Tena koutou katoa. Nga mihi nui atawhai.
It’s Carmel Day this week!! This is the day that the college comes together as a Catholic learning community to celebrate our heritage and our Mercy tradition.
We begin the day with our Carmel Day Mass and, it is during this celebration of the Eucharist that we acknowledge students, staff and people in our wider community who have given generously to our college.
After this more formal ritual, we let the fun and frivolity reign! The students and staff, in their House and Atawhai groups, have been practising up a storm in these preceding weeks, to give it their all in a song and dance routine that is loud enough to lift the gym rafters. The staff put on their own item and, as long as we are able to laugh at ourselves, the students love our valiant attempts at a choreographed dance routine.
We have celebrity judges but the cheers for the House that comes 6th is as loud as for the one who comes first so it’s more friendly rivalry rather than a serious competition.
This is one of those special days in the annual school calendar where formal classroom learning is replaced with the joy of being a learning community, sharing our many talents that are not so easily displayed in the usual classroom setting.
Learning is supposed to be collaborative and even joyful – well, it definitely is on Carmel Day!
‘What we learn with joy, we never forget.’
