Catholic Schools' Day

For Catholic Schools’ Day on Tuesday, Years 0-7 tamariki came to school in house colour mufti, the proceeds of which went to Caritas relief work in South Sudan. They started their day with morning prayer in the hall, followed by Caritas lessons in the classrooms, learning about life in South Sudan. Luckily the rain subsided for the middle block, during which the children met their houses to participate in Caritas Challenges, so that they could walk in the shoes of children of South Sudan. These were called MOVE IT, SWEAT IT, CARRY IT and LIVE IT. More information is included below. Our Year 7s lead a thought-provoking liturgy in the hall in the afternoon, which was followed by quiet reflection time back in our rooms.

 LIVE IT! For this challenge the children had to make cardboard shelters. There are millions of refugees in South Sudan who have to set up home in temporary shelters. Our tamariki worked well together to build their shelters. Special thanks to Music Mania and Elite Appliance Servicing for giving us so many cardboard boxes, as well as families who dropped some off during the last month.

 MOVE IT! This involved walking around the block for 25 minutes, in order to imagine walking long distances, as children in South Sudan would. The older children were very supportive of younger children during this walk. Here is a photo of the Costello House ready to move it!

 SWEAT IT! For this, the children did some chores around the school - car washes, weeding, picking up rubbish, wall-washing and dusting classrooms. Great acts of service!

 CARRY IT! Children lined up and passed buckets of water to one another to fill a clam shell. The leaders worked hard to run to the tap to fill their buckets! The older children were also very supportive of the younger ones in carrying the water. 40% of people in South Sudan have to walk 30 minutes or more to access water, which they then carry back! Sadly, 30% of them do not have access to safe water. Also on Catholic Schools’ Day, Our Year 8 ākonga attended a Mass at Holy Cross, Papatoetoe, along with the other South Auckland Catholic Schools in our Kahui Ako. They represented us beautifully.