On 1 March, 1949, children and staff from Ss Peter and Paul Primary School travelled by train from Waterloo Station in Lower Hutt into Wellington and then on to Plimmerton Beach on Wellington’s West coast for a twice weather-cancelled school picnic. For the children it was an exciting adventure and the site of the picnic had been carefully chosen for its safety record.
Students at Bishop Viard College Porirua have posted a video on YouTube in which they discuss the benefits of the free school lunch programme – Ka Ora, Ka Ko. The Government proposes to review the programme ahead of Budget 2024 in May, and Associate Education Minister and ACT leader David Seymour has stated he wants to cut the programme by up to 50 per cent.
The latest version of WelCom is available to read here.
Catholic College Dux, Special Character Awards and Student Leaders for the Archdiocese of Wellington and the Diocese of Palmerston North
St Mary’s College Wellington produced the first contracted schoolgirl Black Fern, Dhys Faleafaga, and now the youngest ever schoolgirl Black Fern at 17, Justine McGregor.
The latest version of WelCom is available to read here.
Cardinal Thomas Stafford Williams, ONZ, Catholic Archbishop Emeritus of Wellington has died, aged 93. He passed away peacefully on 22 December 2023 at Charles Fleming Retirement Village, Waikanae, north of Wellington. Cardinal Tom lived in Waikanae since his retirement in 2005.
Br Peter Bray fsc, a De La Salle Brother originally from Taranaki, was the vice-chancellor of Bethlehem University until the end of last year. Bethlehem University is a Catholic university located in the city of Bethlehem, in the West Bank; it is the first higher education institution founded in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Young Catholic adults from all over the country attended the 31st Hearts Aflame Summer School at Ngā Tawa Diocesan School, Marton, 29 December–7 January. They came for 10 days of prayer, formation, learning and sharing the joyful experience of a community of faith. This year’s theme was ‘Behold I make all things new’ – Rev 21:5.
Signature Choir, an ecumenical Christian choir, performed with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra at a one-off concert at Spark Arena in Auckland, last November. The choir sang folk songs in six different Pasifika languages from the islands of Tokelau, Samoa, Niue, Cook Islands, Fiji and the Kingdom of Tonga.