Tribute to Sister Pauline |
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It is with deep sadness that dear Sister Pauline passed away on Sunday 30 August. Sister Pauline was raised in Christchurch and entered the Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions at age 19. She was awarded a Woolf Fisher Scholarship in 1996, and in 2003 honoured as a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to education. Sister Pauline was Deputy Principal at Sacred Heart College (Lower Hutt) for nine years, before being appointed as Principal at Sacred Heart Girls' College (Hamilton) for 14 years. Upon retirement from teaching, Sister Pauline was involved from 2004–2010 in the leadership of the RNDM congregation in New Zealand. She was a keen sportswoman and an avid watcher and armchair referee of rugby, cricket and netball. Sister Pauline was also on the MCLHTB for many years. Sister Pauline was actively involved with family and congregation activities before her passing and will be dearly missed by many. Rest in peace, Sister Pauline. |
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Career News #11
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CareerWise displays events, tertiary news, scholarships, job opportunities, and other resources that will help students discover their future pathway. Here are some highlights shared with you in our latest newsletter.
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2027 Term Dates
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Term Dates in 2027, start of year information, and dates school will be closed. Keep an eye this page as it will be added to.
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School Derived Grade Examinations and Workshops |
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School Derived Grade (SDG) examinations will take place from Monday 14 September to Monday 21 September.
Examination Sessions:
Important Information:
Students in Years 11, 12, and 13 are expected to study from home unless they have a scheduled examination or workshop. Students must arrive 20 minutes before the start of their examination. For digital examinations, students must bring a fully charged laptop. Students with Special Assessment Conditions (SAC) should report to Fourviere House. The examination timetable has been shared through House Teams and Year Level Teams. If a student is unwell on the day of an examination, please follow the school's usual absence procedure. We wish all students the very best as they prepare for and complete their examinations. |
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Curriculum Update for Parents/Caregivers |
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On 9 September, the Ministry of Education released the final curriculum documents for the remaining learning areas in Years 9 and 10. From 2027, all Year 9 and 10 students will be learning at Phase Four of the New Zealand Curriculum, replacing the previous curriculum levels. There are no changes to Years 11 to 13, who will continue under NCEA Levels 1, 2 and 3.
The English and Mathematics Departments have led the way already implementing Phase Four this year. You may have noticed changes such as mid-year reporting in these learning areas and the use of the new progress descriptors: Emerging, Developing, Consolidating, Proficient, and Exceeding. A lot of additional work has been undertaken by these learning areas to make this transition successful for our students. Our Wednesday afternoon PLD sessions have focused on preparing the changes. Although the timeframe is challenging, Heads of Departments are enthusiastic about reviewing and redesigning junior programmes and will continue this work with their teams during Wednesday PLD sessions. We have also scheduled Ministry-approved Teacher Only Days on Friday 6 November and Monday 9 November where teachers will be working hard to implement these changes. If you want further information about these changes, please visit: Parent Portal - Ministry of Education |
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A reminder to students and whānau to pay attention to the parking signs at the Hautana Street bus stops. This has become an increasing health and safety issue as buses are unable to pull in safely when cars are illegally parked. |
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Principal's Reward for Upholding SHC School Values |
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We have been working behind the scenes to reward our students who continually do the right thing by turning up to school on time, being active learners and upholding our school values. Students with 100% attendance for the week, an average weekly effort score of 2 or less and no pastoral or uniform concerns will go into the draw for a $5 canteen voucher which can be collected from the Principal on Tuesday morning. For the rest of this term, we will draw five students' names each week. These names will be published in the school notices and go out with the weekly engagement grades on Sunday evenings. |
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Congratulations to our winners from Week 7: Kezia Ferguson 11RL, Elyse Mafi-Macdonald 12NR, Shelby Walkinshaw 9LH, Bella Webber 12LP and Serah Stanley 10SC. |
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CAA Numeracy tutorials, led by Mrs Chammika and Ms Taeao, have continued to run successfully, with strong attendance from Year 10 and Year 11 Pacific students. These sessions provided targeted support to build confidence, strengthen key numeracy skills, and offered valuable encouragement as students prepared for upcoming assessments. Year 12 and Year 13 students were also encouraged to attend where additional support may have been beneficial.
Multicultural Week was a vibrant success, thanks to the exceptional leadership of Mia Tutagalevao. Mia coordinated a range of activities that celebrated the rich cultural diversity of Sacred Heart College and fostered a strong sense of inclusion and belonging.
Looking ahead, scholarship season is now underway, and planning continues for both Pō Whakanui and Mana Pasifika. These important events provide opportunities to acknowledge and celebrate student achievement, identity, service, leadership, and cultural pride.
Our staff continue to generously give their time each Wednesday lunchtime and Thursday after school to support Māori Achieve and Big Sister programmes. Last week was particularly busy, with many students seeking extra assistance as they prepared for internal assessments and examinations. Their commitment makes a significant difference to student success and wellbeing.
Inati leadership programme for the Year 9s with VIBE after school on Thursdays is going well. |
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Talofa Lava, Kia Ora, warm greetings to all.
From 24-28 August Sacred Heart held Multi-Cultural Week for 2026. This was a week full of music, dance, food, and cultural pride. We started the week by showing off the flags of the world as we marched through our school grounds to "Waka Waka" by Shakira. I'm very thankful for the wonderful weather on the opening day of Multi-Cultural Week. On Tuesday we celebrated the cultural wear of Sacred Heart students by strutting through the Lawson Foyer in the Cultural Runway. Wednesday was a day for singing with Cultural Karaoke in the PAC. This was a fun activity as it allowed everyone to experience a diverse set of songs, so there was something for everyone to enjoy. Thursday was a big event with wonderful performances from the Scared Heart students. We were able to enjoy performances from the Philippines, India, and New Zealand Māori with "Tūtira Mai Ngā Iwi" which had everyone up and dancing.
The week ended on a yummy high with the International Food Fair. Crowds overtook the Foyer enjoying cuisine from Italy, Korea, Pakistan, India, Nigeria, and the Philippines. The Multi-Cultural Week was a fun experience and a great opportunity to represent the cultures of the school. Big shout-out to the Cultural Council and the Staff Cultural Working Group, as I definitely couldn’t have done it without you. Mia Tutagalevao - Head of Culture |
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This year we took 44 Year 12 students to Whakapapa ski field, National Park. This is a highlight of the year for our Year 12 PE, Outdoor Ed and Sport Studies classes, and for many of the students this was their first time seeing snow. We were blessed to have amazing weather which allowed the students to get a full two days of skiing / snowboarding in, testing their skills and resilience to the limits. In participating in the ski trip students learned how to plan for, apply, and reflect on safety management strategies in a challenging outdoor experience. Students are now completing their final assessments attached to this trip, applying everything they have learnt in theory and practice.
A big thank you to Mrs Adams, Miss Risk, Mr Chan and Miss Tuese for giving up their time to support our students to be able to partake in this experience. Miss Fiona Trappitt
A reflection from Brylee Burn and Stella Herrick: We both enjoyed the ski/snowboarding trip as it got us out of comfort zones, and we were able to learn new skills. We got to have fun with our friends by practising together in the Happy Valley section, riding up to the chairlift to the advanced section, and being able to watch each other's skills grow.
We were fortunate enough to be receive snowboarding lessons both days of the trip which gave us the support we needed to try by ourselves. The instructors helped grow our confidence levels which made it more enjoyable as we weren’t falling over so much. Together we were aware of the risks that were possible such as collisions or hypothermia.
The whole reason we did this trip was to show the application of risk management strategies to a challenging outdoor activity. This meant having to do prior planning to ensure that we were prepared for any risks that we may encounter on the ski/snowboarding trip. For the assessment task, we must evaluate reasons as to why we applied these risks managements into our days up the mountain. |
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Daffodil Day RAD Bake Sale |
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On 1 September the Sacred Heart Rainbow and Diversity group hosted a Daffodil Day bake sale, in support of Cancer research and awareness. They successfully raised and donated $202. |
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Paige Mason (LO9RS) competed individually at the Wellington Hip Hop competition and won the Year 9 Solo category, making her the Wellington Regional Champion. This means Paige has been invited to compete at the Dance NZ Made Nationals in Palmerston North on 18–19 September, where she’ll compete against dancers from around New Zealand and have the opportunity to represent Sacred Heart on the national stage.
Paige was also fortunate enough to receive the New Zealand School of Dance Invitation Award, which gives her the opportunity to spend a full day at the New Zealand School of Dance in December.
She’s excited about competing at Nationals, and proud to have the opportunity to represent Sacred Heart against some incredibly talented dancers from around the country. Great work Paige, we are very proud of you. |
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Runner Up for Expert Reviewer |
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Toby Ricketts (LI13DH) has gained a runner-up prize in a book review competition run by 'The Sapling'. Toby reviewed Ranger's Apprentice by John Flanagan. As you can read on The Sapling's website, we have some real writing talent at SHC. Ka rawe, Toby. |
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Online GP Care Now Free for 13 Years and Under |
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With health services experiencing high demand, online GP care is an option for accessing care and the service is now free for all ākonga up to, and including, the age of 13.
Appointments usually take place through a video app or a phone call and the service can prescribe medicine and send prescriptions to your nearest pharmacy. It also provides another care option for rural communities.
To learn more visit Online GP care: Online GP care – Health New Zealand
You can also find out more at: Care options – HealthEd |
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Within School
Winter Tournament Week |
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Football Our 1st XI Football played a lot of great games in Hamilton coming 14th out of 24 teams at the tournament. Thanks to the amazing team support from Denise Hunter, Rose Barber and Narissa Mair. |
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Hockey Our 1st XI Combined Hockey team (with Chilton St James) had a great Tournament in Napier, only losing one game and playing their best game in the final game to come 5th out of 24 teams. A huge thank you to Hugh Rosemergy, Davina Smith and Craig Maloney for supporting our team at the event. |
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Netball Our Senior A Netball team won most of their first-round games competing at the top pool at the tournament held at Ākau Tangi in Kilbirnie. The team came 8th out of 32 in Division 1 which is a great achievement. Special thanks to Poni Smith, Ana Sopoaga and Erena Aranga for supporting our students at the event. |
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CrossFit A great achievement for Nadia Burt, competing in the 2026 NZ College Youth Games held in Henderson, in the 13–15-year-old Girls' CrossFit Division. Nadia and her two teammates from St Mary’s won the competition. |
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Floorball Some exciting news with Jayde Ashton (B12NR) and Charlee Shirley (LO11UC) being selected into the NZ U19 Floorball team. The team will play in Hong Kong at the 2027 AOFC Qualification tournament against Hong Kong, China, Australia, Singapore and Japan. The aim is to qualify for three spots at the 2027 Women's U19 World Floorball Championships. |
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Netball Congratulations to Jada Tetevano (LO11BD) and Lani Duff-Touhuni (LI10HH) on being selected for the Netball Hutt Valley Zone Secondary School Tournament team, which is a pathway to NZ Secondary School selection. In a graduated selection process, Jada and Lani will have opportunities to progress through Pulse/ Central Zone Tournament, then to Central Zone Advance Camp and finally to the National Development Camp (Lower North Island). We wish them well with this opportunity. |
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(Based on Gospel values and embedded in all school policies and practice.)
Mana Atua – a heart for God We contemplate Mana Atua, the power of God, through God’s great love, represented by the Sacred Heart. We aspire to the spiritual virtues of faith, hope and charity. As a community we pray together daily because "There in the sanctuary of his heart, he will keep you gathered together." Euphrasie Barbier Mana Tangata – a heart for people We uphold Mana Tangata, the power and dignity of all members of our community, by showing manaakitanga – generosity and kindness, respect and inclusion. Our strength as a community comes from following the cardinal virtues of wisdom (prudence), dignity (temperance), courage and justice. "Be kind to everyone; give everything a good interpretation." Euphrasie Barbier Mana Tīpuna – a heart for our ancestors We gain spiritual strength from Mana Tīpuna, the Mission Sisters’ Charism and our school’s Catholic heritage. The RNDM charism is "contemplation, community and mission". Their mission is to take light, wisdom and social justice to the world. "We are all missionaries. Let us strive to imitate the qualities of Jesus." Euphrasie Barbier Mana Mātauranga – a heart for knowledge We value Mana Mātauranga, the power of a depth and breadth of knowledge and the education of the whole person. We aim for personal excellence and seek to realise our all-round full potential. Behind our motto “Virtue and Knowledge” is the goal of gaining wisdom. "Whaia te maramatanga"– pursue enlightenment (wisdom). "Develop their hearts and minds." Euphrasie Barbier Mana Whenua – a heart for the land We honour Mana Whenua, the power of our earth, in our care for the environment and our aspirations to live in harmony with it. This is our place which we value. The three guardian spirits of Atawhai guard us, and our place. Mana whenua is also about protecting our wholeness and wellbeing as young women. "Seek the fullness of life for the whole of creation." Euphrasie Barbier |
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