Kete Kōrero Schools Edition September 2021

Contents SCHOOLS ISSUE - SEP 2021 PUBLISHER: Bishop Steve Lowe Diocese of Hamilton, New Zealand EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Brigid Conroy EDITOR: Samuel Harris samuelh@cdh.org.nz LAYOUT & DESIGN: Taila Burton-Gollop CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: John Coulam Chris Goodwin Brendan Spring Josh Fransen Clare-Ann Fransen Shelly Fitness Samuel Brebner Fr Mark Field Matt Grevatt Graham Roil WEBSITE:

ketekorero.cdh.nz

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CATHOLIC SCHOOLS DAY

Tūrangawaewae: Catholic Schools - a place to stand Paul Shannon

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LETTER FROM BISHOP STEVE

Catholic Schools - A Taonga to be Treasured

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CATHOLIC SCHOOLS, MAKING A DIFFERENCE

John Coulam

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BACON AND EGGS AND PRAYER

Chris Goodwin and Brendan Spring

07 PARENTS:

THE FIRST EDUCATORS

Josh and Clare-Ann Fransen

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CATHOLIC CHARACTER IS THE BEDROCK

Shelly Fitness

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ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS

Fr Mark Field

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IS SOCIAL MEDIA DESTROYING OUR PERSONALITIES?

Sam Brebner

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HELP THEM GO FASTER

Matt Grevatt

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PROPERTY UPDATE

Graham Roil

EMAIL:

kete@cdh.org.nz PHONE: 07 856 6989 POSTAL ADDRESS: PO Box 4353 Hamilton East 3247

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CATHOLIC SCHOOLS DAY

QUIZ

TŪRANGAWAEWAE: CATHOLIC SCHOOLS - A PLACE TO STAND

BY PAUL SHANNON DIOCESAN SECONDARY SCHOOL ADVISOR

Over recent years a date has been set aside by the New Zealand Catholic Education Office (NZCEO) to celebrate and showcase our unique identity as Catholic schools to both our communities and our wider nation.

The celebrations for both 2020 and this year have been marred by the confines and parameters of COVID-19 levels. This has added stresses and complications for all schools in New Zealand including our Catholic schools.

We especially think at this time of our brothers and sisters in Christ, especially those in Auckland as they continue an extension of their journey through Level 4.

In previous years our Catholic schools have gathered together on this day to celebrate their connectedness as a community of faith by celebrating the Eucharist and taking the rest of the day to enjoy fun activities within their respective Catholic communities, promoting our uniqueness and solidarity.

This year’s theme is “a place to stand,” a place where we have a right and desire to belong to: our tūrangawaewae.

Read resources and information on Schools Day at www.nzceo.org.nz/catholic-schools-day/

1. Which saint has the most schools named after him/her in this diocese? a) St Patrick b) St Joseph c) St Mary 2. The word “education” comes from Latin words meaning a) to fill up b) to draw out c) to bring up d) all of these e) b and c 3. What was the name of the TV show for kids fronted by Olly Ohlson in the 80s and what was Ohlson’s catchphrase?

4. In what location will you find this diocese’s easternmost school?

5. What is the name of the newest school in this diocese?

6. What was the name of the place that Bishop Pompallier left from, on his journey to New Zealand? a) London, Great Britain b) Sydney, Australia, c) Lyon, France d) Jerusalem, Israel e) Rome, Italy

Find the answers to this quiz on page 12!

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A TAONGA TO BE TREASURED

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS - A LETTER FROM THE BISHOP BISHOP STEVE LOWE DIOCESE OF HAMILTON, NEW ZEALAND One of my great joys as bishop is visiting our Catholic schools. These schools are a gift, a taonga, of past generations. Our first Catholic school in Aotearoa New Zealand, St Peter’s at Kororareka (Russell), was opened in 1840. In 1877 the Government passed a new Education Act, which legislated that education in New Zealand would be secular. Catholic families and the leadership of the time wanted to keep Catholic schools but under the new Act funding for these schools had to come from

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the Catholic community. Before 1877 most teachers in our schools were lay teachers. The cost of salaries led to the bishops looking for other options and this led to many teaching orders of sisters, brothers and priests coming to New Zealand.

By the early 1970s the Catholic system was on the brink of financial collapse trying to keep up with a growing country with growing towns and cities. This is reflected in my own life story. The Catholic Diocese of Christchurch had decided that it couldn’t afford to have a primer section in its Catholic schools and so

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I started school at Hokitika Primary School. In Standard 1 I went to St Mary’s Primary School and then in Form 3 to Westland High School, the Catholic high school having closed three years earlier.

The 1975 Integration Act saved our Catholic schools. The Act meant the Government paid for the dayto-day running of the school, including the teachers’ salaries, but the Catholic community had to pay for capital cost of land and new buildings. That’s why we have “attendance dues” in our schools today, to replace buildings and build new schools.

A Catholic school is charged not only with educating the children sent there, but forming them for life and eternal life. We do this through a Catholic lens that has its heart and foundation in the person of Jesus Christ, and its direction set by the Gospels and the teachings of the Church. Speaking earlier this year about our Catholic schools Pope Francis said, “I would like schools to be ‘welcoming schools,’ … where the doors are truly open and not only in words; where the poor can enter and where one can go to meet the poor,” and schools should “embody the wisdom of the Gospel, which is the privileged perspective from which we can learn so much.”

Schools, he continued, shouldn’t “retreat into a selfish elitism,” but must be places where students learn to live together with everyone, where being brothers and sisters is lived, “knowing that everything is connected” and following the example of Jesus “who teaches us to relate to others and to Creation.”

Quoting Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel) Pope Francis said, “May our schools form hearts convinced of the mission for which they were created, with the certainty that life grows and matures to the extent that we give it for the life of others.”

Catholic schools are charged with leading their students to an encounter with Christ and helping form the students to be missionary disciples of Christ in the world in which they will live, a world filled with paradoxes and challenges.

To that end everyone has a task to treasure the taonga of our Catholic schools.

Thank you to you, the parents and caregivers, who support our schools by sending your children to our schools. It is the faithfulness of parents and caregivers doing this that ensures our school system

Pictures from Bishop Steve’s visit to St Anthony’s Catholic School, Huntly, earlier this year.

continues. I ask you to never grow tired of engaging with your children in their faith journey. Faith is like love, it doesn’t grow unless it is shared. My hope is that your children too will help you grow in your faith life and that together in your journeys, the Lord may open up to you the mystery of his life and love, as he calls each of us to be more and more the person we are meant to be.

Thank you to the teachers and other staff members of our schools. I ask you to never grow tired of being the face and voice of Christ to the children entrusted to your care.

Again, my hope is that your students will help you grow in your faith life and that you come to appreciate and deepen the call the Lord has put on your heart to be a teacher or someone who works in our schools.

Photos supplied by: St Anthony’s Catholic School, Huntly

Thank you to the priests who visit our schools. I ask that you never tire of visiting your younger parishioners. Jesus went out to visit and so should we, for our call is to be evangelisers. My hope for you is that the heart Jesus had for children will continue to inspire you to be a witness to future generations of parents, parishioners and perhaps teachers, priests or religious.

Finally, to you the students in our schools. I love visiting you in your school. I hope your school years are awesome years and that the seeds sown in you will bear a rich harvest.

Our schools are our taonga for you. May you in turn be a taonga for others, living and reflecting Jesus who is at the heart of your school.

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CATHOLIC SCHOOLS, MAKING A DIFFERENCE

BY JOHN COULAM DIOCESAN CATHOLIC SCHOOL SUPPORT MANAGER There are thirty-six Catholic educational establishments in the Hamilton Diocese: twenty-nine primary schools, five colleges and two early childhood centres. All, with the exception of Sacred Heart Girls’ College in Hamilton, are diocesan schools.

Most of the schools in the diocese were originally staffed by religious orders and have a rich charism gifted to them by that order. The following schools were founded after integration and were not staffed by religious orders: Aquinas College, Tauranga, Bishop Edward Gaines School, Tokoroa, Suzanne Aubert Catholic School, Papamoa, and St Patrick’s School, Taupō.

Aquinas College, Tauranga

of the Catholic Character that gives schools their particular identity and their right to exist. Another aspect of this, for many schools, is a particular emphasis on the spiritual traditions and expressions of the charism of the founding order evident especially in prayer, liturgy and outreach.

All of these support and express Catholic spirituality.”

Those attending Catholic schools should leave knowing that they are made in the image and likeness of their God, that they are loved and they are called to love as God loves them. Through prayer students learn to talk to God and to listen to God, recognising him in the world around them. Students learn that they are never alone and that God is always with them.

Through the examples found in scripture and the teachings of the church, students develop a sense of social justice and outreach. Students are encouraged through these examples to think beyond themselves and to give of themselves selflessly. Students are called to be the hands, face and voice of Christ in the world today.

The Catholic school primarily exists to support the parents as the first educators of the faith for their children. Our schools are required to be schools of excellence as is expected of any school in New Zealand. The point of difference between a Catholic school and a state school is the Catholic character of the school.

It is no surprise therefore that graduates of Catholic schools can be seen standing up for injustice, confronting social and environmental issues and putting their hands up to serve communities in politics. Many enter types of employment opportunities which have a direct impact on society through service and education.

Catholic character is best explained in The Religious Education Bridging Document, approved by the bishops’ conference in 2018:

Our Catholic schools, which are generally linked to a parish, are vibrant communities centred on Christ. Catholic schools help students develop a strong foundation for life epitomising the fruits of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.

“The Religious Education programme, the prayer and liturgical life, the pastoral care practices and a sense of belonging in the Catholic community are the foundations 05

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Photo supplied: Aquinas College Tauranga

BACON AND EGGS AND PRAYER BRENDAN SPRING (HEAD OF SCIENCE, CAMPION COLLEGE) AND CHRIS GOODWIN (DRS, CAMPION COLLEGE) The boys’ breakfast prayer group came out of a conversation with Fr Matthew Gibson when he was in his pastoral year in Gisborne during his seminary formation.

We were concerned about the lack of students attending Mass and wondered if there was a way to stimulate some more interest in the Church and provide another opportunity for an encounter with Christ. Fr Matthew was studying in his final year in the seminary and luckily for Gisborne he was sent on placement here.

We are fortunate to have St Mary’s Star of the Sea Parish on the same site as Campion College. Immediately we were able to identify our target audience and we discussed this with Mons. Frank Eggelton who was the parish priest at the time. He was delighted with the initiative and gave us every encouragement including financial assistance.

We decided that we would structure the Thursday morning prayers on Morning Prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours and include a number of traditional hymns that the boys could sing. Fr Matthew put together a prayer booklet and went about encouraging students from years seven to thirteen through the school email system and notices.

The menu was also important: a hearty serving of bacon, sausages, hash browns, baked beans, spaghetti, scrambled eggs, toast, jam and juice. Living in Tairāwhiti we are blessed with a rural aspect. Some of the boys are keen hunters and were able to provide venison and wild pigs which we made into sausages. Farmers in the parish donated sheep which were also processed into sausages.

Our numbers have grown to a steady twenty boys plus adults and as you could imagine they have voracious appetites: there are seldom any leftovers. Parents have donated bacon, free-range eggs and baked beans regularly and we offer them our sincerest thanks. Campion College is also extremely supportive in providing food for the breakfast. We welcome any donations.

In the beginning I would arrive with my son at 6.50am and find either Fr Matthew or Fr Jack Smith cooking up a storm. The next to arrive was another enthusiastic student and the boys would set the breakfast table and assist with the general cooking duties. (On our first day we waited nervously before, to our surprise, fourteen boys duly arrived at 7.30 am and promptly sat down.)

Fr Matthew would lead the prayers and one of the students would read from scripture. During the prayers the boys would be divided into two groups so that they all had the chance to read aloud and participate in the Photo supplied by: Chris Goodwin

Prayer breakfast attendees

prayers. The singing has improved over the years, as has reading aloud. Through old-fashioned repetition the boys have grown in confidence and improved their literary skills. Participation in this group has also given the boys real leadership opportunities and they have developed a sense of community within the parish.

Logan Pierard, a young parishioner and friend of Father Matthew, was extremely supportive and became fully involved in leading the prayers. He has left us this year and we thank Logan for his steadfast support over the years.

We are now blessed by having three priests at our table, Fr Alfonso Dujali, MSP, Fr Richard, Cortes, MSP, and Fr Tovio Iusitino, who are extremely supportive of the initiative. The interaction between the boys and the priests is formational and develops a sense of community within the parish.

Over the years there have been many visitors with dads, visiting priests, Bishop Steve and the NET team joining us for breakfast at different times.

Now, in the initiative’s fifth year, the senior boys lead the prayer and singing. It has been a heartwarming experience to see these young men as role models in their faith to their younger peers. The boys’ breakfast prayer group offers a special place in the students’ journey with Christ at St Mary’s Star of the Sea and Campion College.

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PARENTS: THE FIRST EDUCATORS

BY JOSH AND CLARE-ANN FRANSEN As parents we can all fall into the trap of seeing our role as “first educators” of our children as some kind of ideal rather than a reality. But it is worth reminding ourselves - it is not so much that we should be the first educators of our children, but rather that we are. The kind of adults that our children will grow into will, in no small part, be determined by the kind of parents we are today. This reality can feel scary at times, especially when faced with our own limitations and weaknesses. Nevertheless it is one that we can either approach with indifference or try to embrace.

We are so grateful that our Catholic faith not only affirms this reality but acts as a constant source of strength and guidance for us in this privileged task.

One of the most surprising – and often challenging – things we ourselves have discovered as parents is just how different each one of our four young children are. After having our first two children in relatively quick succession, we somewhat naively thought that we might be able to simply do whatever we did with our first child all over again with our second. It was only a matter of weeks before we realised we could not have been more wrong!

Within our own family we often look on with amazement

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as we see, despite our fairly consistent parenting style, such a variety of personalities and temperaments among our children, with each child needing to be related to in different ways. This is one of the many reasons why the family is such an important and irreplaceable school of virtue: each person is unique and unrepeatable, and the family unit is a wonderful opportunity for personalised nurturing within an environment of unconditional love. A beautiful reminder that, as parents, God has given us the task of mirroring for our children the way that he loves – personally and uniquely.

It goes without saying that very often we fail at mirroring this love, and so a huge part of our journey has been grappling with the fact that one of the biggest challenges of parenting lies in “parenting ourselves.” So much of what we teach our children is through our example and subconscious learning on their part. Moreover, we cannot give what we don’t have. If we want them to live a life of faith, we have to mirror a life of faith for them – and an attractive one at that. This is not to say that we must be perfect or exemplary in all things (this is impossible of course), but we should try not to underestimate the extent to which our example makes an impression on our children. St John Paul II once said, when speaking of his

upbringing, that his father didn’t have to be hard on him because he (his father) was so hard on himself. As parents this example is both striking and humbling.

But we are not our children’s only educators and it is wonderful when schools and other organisations work in partnership with parents to bring out the best in our young ones. Any good school teacher would agree that it is much easier to sow the seeds of knowledge, respect, industriousness and so on in students when parents have already “prepared the fertile soil” for them to do so. This is why the partnership between school teachers and parents is so important. It is wonderful to have Catholic schools where our children see what we teach them at home being lived out in another environment. But we don’t only send our children to a Catholic school for the sake of their religious knowledge. After all, Catholic education is not simply about knowledge of our faith but education of the whole person. As Catholics, with a faith founded on a God that became man, we believe that to become more wholly human is to grow closer to God. In that sense, education itself, in all its forms, is a profoundly Catholic undertaking.

It is no surprise then that Catholic schools have always aimed for excellence, both academically and otherwise.

In doing so, they have carried out a real service to society and as parents we hope to continue to assist them in this noble work.

Moreover, when it comes to knowledge of our faith, it’s no good having children with the knowledge of theologians if they haven’t developed the human virtues necessary for getting along with others. Home and family life is the ideal environment for growing in these virtues. In fact, more and more we are coming to realise that healthy family life is the antidote to the individualism that plagues society today because the family is where one learns to love and to coexist with others. When it comes down to it, family life is an education in self-giving. We often hear that “the Church” needs to do a better job of fostering vocations. But this job is largely down to us parents: in this, we are “the Church.”. If we want our children to find and be happy in their various callings in life they must know how to give of themselves. Every vocation, whether it is to married life, religious life or something else, is an act of self-giving, and self-giving is primarily learnt in the home.

So when family life gets a bit mundane or downright exhausting, our task as parents can often feel far from being a privileged one. But when we remind ourselves of just how much of an impact we have on our children – for better or for worse – their seemingly endless needs and the piles of dirty dishes and unfolded laundry take on a new meaning. Rather than letting these tasks simply become a means to an end, we can try to convert our parenting and family life into wonderful opportunities that just might become the ultimate means to the ultimate end.

Religious knowledge is indispensable if we want our children to persist in a life of faith. Indeed, too often people “lose their faith” as a result of not continuing to grow in understanding of it. Children need to feel free to ask the “big life questions,” and these questions are often most effectively answered within the safety and trust of the parent-child relationship; a relationship where questions and answers aren’t open-and-shut cases but on-going dialogues. Parents need to be allowed the right and freedom to answer their children’s big questions as and when they see it appropriate for each individual child.

These questions and issues are so closely linked to life experiences, that they cannot and should not be answered in a generalised way as would happen if left to be taught exclusively by schools. Parents have the unique ability to not just impart information but to develop a relationship of trust where information is shared according to each child’s unique situation in life. This needs to be seen by parents as an opportunity rather than a burden and this is where, as parents, we need to always be one step ahead of our children when it comes to pre-empting the issues and challenges that life will throw at them. Therefore, if we want to truly educate and form our children we need to build strong relationships with them. And so, if we as parents forfeit our right to be our children’s first educators we run the risk of missing out on what are often once-ina-lifetime opportunities to create real and lasting bonds with them.

Photos: Unsplash.com

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CATHOLIC CHARACTER IS THE BEDROCK

BY SHELLY FITNESS ST PATRICK’S CATHOLIC SCHOOL PRINCIPAL, TE AWAMUTU As a principal of a Catholic school, one of the most common things I hear when I’m speaking with relieving teachers or other visitors is that there is just “something special” about our schools. People often remark that they can’t quite put their finger on it. It’s something to do with the way we treat each other, the way we care for our students, the atmosphere of the place.

Of course, we who work in Catholic schools can easily define that “something special.” It’s our Catholic character.

It’s our faith. It’s the dynamic presence of the Holy Spirit.

These dwell in our schools and saturate our way of being with the values of hope, faith and love to make our schools unique places that we are all proud to be a part of.

Catholic character is the bedrock of our school culture. It means that our foundational values aren’t just about being kind or respecting others as in many state schools. Our core value is love. On a practical level, this means that we are called to love every single child in our care, regardless of their circumstances, behaviour or background. It is our deeply held belief that every child is sent to us for a reason.

Because of this, Catholic schools are living examples of inclusion and equity. In Catholic schools, all are welcome and all are cherished.

Another key aspect of having this core value of love at the centre of our culture is that forgiveness and reconciliation are our way of life. In Catholic schools there is no mistake a child could make that cannot be forgiven or reconciled.

With Jesus as our role model we work hard to ensure that our students are supported to make the right choices and to stand up to do the right thing, even when it is difficult.

It is our privilege in our Catholic schools to be able to educate the whole child. Sir Mason Durie’s Māori holistic

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model of health and wellbeing, Te Whare Tapa Whā, suggests four aspects of hauora/well-being: mental, physical, relationships and spirituality. Spirituality (taha wairua) is the oft-forgotten or renamed facet of this model as people often struggle to marry the concept of spirituality with aspects of our very secular world. In Catholic schools we are able to help our children form and grow their spirituality. We pray together, we attend Mass, we talk openly about our faith journeys and religious education is one of our core subjects.

Our Catholic schools are also places of excellence.

Whether it be academic, sporting, cultural or artistic gifts we believe that God has given every child special talents and it is our job to discover, encourage and nurture them.

It is no coincidence that Catholic schools tend to have outstanding academic results and a raft of achievements in other areas. This stems from our ability to see the best in our students and push them to achieve their dreams, and God’s dream for them.

A Catholic school is something that people choose. Our staff choose to work here, parents choose us as their preferred option for schooling, because we all stand on common ground. We share a set of values and we share a vision for the life we want to build for our tamariki.

These shared values form us into a strong community that genuinely cares for each other. This means that when things go wrong in life, the community steps in. Catholic schools have well-earned reputations as places that know how to support families in times of crisis or need.

Jesus left a simple blueprint for us. Love God and love each other. It is this same blueprint that guides all we do in Catholic schooling, and that is the “something special” that permeates our schools.

Photo supplied: St Patrick’s Te Awamutu

ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS

BY FR MARK FIELD PARISH OF THE HOLY FAMILY AND VICAR FOR SCHOOLS If you look carefully at the edge of a United Kingdom £2 coin you will see the words, “STANDING ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS.” This saying is attributed to the thinker Sir Isaac Newton, who wrote, “If we can see further, it is because we are standing on the shoulders of giants.”

When reflecting on the great gift that is Catholic education in our diocese, we are indeed standing on the shoulders of giants: those who have established, staffed and led our Catholic schools. Among those “giants” are the many religious orders which founded almost all the Catholic schools in our diocese. (In more recent times, a number of schools have been established without a religious order staffing the school.)

The religious sisters and brothers who established the schools of our diocese, in conjunction with parishes and diocesan authorities, did so with a great commitment to Catholic education and to the advancement of Catholic young people, often in a society with a strong anti-Catholic bias. Some religious came from overseas, especially Ireland, Australia and France. For some, their training for the classroom had been short and inadequate, and university degrees were often completed extramurally, while managing full-time teaching loads, sports coaching and even boarding duties. State funding for Catholic schools was very limited, and, until integration, religious received stipends rather than salaries. For the sisters especially, the income earned by the member(s) of the community who taught music was essential for their sustenance. Living and teaching conditions for religious were often very basic.

Sister Colleen Dempsey, RSJ, writes on the Josephite website about the establishment of the Catholic school at Matatā: “Mary MacKillop sent the first Josephite Community, Sisters Xavier Molony, Francis Fitzgerald and Louis Hoare in 1890 to work alongside the Mill Hill

Photo supplied.

Fathers. They arrived in Matata on 9th February 1891 and as there was neither convent nor school ready for use, they stayed at the local hotel. A two-storied building with accommodation for Sisters and boarders on the upper floor and schoolroom on the ground floor was built. The school was opened on 3 August 1891 with a roll of 52 pupils. The attendance at school fluctuated. In 1895 Sister Xavier wrote about the cold experienced in the school.”

Similar stories can be told about the establishment of other schools in our diocese – and yet, despite these challenges and privations experienced by the religious teachers, the contribution that Catholic schools have made to our nation’s story is immense.

Wherever there is light, there is shadow, and we are all too aware now of the incidences of physical and sexual abuse that occurred in our Catholic schools through the years. These cannot be justified, are a tragic part of the story, and must never be repeated. Our national safeguarding strategy seeks to ensure that this sad part of our history does not happen again – and to promote justice and healing for those affected.

We must also acknowledge the lay women and men who now staff our Catholic schools, particularly those who were involved in our school system in the transition time between religious and lay leadership, and through the process of integration into the state education system.

They were not easy times and the efforts of these “giants” during this time were also heroic.

Challenges remain – and they are many – yet our schools do stand on the shoulders of these founding giants, and – hopefully – we can see further than ever before. Our Catholic schools network in our diocese, which these religious orders established, continues to be a great gift for us, and provides us with many opportunities for the ongoing evangelisation of our young people and their families.

“Hopefully we can see further than ever before.”

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IS SOCIAL MEDIA DESTROYING OUR PERSONALITIES?

BY SAM BREBNER MANAGER OF MINISTRIES TO YOUNG PEOPLE, CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF AUCKLAND, AND AQUINAS COLLEGE ALUMNUS When we are growing up, our sense of right and wrong is largely shaped by whatever our parents praise or punish us for. The style of clothing we wear is largely determined by whatever is considered fashionable by those around us. The career we pursue is usually prompted by what other people have told us we are (and aren’t) good at.

Social feedback is an enormous shaper of human identity and this feedback usually has one goal – conformity.

That might sound scary, but conformity is often a really good thing. For human society to function, conformity is essential.

Imagine you’re a human living 10,000 years ago. It’s time for the weekly deer hunt and your tribe has come up with a plan. You’ll surround a herd of deer and most of the hunters will hide ahead. Then, a few of you will rush the deer from behind, driving the startled herd straight into the waiting spears of your fellow tribesmen.

However, on this particular hunt, you get a bit overexcited.

You rush the deer before the hunters ahead are in position and the herd escapes. The hunting party is left emptyhanded.

Your lack of conformity has cost the tribe its dinner. In the hours, days, and weeks to come, your tribe is going to

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let you know exactly what they think about this. The other hunters are going to make angry comments, the villagers back home won’t share their deer-less stew with you, and you might not get invited on the next deer hunt. What all of this negative feedback is going to reinforce, loud and clear, is that you need to conform.

This kind of feedback holds our society together. It’s not okay to kick someone just because they are walking in front of you way too slowly. If it was, human existence would get very violent, very quickly.

So, if you do kick a slow walker, you’re going to get negative feedback. The person you kick might kick you back. People around you on the street will likely convey their disapproval of your action. You might even get arrested for assault.

Is the feedback system perfect? Absolutely not. Feedback can perpetuate corrupt power structures and be downright oppressive. But in day-to-day life in a democratic society, social feedback often has positive results and it’s fairly manageable. At least, it was until social media came along.

PERSONALITY BY CONSENSUS The invention of social media has radically changed the feedback game. We went from getting a few pieces of social feedback every day to suddenly getting dozens, hundreds, of pieces of feedback every time we log into

our social media app of choice.

Everything on social media is a form of feedback. Not just the likes and comments you get, but also the likes and comments you don’t get, the likes and comments other people get, your follower count, their follower count, what other people post and what other people don’t post.

This never-ending stream of feedback gets logged by our brain in its quest to ensure our survival by understanding what is socially acceptable.

Recently, I was listening to a podcast by Tim Ferriss where he brought up the fascinating and terrifying idea of “personality by consensus.” Someone who spends a lot of time on social media is going to “have certain behaviors rewarded, certain behaviors punished, certain behaviors left unapplauded.” Over time, Ferris argued, that person’s personality will be shaped by all this feedback. They will do more and more of these behaviours and less and less of the stuff that doesn’t get rewarded.

This wouldn’t be so bad if the behaviours that were rewarded on social media were always the things that would help us become a better person. However, a lot of what receives positive feedback on social media isn’t what is good, beautiful or true. More often it’s what is entertaining, attractive or whatever your audience already agrees with.

When I post this article on social media, it’s going to get less likes and comments than a hilarious meme would. If I were to let that shape my behaviour, I would post more and more hilarious memes and write fewer thoughtprovoking blog posts. Honestly, it sounds like a no-brainer – way less work for way more social media engagement.

However, it wouldn’t make me a better person. Instead of improving as a writer and developing my thinking around important topics, it would lead me to a far shallower existence.

The ultimate danger of personality by consensus is that it strips away the complex cocktail of ideas and characteristics that make up an actual human person. Ferris points out that people who have been shaped by a lot of social media feedback wind up becoming “caricatures of themselves.” They pander to their audience, not just with their content, but with their personality.

FIGHTING THE FEEDBACK So, how do we prevent our personalities from being destroyed by the social media machine? Ferris thinks we need to start by recognising that “if you are constantly exposed to these technologies, you are completely outgunned.” You’re up against teams of engineers, neuroscientists, and an algorithm that knows exactly

Photo supplied: Unsplash.com

which feedback buttons to press in your brain to keep you coming back for more.

Social media is like an all-you-can-eat smorgasbord of entertainment and social feedback. The temptation is to take our seat at the buffet and mindlessly pig out. But if you do that again and again, then over time, it’s going to change you, and not in a healthy way.

If you want to stay healthy when you’re dining at a buffet, you need to exercise self-control. This starts by setting some boundaries around how much time you spend on social media. Yes, it’s a Luddite solution to the problem, by it’s a lot easier to fight against the feedback when your brain is only marinading in it for thirty minutes each day, rather than three hours.

Beyond that, we need to cultivate an awareness of how social media is shaping our personalities, so that we can intentionally rebel against it.

Take the example of a woman who gets an exceptional number of likes the first time she posts a photo of herself in a swimsuit at the beach. All that positive feedback is going to prompt a desire to post more pictures like this one and, in doing so, get more positive feedback. However, a woman who understands the impact of this feedback, but knows she doesn’t want the way she expresses herself online to be reduced to how good she looks in a swimsuit, is going to be able to fight back against the desire to post more images like this.

We need to know what we want from social media and who we want to be. I want to be someone who writes about meaningful topics in a meaningful way. When I share an article online and it gets one-tenth of the amount of engagement that a spicy meme would, I remind myself of this. I don’t want to be someone who posts meme all day. I want to be a writer.

Social feedback is usually a good thing, in the right dose.

However, we’re in a constant state of overdose. We’re dining at the more-than-you-can-eat social feedback buffet, three meals a day, seven days a week. If we want to survive with our personalities intact, we need to be intentional about how we let social media shape us.

Quiz answers: 1. St Joseph; 2. e) b & c “to draw out” & to “bring up”; 3. “After School” and “Keep cool till after school.”; 4. Gisborne; 5. Suzanne Aubert Catholic School; 6. c) Lyon, France.

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Rugby at St John’s College, Hamilton

HELP THEM GO FASTER

BY MATT GREVATT RELIGIOUS EDUCATION TEACHER, ST JOHN’S COLLEGE It was a great joy to many people around the world, particularly in these days of various pandemic restrictions, to watch the Olympics go ahead. Something is thrilling about the sheer athleticism of sprinters, the agility of the rugby sevens players and the stamina of the rowers.

Watching all of these men and women strive to attain their personal best in hope of gold is something that captivates the world in a way that very few other events do. We admire these people not just for their feats but the drive and discipline that allowed them to arrive at this point. It is for this reason that sport in our Catholic schools is so fundamental to the formation of our student’s character.

The discipline required for any sport at any level allows for our students to learn important life lessons. To become proficient in any aspect of life, but particularly sport, we must set goals and practice, and repeat this action over and over again - even if that thing is simply to remember my sports gear every week. This sense of discipline helps to build virtue and instill a healthy work ethic as it recognises that to be better we must have a plan: no marathon is ever run without one.

This sense of discipline cannot be separated from the aspiration or drive to be better. Sport allows us to aspire to move faster, think quicker, and be better. It allows us to envision ourselves in the future in that premier team or representing the school at a national level. This allows us to be self-reflective to ensure we meet this goal. This

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aspirational outlook allows for the setting of good habits that help to push us into new territory to grow into the person we are created to be, capturing one aspect of Jesus’ words in Matt. 5:48, “So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect” (NABRE). Sport reminds us that by practicing towards an ideal we are more likely to get things right by force of habit when things get tough.

Sport, whether team or individual, prompts us to remember that we belong to and are part of a community and that we are unable to reach any of our goals without the help of others. By its very nature sport is communal: this is seen most keenly in those supporters who turn up on frosty Saturday mornings or in the uniforms that our students wear. While it may seem at times we are the star of the show we must be reminded that many people have sacrificed a great deal for it to happen. As the whakataukī goes: “Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa takatini – My strength is not as an individual, but as a collective.” Sport reminds us that no achievement whether big or small is truly the work of an individual but of the community and we should be grateful for this.

Finally, I would call to mind the words of Eric Liddell the Olympic gold medalist: ”God made me fast. And when I run, I feel his pleasure.” Our school sport is about allowing students to embrace their God-given gifts, therefore if God made them fast, let’s help them go faster!

Photo supplied: St John’s College Hamilton RUGBY (Facebook)

PROPERTY UPDATE

BY GRAHAM ROIL DIOCESAN SCHOOLS PROPERTY MANAGER The Catholic Integrated Schools Office (CISO) is responsible for all integrated school property in the Hamilton Diocese on behalf of the proprietor, Bishop Steve Lowe. Graeme Roil is the schools property and finance manager and he is supported in his team by Lee Jacques, schools office support manager, Chris Patterson, schools office administrator and Maria Collie, attendance dues officer.

The office is responsible for overseeing integrated property in twenty-nine primary schools and four colleges in the diocese under an individual integration agreement for each school but effectively managed as a network. Total student numbers are approximately 8700. Each school receives funding for minor repairs and maintenance (under $5000) and for cyclical maintenance (for example, painting). Everything else is planned for and completed

by CISO. Unlike state schools these property costs in our schools are not fully funded which is the reason parents are required to pay a property levy which is called attendance dues. Our office collects these dues which covers the main costs of loan servicing, compliance costs and building insurance.

In the last six or seven years Graeme, with the support of his team, has been overseeing a very intensive build programme within the network that has seen the full upgrade or replacement of 105 teaching spaces, which is close to a third of our total teaching spaces in the network.

Our priorities have been driven by the need to develop teaching spaces that meet today’s standards which are set down by the Ministry of Education and include such things as heating, ventilation, acoustics and lighting.

The spaces when upgraded are designed to ensure that they can adapt more easily to any changes in education delivery in the future. It is not buildings that drive changes in education, but the spaces do need to be able to adapt or respond more easily to how teachers teach and how children learn.

Suzanne Aubert Catholic School (design concept)

to build a new primary school in Papamoa, the first new primary school in the diocese for twenty years. During lockdown and shortly after we completed all final consenting approvals and then tendered the project. After the sod was turned on June 29 2020 Suzanne Aubert Catholic Primary School was constructed in just seven months in time for opening at the beginning of February 2021.

Changes to building design and standards have also had a large impact, such as earthquake standards that have gradually changed since the 2011 Christchurch earthquake. Thankfully we have not been impacted as much as other dioceses due to the type of buildings in this region. Our largest earthquake work has been at Campion College in Gisborne where effectively over sixty per cent of the college has been rebuilt in the last five years.

We are currently in a major planning phase where we will complete a condition assessment of each school and work with each school’s board of trustees to fully understand what and where our priorities need to be in both the short term and long term. This is a large piece of work that requires an independent inspection of each school which includes all buildings and grounds and we expect this will take about six months to complete.

Outside of this work the Integrated sector was successful in getting government approval of $52m in funding over the next two years. The funding known as the Essential Property Maintenance Package will see a sum of money available to the proprietor for each school to allow a oneoff project. The amount is dependent on roll size and will vary from $50000 to $400000 for each school. For this diocese the total amounts to $5.2m and we are currently working with each school to identify suitable projects for completion.

In addition to all other work at the time 2020 was an exceptionally busy year. In March that year, just prior to lockdown, we received the education minister’s approval

Photo supplied: Suzanne Aubert Catholic School Papamoa (Facebook)

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St Joseph’s Fairfield, St Pius X Melville, St Mary’s Gisborne, St Joseph’s Paeroa, St Joseph’s Te Kuiti, St Mary’s Putaruru, Aquinas College Tauranga, St Michael’s Rotorua, Campion College Gisborne, St Patrick’s Taupo, St John’s College Hamilton, Bishop Edward Gaines Tokoroa, St Anthony’s Huntly, Sacred Heart Girls’ College Hamilton, St Joseph’s Waihi, St Joseph’s Whakatane, St Columba’s Frankton, St Joseph’s Te Aroha, St Mary’s Otorohanga, Suzanne Aubert Papamoa, St Joseph’s Matamata, St Peter’s Cambridge, St Patrick’s Te Awamutu, John Paul College Rotorua, St Thomas More Mount Maunganui, St Joseph’s Morrinsville, St Mary’s Tauranga, St Mary’s Rotorua, St Joseph’s Matata, St Joseph’s Opotiki, St Paul’s Ngaruawahia, St Patrick’s Taumarunui, Marian Hamilton East, St Peter Chanel Te Rapa, Jubilee Catholic Early Childhood Centre Hamilton East, and Our Place Catholic Preschool Frankton.