Aquinas College Tauranga

🌭 Church Renovation Fundraiser 🌭

Support the renovation of St Mary Immaculate Church by grabbing a sausage at our Special Character Committee's lunchtime sausage sizzle on Thursday, 18 June.

$2.50 each or 2 for $4
💳 Cash and EFTPOS available.

Bring your friends, enjoy a tasty lunch, and help support this important community project. ❤️

Find out more about the church fundraising campaign or make a donation via this link: https://tinyurl.com/h7udvfp5

💚 Student Wellbeing Programme: Seasons for Growth 💛

We’re proud to once again offer Seasons for Growth at Aquinas College — a trusted programme supporting young people as they navigate change, loss, or grief.

Starting in Term 3, this fully funded programme runs for eight weeks during Period 1 each Thursday.

Led by trained, police-vetted facilitators, students will take part in small, supportive sessions that create space to explore what they’re experiencing — including the emotional, social, cognitive, physical and spiritual impacts.

Limited places available:
Only 12 spaces are offered, so early registration is important.

How to enrol:
If you feel this programme could support your child, complete this referral form:
🔗 https://tinyurl.com/2w5eywcn

Need to know more?
Kristen Gilbert (School Counsellor) – [email protected]
Tracey Maris (Growing Through Grief Coordinator) – [email protected]

🏉🌭 A Big Day of Sport and Support Tomorrow! 🌭🏑

Get along and cheer on our top rugby players as the Te Taumata 1st XV takes on the Barbarians in the final of the Sam Cane Cup tomorrow. Kick-off is at Otūmoetai College at 12:00pm, and the team would love to see the sideline packed with Aquinas supporters! 💚💛

If you're near Mitre 10 tomorrow, grab a sausage and help our hockey teams on their journey to Nationals.

🌭 Boys 1st XI Sausage Sizzle
📍 Mitre 10 Gate Pa
⏰ 9:00am–3:00pm

🌭 Girls 1st XI Sausage Sizzle
📍 Mitre 10 Pāpāmoa
⏰ 9:00am–4:30pm

The boys head to Dunedin later next term, while the girls will travel to Whangārei for their national tournaments.

🌺✨ Celebrating Sāmoan Language Week ✨🌺

Last Friday, our staff experienced the warmth, joy, and spirit of service at the heart of Sāmoan culture as students prepared and shared a traditional to'onai lunch to celebrate Sāmoan Language Week.

Led by Marley Mackay, our Assistant Principal - Middle School, students of Sāmoan heritage and cousin nations welcomed staff with music, song, hospitality, and delicious mea'ai (food).

The occasion was about far more than enjoying delicious food. It celebrated the values of aiga (family), service, and community, bringing to life the Sāmoan proverb “O le ala i le p**e o le tautua” — “The path to leadership is through service.”

Throughout the week, students and staff also enjoyed learning Sāmoan phrases and taking part in activities that celebrated the language and culture.

Fa'afetai lava — thank you very much to everyone who helped us learn, connect, and celebrate Sāmoan culture. 💚💛

A reminder that registration will soon close for next Monday’s Aquinas Open Day.

Register your spot at: https://tinyurl.com/yj5x53p6

A magical opening night! 🌹✨

Our 2026 production, Beauty and the Beast Jr, opened to a full house last night.

Congratulations to our incredible cast, crew, staff, supporters and volunteers who have gone above and beyond to bring this magical story to life.

Haven’t seen it yet? Here’s a sneak peek! 📸

A special thank you to Creative New Zealand for its generous support. 💚💛

🧡🧶 Making a Difference this Winter 🧶🧡
A big thank you to our community for your generous support of the 2026 Vinnies Youth Winter Wellness Initiative.

Last month, the donated blankets were delivered to the St. Vincent de Paul Support Centre, where they will be distributed to those in need.

We are especially proud to share that our contribution included a beautiful hand-knitted blanket, created by past and present students and staff of Aquinas College.

Your kindness is making a real difference in the lives of others.

It has been a busy start to the year for our Aquinas Vinnies Youth group.

Each month, students visit residents at Copper Crest Retirement Village, offering companionship, conversation, and a listening ear. Inspired by the mission of St Vincent de Paul, they seek to see Christ in every person they meet, building relationships grounded in dignity, compassion and respect. At the same time, they support Copper Crest’s Attitude of Living Well model, which values meaningful connection, joy and a sense of belonging.

Earlier this year, the group also held a workshop to create a basket of crosses for parishioners attending Palm Sunday Mass.

We are proud of these students who continue to put their faith into action through service to others. 💚💛

🔧⚙️ EPro8 SUCCESS! ⚙️🔧
Congratulations to our senior EPro8 team, who are heading to the Waikato/BOP semi-finals after a dominant victory in the local heat!

The Year 12 team of Ben Talbot, Patrick Nelis, Jin Tumbokon and Oliver Laurie topped a field of 11 teams, winning by an impressive five-point margin in the Tauranga heat of the interschool competition.

Over 2.5 hours, teams tackled a series of science, engineering and problem-solving challenges, including designing and building a cart and lift system using electronics and construction kits.

The boys now travel to Hamilton later this month to compete in the regional semi-finals against the best teams from across Waikato and the Bay of Plenty.

A special shoutout also to our Year 7 and 8 EPro8 teams, who recently represented Aquinas with pride and competed strongly against local intermediate schools.

Good luck to our senior team as they take on the next challenge!

Tēnā koutou, Aquinas whānau!

Thanks to your votes, Aquinas has been awarded a $3,200 grant from the Bay of Plenty Regional Council School Sustainability and Resilience Fund. 🙏

This funding will help us:
◾Expand our vegetable gardens for Kura Kai cook-ups
◾Install a rainwater harvesting system
◾Grow and plant native species to enhance biodiversity

These projects will create even more opportunities for our students to learn, grow and care for our environment while strengthening sustainability across our kura.

As always, we’re incredibly grateful for your support! 💚💛

Mōrena AC whānau, please note that Kenny John’s Lunch Truck is unavailable this Wednesday, June 10. Ngā mihi nui.