{"id":4934,"date":"2013-07-23T02:20:00","date_gmt":"2013-07-23T02:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/opsisters.org.nz\/preview\/2013\/07\/23\/as-stars-for-all-eternity\/"},"modified":"2023-05-10T02:53:02","modified_gmt":"2023-05-10T02:53:02","slug":"as-stars-for-all-eternity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/opsisters.org.nz\/preview\/2013\/07\/23\/as-stars-for-all-eternity\/","title":{"rendered":"As Stars for All Eternity"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nAddress to parents on July 17, 2013<\/span><\/u><\/b><\/div>\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
\nWith the feast of Our Holy
\nFather St. Dominic around the corner I wish to begin my talk tonight by
\nrecalling the shining example he gave to us his daughters, which we endeavour
\nto follow in the education of your children.<\/span><\/div>\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
\n<\/o:p><\/div>\n
\n\u2022         
\n<\/span><\/span>At his baptism, Saint Dominic\u2019s
\ngodmother saw a star shining on his forehead, symbolising the light and
\nguidance he would give to the world. <\/span><\/o:p><\/div>\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
\n\u2022         
\n<\/span><\/span>Part of our school\u2019s mission,
\nas stated in the handbook, is to prepare \u201cthe Catholics of the future\u201d who will
\n\u201clead their fellow citizens to the Church and to eternal life.\u201d Like Saint
\nDominic, they must be stars helping sailors to find their way at sea. <\/span><\/o:p><\/div>\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
\n\u2022         
\n<\/span><\/span>A star attracts by its beauty
\nand guides by its position. We want our girls\u2019 lives to shine with the virtues
\nand traditions that are lost to the modern world, and we want their souls to be
\nfully oriented towards God, the pole around which all must revolve, so as to
\nguide others to Him.<\/span> <\/span>This is how they will be stars, like Saint Dominic, to guide the
\nworld.<\/span> <\/span><\/o:p><\/div>\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
\n\u2022         
\n<\/span><\/span>Among the traditions which the
\nworld often disregards are languages, music and the feminine skills of sewing
\nand cooking. Learning different languages reminds the girls that they are part
\nof the Catholic, which means universal, Church by giving them a connection with
\nother members of the mystical body both in heaven and on earth.  For example, on their trip to New Caledonia
\nthis year the IGCSE French class were able both to sing Gregorian chant in
\nLatin, now seldom heard even in Catholic countries, and also to speak French
\nwith other traditional Catholics.  <\/span><\/o:p><\/div>\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
\n<\/a><\/div>\n

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\n<\/a><\/div>\n

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\n<\/div>\n

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\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
\n\u2022         
\n<\/span><\/span>Through monitoring our pupils\u2019
\nbook-work and diary keeping, and by activities such as the upcoming cooking and
\ncraft competitions we encourage the girls to develop the skills necessary to
\ncreate an ordered, bright and beautiful home, the building block of society, which
\ndepends on the mother for its survival. We want the girls to take pride in
\ntheir work, to be able to organise themselves and keep things in order, to use
\ntheir imagination and sense of beauty to make a happy home for themselves and
\nothers. We are also working towards fostering responsibility, generosity and
\nselflessness among the girls through the <\/span>e<\/span>xercise of
\nteam spirit, leadership and co-operation in these inter-house
\ncompetitions.  Membership in the Children
\nof Mary Sodality and participation in its various activities will also help in
\nthis regard.<\/span><\/o:p><\/div>\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
\n\u2022         
\n<\/span><\/span>We do need to find the balance
\nbetween the physical and the spiritual, the formation of the body and the
\nsoul.  We have two netball teams entered
\nin the inter school competitions this year and the girls are on a fitness
\nregime each lunch time.  The girls are
\ncoming second in their respective grades which is a good achievement.  We have also had inter-house competitions in
\nnetball and tabloid sports this year so the body is not being neglected.<\/span><\/o:p><\/div>\n
\n
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\n<\/a><\/div>\n
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\n<\/a><\/div>\n

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\n<\/a><\/div>\n

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\n\u2022         
\n<\/span><\/span>Another
\nopportunity for physical exercise for the girls is the yearly summer camp. It
\nis of course also a part of their spiritual formation and it is because we are
\nemphasising the importance of generosity and zeal that a
\nmissionary theme has been chosen for the camp and some of our upcoming
\ninter-house competitions.  This year also
\nmarks the 175th<\/sup> anniversary of Catholicism in New Zealand so it all
\nties in perfectly.  The visits of the
\nrespective sights where Bishop Pompallier worked and lived will put into
\nperspective what each one of them has been learning about him in class and help
\nthem to trace the roots of their faith in their beautiful homeland.  <\/span><\/o:p><\/div>\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\n\u2022         
\n<\/span><\/span>We have also chosen St Kateri
\nTekakwitha as our patroness as she was a young woman who modelled the virtues
\nof love of God and neighbour, humility, obedience, patience, purity, and the
\nspirit of sacrifice.  Like Father
\nBochkoltz said in his sermon on Sunday \u201cWe need the spirit of sacrifice in our
\nyouth to change the world\u201d.  We hope that
\nthrough the talks and activities on camp the girls will further develop these
\nqualities.   A lot of work is put into making
\nthe camp an occasion of many graces, so the girls should be encouraged to come and
\nshould make every effort to avail themselves of this opportunity.  We have arranged for the camp to be straight
\nafter school ends, so all the girls should be able to attend, including those
\nfrom outside of Wanganui.  There are many
\nplaces that do not have such a grace, and we hope that the girls appreciate the
\ntime and effort given by the priests and sisters for this event which is geared
\nsolely towards their character formation. 
\nFor your information the camp costs can be covered by chocolate selling so
\nmoney should not be an issue and the worries of too much travelling can be
\nallayed as the majority of the camp will be spent at our camp site at Thames in
\nthe Coromandel area. <\/span><\/o:p><\/div>\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
\nAs Mother Mary Micaela constantly
\ntells us, we must always go forward.<\/span>  <\/span>So
\nwhere are we heading in the future\u2026<\/span><\/div>\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
\n<\/o:p><\/div>\n
\n\u2022         
\n<\/span><\/span>To start off I would just like
\nto give you an update from our novitiate in Tynong, Australia.  Currently we have 5 postulants, 4 canonical
\nnovices and 2 second year novices who are all working towards gaining an
\ninternationally recognised teaching qualification through our very own
\nteachers\u2019 college which we have been able to establish there \u2013 the only
\nTraditional Catholic Teachers\u2019 College in the world.  This has been a miraculous achievement and
\nwill be very beneficial for the future; already we have postulants lined up for
\nnext year, including our first very own \u201ckiwifruit\u201d from the school, Miss Smith.
<\/span><\/o:p><\/div>\n
\n\u2022         
\n<\/span><\/span>Last month
\nwe had a young lady from America stay to help us for a month and today, a 15 year old Swiss girl arrived to spend six weeks with us improving
\nher English. She is a pupil at a Dominican School in France. Like our voyage to
\nNew Caledonia, this is an opportunity for the girls to learn the reality of the
\nCommunion of Saints: that Catholics everywhere are one body and share a common
\nculture, expressed in different ways. <\/span><\/o:p><\/div>\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
\n\u2022         
\n<\/span><\/span>We have more
\nboarders coming next year which means we will have to apply for a formal  Boarding House license,
\nwhereas so far, we have only been able to offer what they call \u201chomestay\u201d accommodation.<\/span><\/o:p><\/div>\n
\n
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\n<\/a><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
\n\u2022         
\n<\/span><\/span>English is being improved in
\nboth schools by the introduction of a more thematic approach at the junior
\nlevels. This approach incorporates the study of poetry, novels, and plays
\nchosen for the noble ideas and examples of virtue expressed therein. Grammar,
\nspelling and writing are studied not in isolation, but in relation to these
\nliterary texts and themes. This summer, Sister Mary Jacinta will visit the Dominican
\nSisters at Post Falls, Idaho and the Society school at St Mary\u2019s, Kansas, to
\ntap into their curriculum and take what is useful from them to incorporate into
\nour methods here.  <\/span><\/o:p><\/div>\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
\n\u2022         
\n<\/span><\/span>Next year, we also hope to
\nintroduce compulsory summer reading to increase the pupils\u2019 desire for this
\npastime.  We endeavour to give the girls
\nmore ideas of suitable leisure activities as it is evident that some of them
\nare spending too much time in front of the television and computer screen,
\nwhich is not only harmful for the brain but also inculcates false ideals and
\nbad examples\u2014thus undoing the work we are trying to accomplish with the English
\ncurriculum and in fact, through all of our teaching. <\/span><\/o:p><\/div>\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
\n\u2022         
\n<\/span><\/span>Another landmark in our English
\nprogramme is that we have entered the Form 3’s and 4’s in the National Spelling
\nBee and were informed last week that two girls have made the regionals, which
\nwill take place in Wellington on August 19th. <\/span><\/o:p><\/div>\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
\n\u2022         
\n<\/span><\/span>Father Fullerton pointed out on his recent visit that
\nmusic is an important element of a child\u2019s formation. On her recent trip to the
\nStates, Mother Mary Rose spoke with Dr Childs of St Mary\u2019s in Kansas, gathered
\nresources and is working towards reforming our Music curriculum. The new
\ncurriculum will be run throughout the primary and secondary schools to
\nencourage the pupils to better their musical abilities, both in singing and in
\nplaying musical instruments. It will also include the study of the history of
\nmusic. <\/span><\/o:p><\/div>\n
\n
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\n<\/a><\/div>\n

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\n<\/a><\/div>\n

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\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
\n\u2022         
\n<\/span><\/span>Mother Mary  Rose is hoping to have little concerts at the
\nend of each term for the pupils to perform in, and is working on increasing their
\nrepertoire of religious and folk songs to give the girls an appreciation of beautiful
\nmusic. <\/span>As
\na first step, a St Dominic\u2019s College choir has been formed this year of
\nSisters, pupils and ex pupils. We have also had our annual music competition
\nwhich as always was much enjoyed by the judge, Mrs Ennis, as well as by pupils,
\nparents and staff.<\/span> <\/span>Many pupils also choose to be involved in external music lessons and
\nactivities, and among them this year one is competing for a music
\nscholarship and another will perform in a Piano Competition tomorrow.  The girls will also be visiting the Broadview
\nRest home early August to sing some of the folk songs that they have learnt this
\nyear to the elderly.<\/span><\/o:p><\/div>\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
\n\u2022         
\n<\/span><\/span>We are also working on other
\nsubject areas. We intend to continue entering our students in the US National
\nLatin Exam, which our girls sat for the first time this year, with two
\nreceiving gold medals, one silver, and several commendations. We are looking
\ninto purchasing new geography books with a focus on God\u2019s physical world, the
\nscience department has received a $200 grant for new equipment, and a
\nbenefactor has kindly offered to pay for some Sisters to travel overseas during
\nour holidays to receive help from the Dominican Sisters there in their
\nparticular fields.   <\/span><\/o:p><\/div>\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
\n\u2022         <\/span><\/span>Bishop Moran, who brought the
\nfirst Dominican Sisters to New Zealand in 1871, wanted them \u201cto enrich the
\npeople, in the midst of the ephemeral, constantly changing patterns of life
\ntoday, with the religious and cultural life of the old world, and encourage
\nthem to hold fast to the traditions which have proved so valuable in the past.\u201d
\nLike him, we want our children to learn the faith and the cultural traditions
\nof their ancestors which are even less appreciated today than in the 19th
\ncentury. We are searching far and wide for traditional materials\u2014books, songs,
\ncraft projects and more\u2014which will help us to form souls in the traditional
\nspirit of the Catholic Church. In this way, they will be able to instruct the
\nrest of the world, and as the Holy Ghost said in Ecclesiastes, \u201cThose who
\ninstruct others to justice will shine like stars for all eternity.\u201d  May St Dominic be our star and our guide and
\nmake us his faithful daughters.<\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Address to parents on July 17, 2013 With the feast of Our Holy Father St. Dominic around the corner I wish to begin my talk tonight by recalling the shining example he gave to us his daughters, which we endeavour to follow in the education of your children. \u2022          At his baptism, Saint Dominic\u2019s godmother … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4934","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-apostolate","infinite-scroll-item","masonry-post","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/opsisters.org.nz\/preview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4934","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/opsisters.org.nz\/preview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/opsisters.org.nz\/preview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opsisters.org.nz\/preview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opsisters.org.nz\/preview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4934"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/opsisters.org.nz\/preview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4934\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5256,"href":"https:\/\/opsisters.org.nz\/preview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4934\/revisions\/5256"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/opsisters.org.nz\/preview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4934"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opsisters.org.nz\/preview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4934"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opsisters.org.nz\/preview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4934"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}