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Kia ora Koutou,
The confirmation of our school closure by the Minister of Education for the end of this year ends a lengthy process of consultations and submissions. Thank you to all who took the time to give their feedback and suggestions. We are determined to finish this year positively and to continue with one of our key values-family spirit. For our Tamariki, this means being like a brother or sister to everyone, making others feel like they belong, forgiving one another and controlling our temper when there is a disagreement.
For the remainder of this term, we look forward to some fun and enjoyable events:
1/ Our Matariki Cultural evening will take place in the school hall on Wednesday 18 June at 5pm with a short programme from 5:15 to 5:30pm followed by sharing of cultural food from 5:30 to 6:30pm. People are encouraged to wear their cultural clothing.
2/ The Tamariki are celebrating book character day by dressing as a favourite book character on Tuesday 3 June. Parents are welcome to our school prayer at 9am followed by a parade of costumes.
3/ We are taking the children to Zealandia on the Monday 9 June. We are also attending a tour at Weta Workshop on Monday 23 June.
4/ On Friday 6 June we have our school assembly at 2:15.
The school will be closed for instruction on Thursday 19 June as staff complete the second day of Maths professional development. This is the day before Matariki holiday on Friday 20 June.
A big thank you to Yukayo who came in to make Sushi with each class. We look forward to some other Japanese activities in the future.
Jenny Bryce, one of our wonderful part time teachers, is returning to England at the end of week 7. We thank her for her amazing contribution and wish her well.
If you have any queries or questions, please get in touch.
Nga Mihi
The sixth Sunday of Easter- 25th May 2025
Acts 15:1-2, 22-29
In Acts 15, we witness the early Church facing a disagreement about what it means to be part of God’s people. Some believers insisted that Gentile converts must follow certain Jewish customs. This caused confusion and division. Instead of acting impulsively, the leaders of the Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, came together to listen, discuss, and pray. Their final decision, delivered with unity and care, brought peace and encouragement to the believers.
This story reminds us that disagreements can be opportunities for growth when we approach them with respect, openness, and faith. It also shows the importance of listening to others and seeking guidance through prayer. In our school community, we too are called to build unity, support each other, and trust in God’s wisdom to guide our choices, especially as we enter into the final chapter here at Cardinal McKeefry School.
Revelation 21:10-14, 22-23
Here St. John shares a vision of the heavenly city—the new Jerusalem. It shines with the glory of God and is built on strong foundations, symbolizing the apostles who shared the Good News. What stands out most is that this city doesn’t need a temple, sun, or moon, because God’s presence and the Lamb (Jesus) are its light.
This image reminds us that God's love is our true guiding light. In our school community, we are building our lives on our school values of simplicity, presence, in the way of Mary, love of work and family spirit. Even in times of uncertainty, we are reminded that God is always with us, offering light, hope, and direction as we move into new school communities from next year onwards.
John 14:23-29
In this Gospel passage, Jesus tells His disciples that those who love Him will keep His word, and He promises that God will make a home with them. He also gives a beautiful gift: His peace. Not the kind of peace the world gives—which can be temporary or uncertain—but a deep, lasting peace that comes from knowing we are never alone.
Jesus promises the Holy Spirit to be our helper and teacher. This is a powerful reminder for us in school and in life. When we feel worried, stressed, or unsure, Jesus invites us to turn to Him and trust in the peace He gives. His love and guidance are always with us, especially in times of change or challenge. As we continue through the second half of our school year, may we open our hearts to Jesus' words, welcome His peace, and let the Holy Spirit guide us in kindness, courage, and faith as we reflect on our time at our special kura.
Dear whanau and friends of Cardinal McKeefry,
As you are all probably aware we have been officially informed that our school will be closing at the end of this year following the Minister for Education’s decision to accept the proposal from ADW to cancel the integration agreement for Cardinal McKeefry School. While this is sad for our community, we were prepared for this outcome and accept the Minister’s decision.
With the closure confirmed our focus turns to the remainder of the year and continuing to put our children and staff first. It will be business as usual in the classroom with our children’s education and faith development the priority.
Over the coming months the Board will meet to discuss and plan for the closure of the school. We want to celebrate the legacy of our school and close with dignity. We know that the Cardinal McKeefry School community spans generations and we would love to be able to bring many of us together to share and celebrate our friendship and experiences.
Finally, we are grateful for the tireless efforts of our amazing teachers and support staff. Their welfare is front of mind for us and they will be supported by the Board and the Ministry of Education. We would also like to thank parents for their support. Our tamariki have shown incredible resilience through all of this and it is thanks to the adults in this community who love and guide them.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact our principal, Kerry de Graaff, or our board chair, Shola Olaniyan.
Nga mihi
The Board of Trustees
Alistair
Last week we started doing science and our topic was electricity. We have been making simple circuits. I am quite surprised you can use playdough as a conductor. I paired up with Steph and it was helpful. One of my biggest challenges was figuring out how to connect the wires with tape that steals the electrons from the circuit. A highlight was being the first group to make a proper circuit with Steph.
Kora
I was excited when we had our mothers day celebration. I loved that our mums came in for a special hour at school. I felt like it wasn't long enough though as the time went quickly. I enjoyed doing the craft and my mum helped me a lot with the paper weaving. I liked the patterns that my sister and I made. I had made some flowers for mum and felt proud when I gave it to her because I had worked very hard on them. I had also written a message for her.
Penny
Last Wednesday Alistair and his dad were teaching us to make turons. We used brown sugar, spring roll wrappers, jack fruit and banana. First we cut and peeled a banana, then we put ¼ of a banana on the wrapper. We sprinkled brown sugar on the banana and then placed two slices of jackfruit on the top. Next we wrapped it up tight and made a big pile of turons to be cooked. Alistair's dad cooked them in the oil for us. After that we ate some hot turons and they were delicious.
Frances
This week I am going to be teaching R1 to make Apple Strudel. I am really excited to share my slides about the Czech Republic to let everyone know about where my family comes from. I have typed up the recipe to share and it is an easy recipe to follow. I think it will be a nice treat for everyone . I am looking forward to learning more about BEDMAS this week during maths and have enjoyed learning more about music notation.
Elisabeth
A highlight for me has been learning about Sir Edmund Hillary. We are learning about famous New Zealanders and Sir Edmund Hillary is famous for being the first to climb Mt Everest. He also was the first to reach the south Pole in a vehicle and he is on $5 note. He went to the top with Tenzing Norgay. I really like learning about Sir Edmund Hillary. Something else I have enjoyed is planting our own seeds with Jo. We have planted broad bean and snow pea seeds. They are now sitting on the windowsill in R1 and we are carefully watering them each day. They are already starting to sprout.
Term 2 Week 4 Room 2
It has been great to work with room 1 on the latest House of Science kit-The Electric Future, where children have developed an understanding of circuits and electrical c The children have enjoyed . For literacy, the Tamariki continue to progress through Lexia Core 5 levels and complete skill builders where necessary to reinforce reading strategies and phonetic awareness. Children have also been researching different NZ birds and structuring an information report with clear sub-headings. For maths, we have been preparing for the upcoming maths PAT test and working through our Prime course and practice books. It was great to experience Sushi making with Yukayo and the children certainly enjoyed eating the fruits of their labour. Last Friday, we enjoyed developing basketball skills, specifically, passing, dribbling and shooting skills. We have also been practicing our running for cross-country and it is pleasing to see Leon, Enzo and Naomi represent our school from room 2 at the upcoming Western Zone cross country.
Week 4 Term 2 2025
Welcome to Tanielu
Tanielu has recently joined Room 4. We are so pleased to have you at our Kura.
Mā te Atua koutou e manaaki, e tiaki hoki
May God bless and care for you.
Mrs Bains
What I Am Literacy
What I am. We have been writing a delightful collection of riddles. What I Am is a delightful collection of riddles written by our clever Room 4 tamariki! Each riddle is like a little puzzle, with fun clues to help you guess what’s being described. Is it an animal? A toy? Something you use every day. These riddles are full of imagination, surprises, and smiles. So read our riddles and see if you can solve them all—what am I?
Exploring Aboriginal Art
Room 4 explored the Australian Aboriginal art. As part of our learning, we created vibrant handprint artworks using the traditional dot painting technique. Each handprint is unique, bursting with colour and carefully dotted patterns that reflect the style and spirit of Aboriginal art.
We loved expressing ourselves through this creative process while gaining a deeper appreciation for another culture. Come and have a look at our amazing artwork on display—we’re very proud of what we’ve made!
Japanese Experience in Room 4
Room 4 would like to thank Yukayo (Otis’s mum) for sharing a wonderful Japanese experience with our tamariki. We had so much fun learning how to make sushi; the best part was eating the delicious sushi we made ourselves!
We’re so grateful for Yukayo’s time and generosity, and we’re excited to learn even more about Japanese culture with her in the future, as she’s promised to come and do some things with us later in the year.
Book Character Day – Tuesday 3rd of June
Our school librarians have been bustling and preparing for our upcoming Book Character Day taking place on Tuesday the 3rd of June. Kora, Frances, Penny, Alistair, Elisabeth and Naomi are putting together an exciting day of book character events and activities, starting with a book character dress-up parade. Encourage your child to start thinking about what book characters they like and costumes they could wear on the day. The parade will take place after school prayer in the morning, just after 9am so please stay and enjoy the festivities if you can.