Responsible for continuing the history and traditions of Catherine McAuley, Foundress of the Sisters of Mercy, students of St Mary’s College actively live Mercy Values.
St Mary's College Alumni 'Star' Newsletter
December 2021
FINAL REMINDER: STMW Alumni Christmas Tour and Networking event on Wednesday 15 December, at 5.30pm. REGISTER TODAY
Kia Ora and welcome,
Over the past month, we have received an outstanding response to the launch of the St Mary's College Alumni.
I wish to thank those of you who took the opportunity to share the love, by forwarding the new Alumni information. Sharing is caring!
Through this pandemic, it is now more important to reconnect and reflect with your Sisterhood and those who helped create those memories. Come and join us at the St Mary's College Alumni event on Wednesday 15 December, registrations close on Monday 6 December.
St Mary's College's new Alumni's purpose is to reconnect with both current and old students, parents, caregivers, current and past staff, and the wider college community. We welcome anyone who has an interest in supporting and engaging with the college.
I wish to take this moment to thank everyone who has made it possible with the recent launch of the St Mary's College Alumni.
May God bless and keep you safe during the holiday season and all through the year.
Our next newsletter is due out at the start of February 2022.
Fireside chat with Andrew Murray (St Mary's College Principal) and Catherine Fyfe (Board of Proprietors Chair).
FAREWELL TO YEAR 13 STUDENTS
We farewelled our wonderful Year 13 leavers a few weeks ago. We wish them all well and have appreciated their individuality, creativity, kindness, talent, and company over the past 5 years.
We welcome all Year 13 students and their families to the St Mary's College Alumni.
Stay in touch with us as we would love to hear what you are going to be doing.
LAST CHANCE TO REGISTER
We invite current and past students, families, teachers, support staff, anyone that has a connection to the college, to the below event. All are welcome.
St Mary's College Alumni Christmas Tour and Networking Event. Wednesday 15 December 2021
5.30 - 7.30 pm, the twilight tour starts at 6 pm
Gabriel Hall, St Mary's College
Guildford Terrace, Thorndon.
We will also honour Sister de Porres at this event as she steps away from the Board of Proprietors as a founding member to enjoy retirement.
The ticket price includes a welcome drink, nibbles, our tour guides, and the organisation and entertainment of the event. The tour starts at 6 pm, with the networking event in Gabriel Hall from 6.30 pm - 7.30 pm.
Tickets sales close on Monday 6 December, 5 pm
Ticket price: $35.00 pp
Refund policy: a full refund will be given prior to ticket sales closing on Monday 6 December 2021. After this date, we will be unable to give you a refund due to catering and other costs. In the event of constraints caused due to Alert levels, you will be advised of a postponement, and funds will be held with the college until we can confirm a new date.
As we journey into the festive season, we remember the Nga Whaea Atawhai o Aotearoa Sisters of Mercy New Zealand. We remember the footsteps of Catherine McAuley and our Sisters each and every day.
Sisters seek to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ by engaging in the works of Mercy, according to the charism of Catherine McAuley. Together with our companions in mission, our vision is for a world where God’s generous love and mercy are experienced by all.
Catherine McAuley founded the Sisters of Mercy in Dublin, Ireland in 1831. From these small beginnings, sisters and their companions in the mission now work in more than 40 countries worldwide.
Sisters of Mercy were the first religious sisters to come to Aotearoa New Zealand arriving in Auckland from Ireland on 9 April 1850. They came in response to a call from wāhine Māori.
From 1850 to 1897 four Mercy Congregations were founded in Aotearoa. On 12 December 2005 the four Congregations of Aotearoa united to become a single Congregation – Nga Whaea Atawhai o Aotearoa Sisters of Mercy New Zealand.
At the heart of the Sisters of Mercy is the focus is their education. Our colleges are committed to the education of young women and girls, providing opportunities for learning which are grounded in gospel values, the founding spirit of Catherine McAuley, and the teachings of the Catholic Church, especially those which affirm dignity and worth of every human person.
Mercy education is aimed at empowering women to achieve their full potential in creating a more just and peaceful world. As embodied in the Charter of every Mercy college, Mercy’s charism has a particular concern for the poor, uneducated, and disadvantaged in whatever cultural or social context it operates.
This decision was inspired by the sisters’ desire to become ‘a new creation for mission’ and underlines the truth that faithfulness to God’s mission means openness to the future.
'My legacy to the Institute is charity: If you preserve the peace and union which have never yet been violated among us, you will feel, even in this world, a happiness that will surprise you and be to you a foretaste of the bliss prepared for every one of you in heaven'
I attended St. Mary’s College from 2007-2012. Ms. Cook was our principal and Ms. Houlahan was our dean.
My most treasured and impactful memories at St. Mary’s were playing for the St. Mary’s basketball team with my now lifelong friends under the guidance and wisdom of our coach (and HOD of Mathematics), Mr. Wilson, the discussions about history and politics in Mrs. Mcinnes history class and learning how to write a sex(y) paragraph (statement, evidence, explanation) in Year 9 English taught by Mrs. Meyer.
It's hard to narrow down any particular memories because my time at St Mary’s was heavily influenced by the many amazing people, fellow students who became lifelong friends, and teachers who gave us the tools, time, and space to find what we enjoyed doing and thrive at it.
Now I hear how St. Mary’s has a broader range of subjects on offer and I’m so jealous at the options girls will have to try new things and extend themselves while receiving a quality education! Tūwhitia te hopo, mairangitia te angitū!
Nāku iti noa
Adair Houia-Ashwell
Solicitor at Kāhui Legal
Board of Proprietors Member, St Mary’s College
St Mary’s College, 2007-2012
The beauty of helping students through a scholarship is that your gift will benefit students where they most need help.
A scholarship can immediately impact students, giving them a chance, or a second chance, to pursue their education. And the effects of that gift – investing in our future leaders – last a lifetime.
Our focus over the coming months is to ensure that the vision and passion of sisterhood through Catherine McAuley's eyes and endeavours continue to educate and empower our young women.
We welcome donations towards,
Scholarships, Growing Great Women! Student Experiences, Equipment and Technology, Teaching and Leadership, Building Infrastructure and Enhancement, Student Financial Hardship, General Board of Proprietors Fund (infrastructure of the college, building upgrades, etc)
Or, in kind.
Can you provide goods and services? There are many ways you can give, other than in
monetary terms.
I would like information about establishing a scholarship, please email or talk to our Alumni Manager.
The St Mary's College Alumni would love to hear from you, join us through the St Mary's College website, our social media channels, or send us an email.
How can you be involved?
Get in touch, we would love it if you reconnected with us,
Spread the word, we want to make sure that all old girls, families, and faculty are aware of this new initiative,
Pay it Forward, and give back to the college community in kind, or through donation.
At St Mary’s College, we are developing and broadening a work experience programme for our senior students. We are asking local businesses and government agencies to support our programme by hosting one or two St Mary’s students for a small number of work experience days. We are particularly looking for employers who are based close to the College in Thorndon/CBD, or those who have a prior connection with us.
Ideally, we are looking for organisations that could host one or two students for some work experience for a total of three to five days (approximately 3-4 hours on each day), with the days spread across several weeks. Our dates are extremely flexible; we can fit in with you. Our students are available anytime between mid-March and mid-September.
The St Mary’s work experience programme forms part of our Pathways subject course for Year 12 and Year 13 students. The course supports students with career planning and making choices about future employment. One way to do this is by giving them the opportunity to see and experience real workplaces and real jobs, first-hand. Some of our students do work experience as part of their formal Gateway programme (structured workplace learning), others are simply exploring and gaining insight into future career options.
If you are able to help us by hosting a student, we would love to hear from you.
Please let us know if you can help, by emailing Anne Paton or phoning us on 04-473-5554 (x850) to discuss further.
Many of you would have lived and breathed sport when you attended college. Sport continues to be an important part of our St Mary's college experience. We continue to develop and thrive at our traditional sports of netball, rugby, basketball, rowing, football, volleyball, and hockey.
We also encourage participation in handball, water polo, futsal, badminton, cricket, golf, kio-rahi, touch, and golf, and place great importance on our large amount of social teams in a number of different sports.
We are very proud that a large number of St Mary's students are selected for either Regional, National or International representation.
Help support our students so that they can continue to excel in this area and have the vital equipment they need to play a good game. Become a sponsor to one of the many sports we offer. To learn more about this opportunity, please email us.
INAUGURAL ST MARY'S COLLEGE ALUMNI BREAKFAST
As we finish the college year, remember to pencil in the below date. Registrations open at the start of February.
Inaugural St Mary's College Alumni Breakfast.
Wednesday 30 March 2022
7.30 - 9.30 am
Banquet Hall, Parliament Buildings
Host: Paul Eagle, MP for Rongotai
Speaker: Dame Fran Wilde
BECOME A VOLUNTEER
Friends of St Mary's College (formerly the St Mary's College Parent Association) is responsible for the hospitality and fundraising at the college.
We are calling for St Mary's College parents to apply for the following positions in 2022;
Chair,
Secretary,
Treasurer,
Second-Hand Uniform Shop Co-ordinator,
Angels Co-ordinator,
Committee Members.
One-off event-specific volunteers
We welcome parents, caregivers, and extended family to volunteer to help us support our college community. To volunteer, join the group, or get on our mailing list to receive the Alumni monthly newsletters, send your email address to the Friends of St Mary's College.
The St Mary’s Old Girls’ Association (SMOGA) is focused on enjoying the friendship of those who have been past pupils of St Mary’s College Wellington. We have a variety of social events during the year and past pupils of all ages are encouraged to attend. We do have a lot of fun and enjoy sharing our lives past and present. While we are having fun we also try to raise money to help the current group of students at the College who are in need.
If you would like more information about these events or would like to join our association then please contact Judy Houlahan by email.
Let us embrace "kaiako" (feeder of knowledge), and embrace leadership that is reciprocal (ie, the teacher and child have opportunities to learn from each other). The spirit of St Mary’s college represents this, we are truly unique, we are all part of one thread, the sharing of knowledge, we are a community that has experiences and memories that span over 170 years.
Today it is so important to network, interact and stay in touch — the alumni network offers students, families, the wider college team a host of benefits. One thing that will always remain is our Sisterhood is solid, it is constant, it is a community of women linked by a common interest.
Let us remember that we are all one, embracing all. May 2022 be filled with peace, prosperity, and love for you. May God's blessings shower upon you and bestow upon each of you a bright, healthy, and peaceful New Year.
Our next newsletter will be distributed in early February 2022. Newsletter submissions close at the end of January 2022.
Nga Mihi,
Sally Dunbar
Alumni Stakeholder and Development Manager
P: +64 4 473 5554
E: sally.dunbar@stmw.school.nz
Disclaimer
While every reasonable effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in this correspondence is complete and accurate, St Mary's College does not represent or warrant the accuracy or completeness of the information, or that this information is suitable for use in every situation. The College, and its directors and officers, do not accept any responsibility or liability arising directly or indirectly from or in connection with your use or reliance on this information, or from any omission in the information.
