing things to the best of his ability.
  • Providing a range of Academic and Vocational pathways, a variety of Sports, Music and Cultural opportunities so as to engage our young men in the “Community” of the College and provide education of the “Head and the Heart”.

The above are our College Values and it is always of benefit to remind ourselves of these as they are the “foundation” or rock upon which we base the education of our young men.

Young men today are subjected to the very shifting sands of society and there is much pressure on them to seek shallow satisfaction through social media acceptance, the desire for material wealth and instant entitlement of their rights. Throw into this mix the proposed sale and legalisation of marijuana and it is evident that our young men certainly do have “damaging forces’ to contend with as they go through their teenage years.

A Catholic, Lasallian education founded on looking outwards rather than inwards is what we believe is the antidote to this.

Raising “Great Men of Faith, Service, Community and Excellence”, is a challenging job but one with many great rewards that we see as a school through the achievements and actions of our young men.

I would like to remind parents of the point that is made frequently to you, “at De La Salle we enrol the family”.

Over the next 3 weeks many of our parents will be invited to the College to share in our celebration and recognition of our prize winners. This is a proud time for many families and we expect to see you at these special moments in your son’s life and to support our community celebrations where we all recognise achievement.

Finally, I ask that if any families have a son currently in Year 6 at a primary school to please ensure he is enrolled immediately at De La Salle as we are receiving many requests from other families who want to enrol their son here.

Some key dates coming up to remember:

Monday 26 October- Labour Day no school

Thursday 29 October- All Saints Day Mass and Sacramental Mass

Friday 6 November- Leavers Mass & Supper 6.30pm Holy Cross Church

Tuesday 10 November- Senior Academic Prizegiving

Friday 13 November- Teacher Only Day

Monday 16th November- NCEA EXAMS BEGIN

God Bless

deputy principal

Mr Dermot English

"Keep Going”

For the last six years boys who achieved excellence endorsement at level 2 were sent on a trip to visit La Salle College in Hong Kong; the top academic high school in that country and in much of the world. This wasn't possible due to COVID-19 and so we rescheduled the trip to visit the South Island: Dunedin, Queenstown and Wanaka. There were 14 boys on this trip who achieved at an excellence level last year. We visited Otago University and then drove through a snowstorm to Queenstown and on to Wanaka and spent a total of five nights away. The boys had many experiences which they have not had before and perhaps won't have again for a long time such as the shotover Jet, indoor skydiving, claybird shooting and of course snow fights. The point is that these boys set a target and achieved it, and to do that they had to just keep going. We had the same experience on the trip when it was snowing and it looked like we might not make it through. Watch a video of the trip here:

This year our school has decided just to keep going. Not everyone has done the same. Current data shows that our NCEA results should be at least as good as other years. We couldn’t do much about the short sports season, but we kept going for as long as we could. I encourage the boys to just keep going this term, two more weeks and exam time for seniors, and six more weeks for juniors. It seems ridiculously simple, but if you just keep going you usually get there. We are also going ahead with major events. Apologies for the late notice, but we will be celebrating De La Salle Day next week on Thursday 29 October, finishing at 1.30pm. The College ball is Saturday 7 November.

We are just going to keep going

SPECIAL CHARACTER

Director of Mission - Mr Denis Tutaka

Kia Orana, Fakaalofalahi atu, Talofa lava, Malo e lelei, Magandang Hapon and Kia Ora to you all

Term 4 is booming with excitement as we prepare for the various upcoming events. Next Thursday, we are celebrating the reception of our Sacramental Programme candidates into the Sacraments of Initiation. We are fortunate that Bishop Denis Browne- Emeritus of Rarotonga, Auckland and Hamilton, is celebrating the Mass for us. We are also celebrating our Founder’s Day as well as All Saint’s Day on the day.

There are 15 students who will be receiving the sacraments at that Mass. A week after that, we will be celebrating the Leaver’s Mass at Holy Cross Parish. The Year 13 parents are assisting teachers in the preparation of the Mass and the parents are asked to check with Mrs Laumemea for extra assistance. We are confident that we are going to celebrate next week, so let’s pray for the success of the upcoming events.

“Live Jesus in our Hearts! Forever!"

curriculum

Assistant Principal - Mr Phil Doyle

Academic Updates

Year 11 – 13

Congratulations to

  • the 78 Year 13 students that have already passed NCEA Level 3
  • the 93 Year 12 students that have already passed NCEA Level 2
  • the 57 Year 11 students that have already passed NCEA Level 1

However, for most students the race is not over yet. Some will still need credits to achieve. Many will be aiming for Merit and Excellence endorsement, subject endorsement and UE.

NCEA Exams

NCEA Exams start Monday 16 November and will continue until the start of December.

NCEA morning exams start at 9.30 am. You need to be at school by 9.00 am to enter the exam. Afternoon exams start at 2.00 pm. You need to be at school by 1.40 pm to enter the exam. You must attend exams in school uniform. Head home straight after exams. As afternoon exams do not finish until 5.00pm you may need to plan different travel arrangements .

It is wonderful that we get the opportunity to complete exams given the year we have had. The school has completed planning that allows us to run exams up to Alert Level 3. The following precautions will be in place to reduce any potential risk.

At all COVID-19 alert levels:

  • If we are implicated in an outbreak or cluster and/or has been closed by the Medical Officer of Health, the exams will not be able to take place until public health authorities give approval
  • Anyone who is unwell must stay away. Contact the school and we can start a Derived Grade Process if required.
  • Any students identified as close contacts of a confirmed case, cannot attend their exam(s)

Before the Start of each exam, we will ensure:

  • Desks in the exam room are spaced so that exam candidates are at least 1.5 metres apart in all directions
  • All surfaces like door handles, desks and chairs are disinfected and cleaned. Hand sanitiser and hand washing is available
  • Exam candidates will be observed by staff on arrival checking for symptoms and asking those presenting as unwell to make arrangements to go home

During each exam, we ensure:

• the attendance roll is clearly marked – this is a requirement for all exams under normal conditions

After each exam, we ensure:

  • Candidates leave the exam room in a way that maintains physical distancing
  • Encourage candidates to immediately return home after their exam (and not to mill around in groups, for example)

Face coverings

• Face coverings are not required in an exam at Alert Level 3. They continue to be an option for both the exam candidate and the staff member supervising the exam.

Keep studying hard and look after yourself. Be prepared and be at school early for all exams. Make sure you have all the equipment needed and that extra pen. Calculators are required for Science and Mathematics exams,

NCEA Admission Slips

All NCEA students require an admission slip to enter the exams. NZQA Exam Centre Manager, Mrs Barbara Warrender must confirm their identity. NZQA provide the admission slip. Your son will be bring this home this week. If your son loses his slip he can either print one off from his NZQA student login page. Students who have never logged in to the NZQA learner site should register now using their National Student Number (NSN) and date of birth. To prevent delays in accessing personal information (including examination results in January 2018) this should be done as soon as possible.

NCEA Results notification

Year 11 – 13 students and families are advised that results will be available mid-January online. The NZQA website is also where he should be ordering his results and certificates in January.

Exams and Assessments

Year 7 – 10 students will also be completing End of Year assessments and End of Year exams. The exam timetable will be sent home next week. I have also added the topics for each exam. Your son’s teacher will be providing more detail.

pastoral

Assistant Principal - Mr Elton Charles

School Summer Uniform- Term 1 & 4

At the start of Term 4 our students are wearing the summer uniform. Most students are in correct uniform and we expect this to continue for the rest of the school year. However, some students are still wearing incorrect uniform. We would like to appeal to our parents to support us in ensuring that students come to school dressed in the correct uniform. Below is what our students should currently be wearing.

Summer Uniform

School Uniform Reminders

During Term 4 the expectation is that all students must wear their summer uniform. This expectation extends from Year 7 to Year 13.

We would like to remind our students with your parents help, that the uniform expectation is respected.

All uniform clothing items (except shoes) are available at our uniform shop. We also recommend and encourage all students to wear sandals during summer.

If for any reason during the term a student is unable to wear the correct uniform item, then we expect the student to bring a note to school to explain this.

Your co-operation regarding our school uniform policy is appreciated. Here is the website link for more information of our school uniform and prices.

Uniform Shop Hours- Monday to Friday

  • 8.00-9.00am
  • 11.40-12.00pm
  • 1.40-2.20pm

ICT ACADEMY

2021 BYOD Information

All students can participate in the School’s BYOD Programme with approval from their parents. Device specifications needed to connect to the School’s Computer Network are listed below.

Minimum Specifications

  • 11-inch screen ideally touch screen
  • 4GB RAM memory ideally 8GB
  • 128 GB Hard Drive Ideally Solid State (SSD) to reduce risk of damage
  • Wi-Fi: 802.11n ideally 802.11ac
  • Keyboard and trackpad (mouse)
  • Battery capable of running 6 hours
  • AC Power adapter/ charger
  • 2 USB Ports
  • Audio out

Suggested Extras

  • Upgrade to 2-year warranty to include battery replacement
  • Carry bag / protective case will help with daily use
  • USB Pen Drive / Headphone

Other considerations Insure the device either household contents policy or a new separate policy.

Recommended Device The School’s recommended device for 2021 is Acer Travelmate B311 Spin and can be purchased at a discounted price from Harvey Norman’s Manukau branch

Return of Ministry of Education devices supplied during COVID-19 disruptions

All laptops need to be returned to the school library with the power cord before Monday 30 November.

The devices used this year by students in Year 13 will be reallocated to students in Year 11 in 2021.

For students returning in 2021 you will be able to collect the device available at the start of school in 2021.

LITERACY CENTRE: MILLIONAIRES CLUB

“Boys Who Read Achieve”

Report by Amanda Chapman, Kristina Ah Ta and Angela Barry

Lexile Programme Every year the Literacy Centre run the Lexile Programme in partnership with the Year 7 and 8 Homeroom Teachers. This programme is a compulsory part of the Year 7 and 8 English programme with timetabled lessons and resources in each classroom, the Literacy Centre and the Main Library. This programme is designed to develop independent reading and to foster a love of books.

From Term 1 to 3 the Literacy Centre runs a number of competitions in the Lexile Programme, Term Class Winners, Individual Outstanding effort in the Term and the Millionaires Club.

Literacy Centre’s Millionaire Club To become a member of the Millionaires Club, students must read one million words in the Lexile Programme before the end of the Term 3 holidays. The last millionaires of the year have been acknowledged. They have received certificates, academic badges and their names will added to the Honours Board in the Literacy Centre. These students will also be joining the other 2020 millionaires on a visit to the Auckland Zoo.

Congratulations to the following students – Blessing Elisala, 7AND; Patrick Ipiniu, 7KUR; Simote Lokotui, 8BOE; Soane Lokotui, 8DHL; JJ Palea, 7AND; Bruno Ta’ale, 8ABR; and Vaivelata Uhatahi, 7KUR.
JJ Palea 7AND
Blessing Elisala 7AND
Patrick Ipiniu 7KUR
Vaivelata Uhatahi 7KUR
Bruno Ta'ale 8ABR
Simote Lokotu 8BOE
Soane Lokotui 8DHL

Second Multi-Millionaire for 2020

We are pleased to announce that Ayush Gosai, 7KUR is our second and last multi-millionaire for 2020. Ayush has read over two million words this year. Congratulations.

Ayush Gosai 7KUR

Individual Outstanding Readers in the Lexile Programme, Term 3

The following students have made an outstanding effort in Term 3. They will be awarded certificates and pens in school assembly. Dwayne Faasalele & James Ash Faulalo 7AND, Kohen Masoe & Ezekiel Filipi 7KUR, Anipui Anitelea & Eniasi Fisiiahi 7STW, Michael Fa'aui & Fiel-Aukan Espinoza-Leota 7TUF, Billy Lam, Aisea Niuafe, EJ Junior Efaraimo & Wilson Amituanai 8ABR and Josiah Cummings 8BOE.

Anipui Anitelea 7STW
Michael Fa'aui 7TUF
Eneasi Fisiiahi 7STW
Kohen Masoe 7KUR
Riel-Aukan Espinoza-Leota 7TUF
Ezekiel Filipi 7KUR
Dwayne Faasalele 7AND
James Ash Faulalo 7AND
Josiah Cummings 8BOE
Billy Lam 8ABR
Aisea Niuafe 8ABR
EJ Junior Efaraimo 8ABR
Wilson Amituanai 8ABR

Class Winners in the Lexile Programme, Term 3

Congratulations to the following classes who read the most in the programme for Term 3. These classes were also winner in Term 1. Great work.

  1. Year 7 - 7AND homeroom teacher Mr Anderton
  2. Year 8 - 8ABR homeroom teacher Mr Brown
Thank you to all those who have fully participated, both students and teachers, in the programme this year. Students keep reading! Exams are coming up soon.

Bio Poem

This term the Literacy Centre is focussing on poetry. In Week 1 the Year 7’s wrote their own “Bio Poem” writing on their area of expertise, themselves. Below is Evander Su’a illustrated poem.

2020 Young Enterprise Scheme (YES) Regional Prize winners

Building on last year success, one of De La Salle College’s YES business teams was invited to the 2020 YES South Auckland Regional Final which was held on 22th of October at the B:Hive, Smales Farm, Takapuna.

S’teez is a business formed by Samuel Va’a as the CEO, Advaith Sankarathill as the Finance Manager, Jacob Iakopo as the Marketing Manager Malachai Ifopo and Angelo Toalepai as the Production Managers. Their product is a T-shirt based on their own design that reflects the spirit and culture of South Auckland. Their mission statement is to showcase the beauty of South Auckland using T-shirts that feature trendy urban and pasifika-inspired design.

S'Teez Entrepreneurs
The judges thought the business was well run with lots of potential. As a result, the boys were awarded the Excellence in Customer Service Award for 2020.

By completing this project, the students also earned 9 NCEA credits and gained valuable skill and experience that is highly regarded by universities and employers.

tongan ncea exams

TALAMONU ATU KI HE SIVI NCEA ‘A E LEA FAKA-TONGA 2020 NA’E FAI HE UIKE’ NI. NA’E SIVI E YEAR 12TON HE TUSITE, YEAR 11TON HE PULELULU

PEA YEAR 13TON HE TU’APULELULU.

Tongan NCEA exams

The Tongan NCEA Exams were running this week. Year 12TON on Tuesday, Year 11TON on Wednesday and 13TON on Thursday.

Good luck Everyone. Malo. Mr Lotu ‘Ufi

Stories from the southside

Spoken Word 2020 - Stories from the Southside

An amazing experience. A privilege. A journey come full circle.

COVID-19 took away the opportunity for Auckland schools to perform for a live audience to showcase what they’d been striving for. Miss Puleiku alongside 2019 Spoken Word old-boys provided a platform and safe environment, so these young men could show vulnerability and raw emotion in front of their families, staff and peers. There was not a dry eye by the end of the night!

A true inspiration of the dedication and nurturing given, to enable these young men to be heard in an environment that is not always kind or forgiving is a blessing that we have in Miss Puleiku🤎

Thank you Miss Fusi Puleiku and the students of Spoken Word 2020.

“Vulnerability is not weakness; it’s our greatest measure of Courage”
Seth
Alefosio
Jontay
Fred
Noah
Alistair, Diego, Edgar
Angelo
Luani
Miss Puleiku

2020 sports prizegiving

Chisom- Junior Sportsman of the Year
Wallace- Senior Sportsman of the Year
Archie & Raen
Sititi family
Mr Hakeagatoa & Mr Rex
Frank
Toma & Kalvin
Frank
Patolo
Kalvin
Raen
Archie
Special Olympics team
Toma, Wallace & Kalvin

faahi tapu he vagahau niue

‘Faliki e tau momoui he tau atuhau ke he Vagahau Niue’ which in English translates to, “Lay the foundations - give rise to Vagahau Niue for generations"

We ended Niue language week with a small flag-raising ceremony of the Niuean flag for staff and students. It was a celebrated with a week of niuean proverbs from Mr Johnny Richmond-Rex and throwback photos of past and present Niue culture groups. Oue tulou- Niuean staff

in the community

On Saturday 17 October students from De La Salle Under 13 Capped and Under Open rugby teams were invited to a Fun Day at Marist Rugby Club where all boys received a certificate with vouchers. There was entertainment to keep everyone occupied from bouncy castles, touch, tennis, volleyball and basketball as well as enjoying the yummy food!- Management team: Bianca, Teuila, Faalepo

De La Salle Under 13 Capped and Under Open rugby teams
B.O.T. chairman Falaniko Tominiko congratulating the 2020 Millionaires at the Auckland Zoo

U15 7s Champions- 2 years in a row

The last 4 weeks our under 15 7s team had been training hard for the Auckland 7s tournament Thursday last week. De La Salle has now won back to back championships as well as recently winning the Westies 7s tournament under the guidance of coach David Faalili.

The boys showed heart to win the final 24 to 17 after being down 17 nil at half time.

Big thank you to all the families who came to support and help with transport.

Well done boys!

U15 rugby 7s team with coach David Faalili

Congratulations to Demitric Sifakula for his representation in the U16 NZ rugby league team who played and won in what was an edge of your seat, fast paced game against the U17 NZ Maori team in Rotorua over the weekend. Watch the game here

Demitric Sifakula NZ U16 Rugby League representative
Mr English with the extended Wilson/Lafo'ou-Lusa aiga

South Island Endorsement Trip

From the 27th of September to October 2nd, 14 students had travelled to the South Island as a substitute for the Hong Kong Level 2 endorsement trip. This is a trip for boys who gain Excellence endorsement at Level 2. Staff accompanying the students were Ms. Chapman, Mr. Kumar, Mr. English and his wife who helped assist throughout the entirety of the trip. It was a very extraordinary experience for students as the South Island introduced them to an environment which was very different from home.

notices

ORDER group/team photos. Payment envelopes available at the front office. Payment due Wednesday 28 October
CONGRATULATIONS to newly appointed BOT Student Rep Jarren Iuvale
English Talanoa
Year 13 school ball
Time4Greatness by AUT South Campus for all Year 13s

ENROL NOW

De La Salle College

A Catholic School for Boys Year 7-13 in the Lasallian tradition

Creating great men of Faith - Service - Community - Excellence

  • Strong Catholic Character and Lasallian traditions
  • Dynamic teaching staff
  • Strong academic achievements
  • High expectations of every student
  • Caring and Supportive Pastoral Care team
  • Extensive co-curricular activities

For enrolment enquiries contact Mrs Bianca Leau

Phone: +649 276 4319 ext 816

Email: enrolments@delasalle.school.nz

Website: delasalle.school.nz/enrolments

contact us

De La Salle College

81 Gray Avenue

Mangere East

Auckland 2024

NEW ZEALAND

+649 276 4319

comms@delasalle.school.nz

Connect with us

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La Salle Collegians (NZ)

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College app: SchoolAppsNZ

Credits:

Thank you to all who contributed to the photos and videos for this newsletter edition