28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” 

Matthew 11:28-30

I do not know whether COVID was even a word a year ago. Now the word seems to dominate the news, government policies and the way people live around the world. Currently, New Zealand feels a little bit like a desert island with the ‘enemy’ knocking at the door. As long as the door stays shut, we will enjoy relative normality. This is something we should not take for granted.

Term 2 discovered new phrases and words like ‘nationwide lockdown’, ‘bubble’ and ‘Level 4’. As a school community, I am really impressed and appreciative of our response over this time. Some of the more significant achievements are listed below.

• Teachers provided online learning; many teachers started the day after Level 4 was announced on that momentous Monday.
• A support programme was created by staff for staff, to help with the delivery of online learning.
• All students had a device two days after Level 4 was announced. A team of staff made home deliveries.
• LAC House created their own ‘bubble’, and 26 International students were looked after by boarding deans over the school holidays.
• Providing supervision at LAC for children of parents who were requiring support under Level 3, after we came out of Level 4.
• Ongoing communication with the school community.

A big thank you to so many but in particular to our teachers. 

The Bible verse above is one that I have dwelled on, on a number of occasions. For all that COVID-19 and this world can, and will, throw at us, there is a bigger picture; which is deeply reassuring, as long as we are anchored in His love.

Brendan van Oostveen, Principal

LAC Open Day will be on Wednesday, 29th July.

We invite you and your friends who are considering schools for their children in 2021 to our Open Day next week. 

During the day, guided day tours will occur at 9.30 am, 11.30 am, 12.30 pm and 2.15 pm. Mrs Aiono will lead the tours where you will see the school going about it's usual routine. Tours can be booked via the LAC website or by ringing the office – 06 354 1059. A pack with information about day school and boarding will be made available.

There is also an evening programme, from 6.00 pm – 8.00 pm in the school cafeteria. The programme will begin at 6.00 pm with an introduction from the Principal then the Prefects will take visitors in groups for a guided tour around main areas of the school. Teachers and students will be available to speak with you. The programme will finish with light refreshments in the cafeteria.

The Parent-Teacher Interviews will be held on Wednesday, the 12th of August. Please note the change of date from Tuesday, the 11th of August.  

We are continuing with the booking system used last year. This will allow you to organize your time and the teachers you wish to see. It is a ‘first come, first serve’ basis so once the event is open, please get online and book. The event will be accessible from Tuesday 28th July at 9.30 am onwards and closes on the 11th of August. You will be unable to book online on Wednesday, the 12th of August. 

Please book only 1 slot to talk with your child’s teacher.  As well as that, if your child has multiple subjects with one teacher, please do not book a slot for each subject - just 1.

To access the booking system go online to:

• www.schoolinterviews.co.nz
• Click ‘Make a Booking’ at the top right-hand side of the page
• Check your email for the access code early next week
• Follow instructions from there

Interviews in LAC Cafeteria 

• 2.00 - 5.00 pm - Pre-booked Interviews
• 5.30 - 7.30 pm - Pre-booked Interviews

The school day will finish at 1.30 pm (no period 5), and school buses have been organised to pick students up at approximately 1.40 pm. 

Priority booking will go to Day school parents first. If you are a Year 7 - 8 parent/caregiver, please book to meet with either Mrs Ngarepa OR Mrs Paki, depending on your child’s teacher. If you are a boarding parent, the boarding dorm staff will be attending the interviews on your behalf, or alternate arrangements will be made with them. 

If you have any questions on how to go about booking, feel free to contact Tamar Aiono on tamara@lac.school.nz or via the school number: 06 354 1059 ext. 707. Alternatively, you may phone the front office for assistance as well.

Tamar Aiono, Assistant Principal

We would like to invite you to attend the LAC whole school cross country on Tuesday 4th August. The race starts at 2.15 pm. If you are coming to watch, please park at the front of the school; do not drive in the front gates as this is the start and finish line.

A good place to watch is on our front lawn/front fence. You will be able to see the students on their way out and on their way back in towards the finish line. 

This is a whole school event, even if your child is a walker. It's about getting out there and having a go. Students need to bring their running gear to get changed into at lunchtime. Sports shoes are needed and House colours encouraged.

We are looking forward to a great afternoon.

This year, Year 10 students have been participating in the Mastery element of the Invictus programme. We have been working in our Invictus classes each week to discuss wellbeing, and the role that learning a new skill plays in fostering a strong sense of self-worth and confidence.

Over the next 4 weeks, Year 10 are working with a Mentor in an Invictus Master Class. Through this Masterclass, their Mentor will support them to learn a new skill. Some of the Masterclasses include: Safe horse handling, Cooking cheesecake, Dealing with the unexpected, piano, Bible Journaling, Guitar, Photography and Mind games. While participating in their Master Class the students will produce a short film about their learning. 

On Wednesday 19th August at 7 pm in the LAC cafeteria, we will host the Invictus Film Festival where students will show the film they have made. All Year 10 families are invited to celebrate this evening.

Mrs Oliva Korte, PE & Health Leader of Learning

With the global pandemic, nearly all sporting events across the world were interrupted. In NZ, the School Sports Summer season was cut short in Term 1 and the Winter Season in Term 2 was delayed for a couple of months. Despite all this, LAC continued to encourage our school community to keep themselves safely active, doing sporting activities and physical exercises within their bubble. When we got back to school we started training in small groups with COVID-19 guidelines strictly followed. 

New Zealand Sports has been back to normal for about a month now and LAC Sports eagerly resumed their involvement in Secondary Schools Competitions straight away. Among the sports are Football, Hockey, Basketball, Badminton, Netball, and Rugby. LAC Sports want to thank everyone (parents, players, coaches, community volunteers, teachers and staff) for all the support in getting us back on our feet to participate full-on in School Sports.

For more information and updates about LAC Sports, please visit and follow our Facebook page at www.fb.com/LACSports. Let the games continue!

Mr Wynn Llena, Sports Coordinator

At LAC, staff reward students demonstrating the positive behaviours of Integrity, Respect and Resilience. This year our reward system has been changed for reasons of efficiency and reliability. We have replaced stamping diaries with Class Dojo points.

In week 12 of Term 2, we had our first Celebration Day for 2020. Students enjoyed pre-ordering their choices and collecting their rewards without the disappointment of items running out. The PB4L student team set up a cafe environment for students to sit down and enjoy time together. A record 65 pizzas were pre-ordered from Dominos by popular request!

Our Celebration Day was a great end of term experience and an opportunity to recognise all the positive behaviour that goes on every day. A big thank you from the teaching staff to all the students at LAC!

Mrs Faith Hignett, PB4L Team Leader

"The results of this new Celebration Day were amazing - the PB4L team managed to maintain more organisation while at the same time all the students had a fantastic time. The atmosphere was great as we had music playing and a little cafe set up so that everyone could enjoy the treats they worked hard for throughout the term. We have received a lot of positive feedback about this day and so we are very excited to implement this new method to the future Celebration Days." Macy Paki, Y13

"We could choose what we wanted and didn’t have to worry about what foods were running out." Moe Sekona Y8

"Celebration day was better this year because of pre-ordering. The whole day was fun thanks to the teachers and the prefects." Emma Brothwell Y8

Awards were given in assembly at the end of Term 2 for students gaining the top Dojo points for PB4L in each year level. Congratulations to the following students:

Year 7: Caleb Martin

Year 8: Emma Brothwell and Jasmin Drew

Year 9: Jodie Aitken

Year 10: Angelina Cariga

Year 11: Caitlin Giddens

Year 12: Siunari’i Paiva and Molly Pokaran

Year 13: Sandra Namani

Year 7: Grace Bismark

Year 8: Grace Nomino

Year 9: Tamika Manbasai

Year 10: Hunter Ward and Pea Pulega

Year 11: Errol Kama and Musashi Nakao

Year 12: Mia Paki and Alevya Skerrett

Year 13: Esther Rayner

Tuesday 25 August - UCOL Open Day 10 - 2 pm

There will be no teacher supervision. Students are to make their own arrangements to get there on the day.

We ask that students please RSVP here, to ensure they get free bbq lunch, and first 200 registrations receive a free goody bag!

Register at: https://ucolopenday.eventbrite.com