in this issue
TERM 2 WEEK 4- COLLEGE NEWSLETTER
College Principal - “Our Guardian Angels"
Associate Principal - "Excellence"
Special Character - Ministry & Mission
Deputy of Curriculum - Weekly Note
Deputy of Pastoral - Mental Health Awareness & Bully-free Week
ICT - Online Safety
Academic Year 7/8
Welcome to Lasalle Mr Ualika
Northland History Trip
South Auckland Mathematics Challenge
Maths Corner
Careers & Gateway
Notices
Enrol Now
Contact Us
“our guardian angels”
Mr Myles Hogarty
College Principal
Greetings,
On Friday this week the College held two very significant events.
We celebrated the Feast Day of our founder John Baptist De La Salle and held our inaugural Legacy Assembly to acknowledge and celebrate several long serving Staff members of our College.
It was fitting that we held these two events together as our founder is known across the world as the Patron Saint of Teachers, so Friday was a wonderful celebration of our spiritual roots, our founder and staff.
John Baptist De La Salle said that, “Young men need good teachers like guardian angels.” This has never been so true, as a college we have had to navigate through cyclones, floods, pandemics, strikes and the numerous changes to education and the curriculum.
It was with great pleasure, indeed an honour, to host a special Legacy Assembly for our long serving staff. The following staff were recognised and honoured for their long service to the De La Salle community.
- Mr John Singh - 50 years
- Mrs Urmila Verma - 34 years
- Mr Dave Rungan - 31 years
- Mr Kane Raukura - 27 years
- Mr Martin Finch - 27 years
- Mr Nigel Hurst - 26 years
These staff members have contributed outstandingly to the lives of thousands of young men, educating them in an environment of Christian love and service while always aiming to achieve the vision we have of Creating outstanding men of faith, service, community and excellence.
In a rapidly moving and changing world where young men’s lives are subject to constant fluctuations and uncertainty, it was great that our young men were able to witness the magnificent example of resilience, perseverance and commitment that was celebrated through the service of our long serving staff.
Our long serving staff were each presented with the “Lasallian Shield”, which is reserved for those members of our College community who have performed outstanding contributions to the education of our young men.
I finish with these words, found in Peter 4: 10-11: “Each of you should use whatever gifts you have received to serve others, as good and faithful stewards of God’s grace in all its forms.”
Our long serving staff have through their commitment to Lasallian education certainly displayed their gifts of love and service to the young men and families of De La Salle.
We thank them as their example is inspirational and deeply appreciated across the wider College community. We pray that they keep good health and continue to serve our community.
God bless
associate principal
Mr Dermot English
"Excellence"
Last Saturday I was in Dunedin to attend the graduation ceremony of our son. I also caught up with an old boy from 2018 called Leroy Filia. At school Leroy was in the 2B rugby team and finished up as a Merit Endorsement student in Year 13. He attended the 2017 trip to Manila. Leroy did his first year of study in Auckland before going to Otago. He is completing his Masters in Psychology this year. As a student who has achieved at least a 95% average grade he was able to apply for a post grad study programme which only selects 10 people. Amazingly Leroy made it into this programme, which will most likely lead to a PHD. He is the youngest in the group by 12 years, as it is usually for people in mid-career.
I asked him how he did it. He said that every day he studies from 9-12, has lunch then studies from 1-4pm, has dinner, then studies from 5 to 10pm. So he works at it 11 hours a day at least 5 days a week. He’s never really thought of himself as a top student. Its funny how lots of effort and top results go together. When we had nearly finished up he went off to get the security guy on the door. He was another Lasalle boy from 2016 who has nearly finished a double degree in Neurology and psychology.
It's wonderful to see these young men leave the College, and then get themselves organised to perform at a world-class level. I never thought I’d find a hotbed of Lasallian excellence in a bar in North Dunedin
special character
Assistant Principal of Mission- Mrs Teuila Vaotuua
“Inspire and lead others by encouraging them”
Dear families
Today on De La Salle day we celebrate our Founder, we remember with gratitude his vision, sacrifice, and perseverance to establish the first Christian schools. Today he is known as a pioneer in modern pedagogy and conduct in schools.
Through the early rough beginnings, he and two Brothers made what is known as the Heroic Vow, where they decided that no matter what happened, they would keep the schools open—even if it meant living on bread alone. Today here in De La Salle Mangere we are the living harvest of that initial vision and vow.
As day we celebrate the Patron Saint of teachers, we say thank you to all our staff, especially long serving staff and the brothers community.
We acknowledge your heroic vow to work and to ensure that the Education legacy lives on in our community, with the new generation.
POMPALLIER SHIELD
On Wednesday 3rd May, a group of 13 boys were selected to attend a Scripture, Speech and Waiata competition in Whangarei called the Pompallier Shield. This competition gathers students from all Catholic high schools in the Auckland region to compete in different oratory categories such as Prepared Speeches, Scripture Readings and Waiata.
Our representatives this year were Joshua Alo, Jozanam Emani, Raymond Havili-Teinaki, Elijah Hunt, Juan Koti, Bryan Leumaga, Noah Mati, Sebastian Nisa, Kalani Peyroux-Donaldson, Gabriel Poimatagi-Matautia, Augustino Taufao, Marques Tominiko and Tony Ulberg. After a 3-hour drive, we arrived at Pompallier College and were welcomed by the Tangata Whenua with a powhiri. Once finished, the competition began, running through till around 2:30pm.
We were so proud of all our participants, but super proud of Marques Tominiko who placed third for the Junior Scripture reading category which was a wonderful achievement for him and a highlight for us all. Another highlight was when the organisers decided to have some of the schools perform their Waiata in front of everyone so we could all enjoy their singing.
Overall, the day was filled with a love for scripture, oratory and singing. It was amazing to see the hard work and dedication other schools had put into their performances and to learn that we are not only a part of the Lasallian community but also the catholic college's community. We extend our deepest thanks and gratitude to the teachers in charge, without whom this experience would not have been possible, Mrs Vercoe, Mrs Vaotuua, Mr Tuiasau and Mr Folau and our parents Mr & Mrs Mati who accompanied us also.
Live Jesus in our Hearts forever
curriculum
Deputy Principal Curriculum- Mr Phil Doyle
Weekly Note
Thanks you to all the families that make contact with teachers when they see a 1 or 2 on the Weekly Note. You can email your son’s Homeroom teacher or the Subject teacher directly. Emails are of the form lastnamefirstnameinitial@delasalle.school.nz e.g. doylep@delasalle.school.nz Working together we can help all boys achieve.
We also encourage you to congratulate your son if you see a "5" on his Weekly Note. This is a sign that your son is prepared for lessons, completed all that is expected, asking questions in class, and showing concern for others.
SCHOLARS IN THE SPOTLIGHT
pastoral
Deputy Principal- Mr Elton Charles
Mental Health Awareness & Bully-free Week
In recognition of Mental Health Awareness and Bully-free week 2023, the guidance team have created a competition for all the homerooms to create the best Chant, or 1 minute performance, to promote positive messaging around “standing up and speaking out” about bullying.
Those who take up the challenge have to submit a digital recording of their homeroom chant, that will be judged by impartial judges from the Pastoral team, with the winners receiving a lunch surprise for their prize. We are looking forward to seeing and hearing some great talk and action around the school with students uplifting one another to support each other when it is needed – all in the true spirit of being a proud Lasallian young man.
As part of our commitment to your sons's wellbeing, we are sharing information about an upcoming webinar hosted by cyber safety experts, Safe on Social, that we think will be of interest to many of you.
This webinar, held on 25 May, will cover a theme that has been a huge topic of conversation, this year in particular - "Clearing the Smoke: Navigating Teen Vaping and Social Media."
As many of you know, vaping has become a significant concern among our staff and parents as we see children younger and younger being impacted. With the rise of social media, it is crucial for us to stay informed about the impact of vaping and the role that social media plays in influencing our children. As parents we know you have questions, but often don’t know where to turn.
As authorities in their field, Safe on Social have a unique perspective on this topic and bring years of experience working with parents on how to navigate difficult situations. Any questions you may have about the topic can be sent to Safe on Social at info@safeonsocial.com and they will do their best to address them within the webinar.
We highly recommend taking a look at the webinar information here and attending if possible.
ICT ACADEMY
Director of ICT- Mr John Singh
Online Safety
As young people use more digital technology, it’s important parents teach them about online safety. While there might be a gap between what your child knows and how much you know about technology, you don’t have to be a tech expert to help. You can offer life skills, maturity and experience your child hasn’t developed yet.
So, how do you get started?
Netsafe has put these tips together to help parents and whānau talk to their young people about online safety.
Seven steps to help you
The seven steps from Netsafe’s Online Safety Parent Toolkit are designed to enhance your digital parenting knowledge and have been developed with parents in mind.
- Understand Read about the potential online risks, challenges and sometimes illegal behaviour young people face to understand what may happen
- Learn Ask your child about what they do, how they use devices and who they talk to learn about their activities. Check in regularly to see what has changed
- Explore Take the time yourself to explore the sites, apps and technologies your child uses to improve your knowledge and understand their experience
- Agree Create a family code with your child to agree on what they can do online including sites to visit, appropriate behaviours, privacy settings and limits
- Teach Recognise each child has unique needs, but some online safety concepts are universal. Start by teaching yours the Five tips to help your child thrive
- Model Be a good example to your child. Make sure you role model the sort of behaviours you want to see your child use online and offline
- Plan Make a plan so everybody knows what to do if something goes wrong and where you will be able to get advice and support in challenging times
Academic Year 7/8
Assistant Principal- Mr Herbert Tanuvasa
Last week the teachers had their annual flu jab (some teachers also having their fifth covid booster shot). Winter ills are picking up, which means more appointments at our local doctor. Sadly in 2023 getting a doctors appointment is like getting your passport, it can take days at best, but most probably weeks! Even sadder is seeing the desperation from members in our community having to resort to walk ins at medical centres, despite knowing on average there is a wait time of 4-5 hours. We hear that covid is by and large under control, yet our health systems continue to be stretched close to breaking point.
How do students keep striving to achieve academically when sickness and our overburdened health system affects them (and their household)? As educators at De La Salle we are challenged with the effects of seeing how student physical health affects their mental health. Not to forget the health of loved ones and how that affects a student’s mental health. Compounding health issues this winter, how do our students strive academically when vital needs such as housing etc are not secure, or necessities such as food and clothing are not as certain? If our students do manage to persevere through sickness and hardship, their mental health contends with news reports that create anxiety, both locally (out control house prices) and globally (war and environmental issues).
We turn to the Bible for answers, and reassuringly we are reminded of our Lord Jesus teaching us a simple lesson:
“…if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move…” –
Matthew 17:20
To achieve academically through the winter ills and surrounding difficulties, all a student needs is one positive to hang on to. Just one. Having that one positive and holding on to it, facilitates the possibility for growth. Anything can grow from one positive…even stuff that can move mountains.
I’m going to share one positive that I have been enjoying lately. My Year 7 rugby team known as “Marist De La Salle Blue” play in the U12/13 combined 15 a-side rugby comp. Most of them have not played rugby for a club before and struggle against the Year 8s (where they lost their first two games, 135 and 111 to nil respectively). Despite the heavy defeats and knowing what they are in for this entire season, the boys keep coming back to training. There is no quitting from them, no running off to another club so they can play with their age group, no fefe, nada. These boys exhibit a willingness to test themselves. They have figured out that real growth comes from pressure, significant growth from significant pressure. Whenever a try is scored against them, they run (ok well let’s say jog) the ball back to halfway, ready to go again. Despite struggling with fitness and the basics of the game I enjoy watching them play because I see in them a never give up fighting attitude. It is a sight to behold, a bunch of little kids with big hearts who keep going, not taking a step back, persevering till the end. Six years from now when the size of their bodies eventually catch up to the size of their hearts, watch out mountains you are about to be moved!
Find the one positive in your academia during dark times. According to Jesus it will eventually grow. You will move those mountains in your life.
In Christ
welcome to lasalle mr ualika
Talofa lava o lo'u igoa o Roy Ualika
"It is a huge privilege for me to be a part of the De La Salle community. My teaching background has been in the Primary School sector, so this is a great opportunity for me to experience Secondary School teaching".
Quick Fire 3
- Rugby or League supporter and what team? Growing up I played Rugby Union, League, and Basketball. I have since then hung up my boots - and just stick to watching the Brisbane Broncos play.
- What is your favorite thing about working for De La Salle College so far? What I enjoy most about teaching here is the sense of pride, tradition and rich history which is evident in the way that staff and students carry themselves.
- Name someone you admire and why- An individual who has been a source of inspiration for me, would be former All Black and Rugby Great - Michael Jones. His commitment to his faith and tremendous work within the community is inspiring and a huge motivator for me.
northland history trip
Sam Vaotuua- Year 13 Prefect and History student
What an amazing experience shared alongside my brothers in the Bay of Islands. We were honored to travel to Northland to visit some of the most relevant New Zealand historical sites. On the first day, we took Ferry to visit the first ever church built in New Zealand (Christ Church/ Te Whare Karakia o Kororareka) in Russel that was built in 1835, learning about the history of this church, being the battleground of the Battle of Kororareka in 1845, with Tāmati Wāka Nene, a Māori chief who fought for the British in that conflict, is buried in the church graveyard,. Understanding the amount of tapu and sacredness within this Church, we treated it with respect not as a national landmark, but as a resting place of many who had passed away on this land, as well as a sacred place of worship to God. We were also able to visit the first ever Missionary home called the Kemp Family home, this being the first house bult for missionaries settling in New Zealand, learning of how they would of lived during this period of history, with no flash gadgets or technology, but instead old-fashioned furniture and beds, showing how different life would have been during the initial stages of New Zealand’s transformation into the Aotearoa we live in today.
We also visited the Treaty of Waitangi grounds and explored the history of the relationship between Māori and Europeans through trading, war, and the signing of the treaty of Waitangi that ultimately changed New Zealand forever. This trip was not only beneficial to us for our studies and for our assessments in History, but also provided us with a greater understanding of the country we live in, and why our country is the Aotearoa we love today. This trip was also a great chance to bond and strengthen our brotherhood as brothers together, having many laughs and jokes with Mr. Jeremic and Mrs. Gutschlag, sharing the best fish and chips we’ve ever had, and having our own singing battles on our ride back home to Auckland in the van that probably drove Sir and Miss crazy. On behalf of the boys, thank you to Mr. Jeremic and Mrs. Gutschlag for taking us on this trip and keeping us safe, and to Mr. Hogarty, the Board of Trustees, and all who contributed to this trip and enabled me and my brothers to create some lasting memories for the future
south auckland mathematics challenge
by Juan Koti - Year 12
Tuesday 9 May, De La Salle entered the first round of the South Auckland Mathematics Challenge (SAMC) with three Year 9 teams and two Year 10 teams. It was hosted at Otahuhu College with a total of over 30 teams competing from different South Auckland Intermediate schools and high schools. For the Year 9’s, there were 16 teams competing with a tie breaker between one of our teams against the host school’s Year 9 team. Fortunately, our Year 9 team came out on top, placing third for their first ever Mathex event. For the Year 10’s it was an intense battle with one of our teams placing in a three-way tie for first. The tiebreaker question was: -
“How many factors does 42 have?”
(Answer: 8)
Fierce competition saw our boys place third for the Year 10 bracket. It was a privilege to see how much SAMC has grown over the years since it started back in 2019. To see the love and support each school and their students have for maths and how competitive they are really goes to show the level of impact SAMC has had. We would like to thank the Mathematics Faculty, especially Mr. Vailahi and Mr. Marcelo, for accompanying the boys to the event and for pushing them to do their best. We look forward to the upcoming rounds happening in the coming weeks.
maths corner
Mathematics Teacher- Mr J L Marcelo
Winner of last weeks Maths Corner is Sofara Feo 12RET and Nehemiah Iupati 8ABR. We will be delivering the prizes early next week.
Here is the maths questions for this week. You need to be in it to win it! Enter maths quiz here
careers & gateway
Another busy week with the Careers and Gateway programmes.
The new Warehouse and Countdown programme is about to start and we are looking forward to a successful programme. Heamoni from Service IQ has visited the young men and is impressed with the standards of our young men.
The Airport programme is about to begin and we have 4 boys who are looking forward to starting on Friday.
The Employment programme is well underway and our students are doing unit standards as well as practical learning. Also these young men are all working on their drivers licence.
Scholarships are underway and many of our year 12s and year 13s are busy writing their introductory letters.
Drivers licence is happening at morning tea and lunchtimes. Many of our students who are eligible are taking advantage of the service we are providing.
Our Mcdonalds students have attended 3 practical sessions and feedback has been great from the restaurants.
Attendance is an issue and it is good to see our students are making good improvements.
Overall we are very pleased with the work our students are doing. Hard work brings good results.
notices
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
Connect with us
Website: www.delasalle.school.nz
Facebook: De La Salle College, Auckland , La Salle Collegians (NZ)
College app: SchoolAppsNZ
De La Salle College
81 Gray Avenue
Mangere East
Auckland 2024
NEW ZEALAND
+649 276 4319
Credits:
Thank you to all who contributed