The Porirua-based state-integrated Catholic secondary school saw its roll drop dramatically from about a peak close to 500 in 2010 to a low of 231 in 2019.

At Bishop Viard, it is something principal Chris Theobald is very proud of.

Theobold, who started at the school in 2019, said the 80% increase was a restoration of previous enrolments.

He said the roll growth has even surpassed the Ministry of Education's expectations, with an original forecast roll of 399 students for this year.

Theobald said the college was increasingly pulling from "town" schools offering just as good opportunities".

Source

• The Post (Press Reader)

And she is incredibly proud of her school and its students.

At a recent mufti day which coincided with International Refugee Day, students shared stories, food and performed cultural dances.

Sawaya says a lovely thing happened recently; one of the Samoan students learned the dance of her Colombian classmates and performed with them.

She says inclusiveness is something she values a lot.

And that's why she is keen to be with the students every step of the way.

Extra steps are taken to help the new students feel comfortable.

During the week there are 2 teacher aides who speak Spanish and 2 who speak a variety of Burmese dialects.

"We have the teacher aides present when we have meetings with the students or at parent teacher meetings and even when we send newsletters to the parents we get them translated in their language," she says.

Sawaya is keen for New Zealand to increase its refugee quota.

"We support it completely, it's part of our ethical beliefs as a catholic school."

"They have a right to freedom, a peaceful life and when they come here they share their culture with us and that's a beautiful thing," she says.

Source

• newswire.co.nz
• Image: stuff.co.nz

"Their refugee backgrounds add life and experience to the school," said Jane Bourke, a whanau leader at the college who has an interest in refugee students.

Three Burmese students who joined at the end of last term are the latest additions to the school.

"This is something that is very important to us. We already have a diverse range of students and would welcome more coming to our school," Bourke said.

"As we look to the refugees crisis in Europe we hope that our doors can continue to be open to those who need a new place to live.

"We'd be happy to have others."

Bishop Viard Collge is a decile 1 secondary school with just under 400 students

About 40 of them are originally from countries such as Colombia, Burma and Myanmar.

It receives $3,750,020 in direct government funding, which translates to a budget of $9973 per student.

Source

• stuff.co.nz
• Image: www.stuff.co.nz

An open invitation has been made to anyone who wishes to attend.

The Evening Prayer of the church will be prayed and light refreshments will follow.

Cardinal John said he had been surprised by the level of interest in his appointment as New Zealand's fourth cardinal, and the first to be inducted in 32 years.

Since returning home media have been reporting on his activities.

The Dominion Post reporter noted that being a cardinal does not protect you from the tribulations that affect ordinary mortals.

Cardinal John arrived back in Wellington without his luggage - including scarlet cardinal's soutane.

It had gone astray after his plane out of Rome was delayed, causing him to miss his connecting flight from London.

"I got them back late Friday night,"

Last week when Cardinal John turned the first sod to mark the beginning of the building of a new gymnasium at Bishop Viard College, he was wearing a much less impressive black soutane with scarlet piping and buttons!

On the weekend he was in the Wairarapa to celebrate the first mass of the newly established Wairarapa Parish and to open a new Gymnasium name after him at the secondary school he attended in Masterton.

Cardinal John said it was his "great delight" that one of his first official duties as a new cardinal was to open the gymnasium.

He joked how he "just scraped through" School Certificate at St Joseph's, after his elder sister passed handsomely.

He said his father had remonstrated with him, saying if he had spend less time playing sport, he would have done better.

"If we had had this facility, I'm sure I would have done worse."

Source

• Stuff.co.nz
• Wairarapa Times-Age
• Image: Stuff.co.nz

She has now taken up her new position at the College at the beginning of this new school year.

Mrs. Sawaya was previously the Principal of Sacred Heart Girls College in New Plymouth.

Before that was Deputy Principal of Sacred Heart College in Hamilton.

Sawaya also had experience in co-ed schools earlier in her career.

At a small function at school before the Board interviews, Rose said, "I was at O'Shea Shield this year and saw the great way the students reacted and supported Mimisa when she won the Junior Samoan speech competition.

It was something you can all be proud of."

Source: Bishop Viard College

Sawaya-Baxter is originally from Wellington and said the move was a return home for her but she was also looking for new challenges.

"It's the first time in a while I've been at a co-ed school and it's also a school with high Pasifika, so I'm looking forward to that side of the challenge." Continue reading

Dramatic headlines in the Dominion Post, such as, "Bullied teen's broken neck fear" are almost a compulsory read; particularly when accompanied by an equally dramatic picture of a slight boy in hospital.

Reading further, the article names the college and its location; Bishop Viard College and Porirua.

Perhaps playing on some stereo-typical notion, traumatic childhood event or merely witnessing the power of Polynesian students on the sports field, it's not hard to conjure up an image of a physically mature polynesian boy 'doing damage' to a less physically abled student from Myanmar.

Next we read the principal of the school with a "bully problem" is requesting leave.

"Wow" I thought, "the bullying can't be a one-off event; it must be some kind of epidemic."

My interest piqued, reading further, I found the student with the suspected broken neck was hospitalised after being punched unconscious, and, a month earlier another student suffered concussion, a bruised face and gouged eye after playing bullrush.

Hmmm, doesn't sound like bullying to me.

All the while and throughout the media storm, the principal Teresa Cargo, a teacher with over 30 years experience, correctly identified both problems as "assault".

The chairman of the Bishop Viard College Board agreed with his principal, yet a series of stories fed us with associated images such as: Porirua, Polynesian, and bullying.

No one likes a bully, and where headlines do not match the story, I'm left wondering who is doing the bullying?

I had lunch the other day with two "spin-doctors". Both former respected journalists.

Still reasonably young, it was sad to hear them lament the state of current journalism in New Zealand.

Almost simultaneously both shared their "spin doctoring" was made easy by journalists, who for example looked for the sensation in a story, didn't spend time checking facts, and merely copied and pasted dressed-up versions of the spin-doctors' press releases.

Once a Catholic, always a Catholic, one of them went further and he confessed he had pangs of conscience that copy and paste journalism was not serving democracy. He even wondered if in the interests of democracy, he should hold back, in effect not do his job, so as the journalist could tell 'the' story.

I'm not sure if either of them read or listened to the live stream of Dr Gavin Ellis' address at the UNESCO World Press Freedom Day lecture at the AUT on May 5.

Dr Ellis, a media commentator and author is of the view the need for profit is threatening the substance of journalism in New Zealand.

He says that the mainstream media in New Zealand is increasingly incapable of serving society as it is obliged to.

Ellis puts the responsibility for threatening the substance of journalism in New Zealand on the over-riding economic goal of satisfying investors.

Citing the high percentage of crime and emergency stories in The New Zealand Herald, Waikato Times and Dominion-Post, he observes, "these were not the most important newsworthy issues in New Zealand at the time."

"Such news judgment is indicative of a shift away from providing information that people need to know, toward a marketer's perception of information that people want to know. If they desire celebrity news, they shall have celebrity news."

Ellis cites Gwyneth Paltrow's marital status or Miley Cyrus' bizarre interpretation of womanhood as examples of easier and cheaper stories to publish than well-researched articles on complex subjects or contextualised accounts from the world's strategic danger zones.

Labelling it as the "burglar alarm" approach to news, where only acute problems make it into the mainstream media, Ellis accused news corporations of no longer informing readers "about the normal functionings of the institutions that collectively hold our community together."

I for one don't think society has been served well by this barrage of sensationalism.

What a contrast then it was to read interim Bishop Viard College principal, Prue Kelly, who left Wellington High School after 17 years in the top job, says she is finding Bishop Viard College

• welcoming,
• a place with a hard working staff,
• where there is huge good will,
• the students are well behaved,
• a college thats is safe,
• an environment that's friendly.

Not usual descriptors of an environment riddled with bullying.

- John Murphy is a Marist priest working in digital media at the Marist Internet Ministry, New Zealand.

"It's easy to sit outside the school and say there's bullying going on, or one incident is an indicator of general malaise in the place, of things going badly.

"That's not what I've found here," she said.

Ms Kelly has been appointed the interim principal of Bishop Viard College in Porirua, New Zealand.

Ms Kelly, who left Wellington High in 2012 after 17 years as principal, said she was happy to step into the breach.

"What I'm finding is that the place is very welcoming, there's a huge amount of good will, that the staff are hardworking, that the kids are well behaved, that they smile and welcome you, and I've found it a very safe, friendly place."

She would not be drawn on the violence and bullying claims at the school but said the board had been wise to employ an interim principal rather than ask another staff member to step up.

"This way I can sit here and the school can get on with all the wonderful things it's doing and I'll just do the things that a principal does."

Apology

CathNews apologises for the mistake in the email version of this post which omitted the word NOT in the headline.

Sources

• Stuff.co.nz
• Image: Stuff.co.nz

Confirmation of Ms Cargo's request came Sunday from the chairman of the College's Board of Trustees, Allan Holden.

Mr Holden described the request as "not unwelcome".

"All I'm saying is that she's requested leave and that we are looking at leadership arrangements for next term," Holden told the DomPost.

He said Ms Cargo had not been suspended by the board.

Mr Holden said Ms Cargo's request for extended leave was not directly linked to the alleged incident of bullying.

"It's not a one-dimensional thing," he said.

Mr Holden is critical of media reports surrounding the alleged bullying.

Acknowledging there was a culture problem in the school, he said the Board is working to address the issue.

On March 14 Joseph Nawl ended up in Wellington Hospital with a suspected broken neck.

Despite media painting the picture as bullying, Ms Cargo, a former PE teacher, said Joseph Nawl's injuries were as the result of an over-aggressive tackle while playing bullrush.

She said the two boys involved were good friends and team mates and the school had now banned bullrush.

The DomPost, 14 March, reported that the serious nature of the event meant Police were looking into the incident, however, yesterday, Police Communications in Porirua would not confirm to CathNews whether charges had been laid.

"I've no idea what is going on", the Police spokesperson said.

Ms Cargo came to Bishop Viard College after being deputy principal at the decile 7 Sacred Heart Girls' College in Hamilton.

Eighteen months into the new job she described the experience as "exciting" and a "steep learning curve".

During her 30 years at Sacred Heart Ms Cargo taught religious education, science, physical education and health.

Announcing her appointment, then Board of Trustees chairwoman, Marian Blackford told the Kapi-Mana News that the appointment process attracted applicants of the highest quality.

"After a thorough appointment process, it is clear that Teresa's skills and experience met the current needs of our community", she said.

Board of Trustees Chairman, Alan Holden, confirmed Tuesday evening, it had grated Teresa Cargo's request.

On Tuesday, CathNews reported that Mr Holden described Ms Cargo's request as "not unwelcome".

There is much comment in the media that Ms Cargo's extended leave request is as the result of reported bullying in the school.

Acknowledging there is a cultural issue in the school Mr Holden took issue with the bullying claims.

He said it is unclear whether bullying was worsening at the 500-pupil college and intermediate school.

In March, Joseph Nawl, 15, was admitted to hospital after being punched unconscious by a fellow Viard student.

A month before, Noah Coffin, 12, was attacked during a game of bullrush and suffered concussion, a bruised face and a gouged eye.

"It's not a one-dimensional thing", he said.

Mr Holden declined to comment on other aspects of Ms Cargo's performance the board was unhappy with.

"That's an employment matter", he said.

Ms Cargo came to Bishop Viard College in the fourth term of 2011.

The then Board Chairperson, Marian Blackford welcomed the appointment saying that Ms Cargo had demonstrated leadership experience at the highest levels in Catholic education.

"After a thorough appointment process, it is clear that Teresa's skills and experience meet the current needs of our community.

"Teresa's experience in educational leadership, in leading and coaching young sports men and women and her commitment to Special Character and Pastoral Care convinced the Board that Teresa, through her leadership, will make a significant contribution to our College and students' lives," Ms Blackford wrote.

Deputy, Steven Knipping would step into the principal's position while the board worked through the next steps.

Sources

• CathNews
• TVNZ
• DomPost (Paper edition)
• Image: Livebeyond

Police are investigating the circumstances of the daylight attack on Joseph Nawl, 15, a student at Porirua's Bishop Viard College, on Wednesday. Doctors at Wellington Hospital initially feared he could be paralysed.

They suspect he has a broken neck, but it remains too swollen for them to see clearly on X-rays.

His family, originally from Myanmar, do not want him or any of their other children to return to the school, where they say they have suffered racist bullying and no longer feel safe.

Bishop Viard principal Teresa Cargo said the "unfortunate incident" was an assault, not bullying. The two boys involved had been good friends and team-mates, and both families were distressed by what had happened.

The school had a "zero-tolerance policy" towards bullying, but at no time had Joseph or his family made any suggestion of "bullying or racial overtones".

Police said they had begun an investigation because of the severity of the latest attack. They had seen CCTV footage of the incident, and any charges could depend on the hospital's assessment of Joseph's injuries.

Ms Cargo said: "We are following set procedures and are still investigating. We do not condone violence and this was a random act completely out of character for the student involved.

"We have a growing number of refugee families in our community who have chosen to send their children to Bishop Viard College, and we are recognised in the wider Wellington region as a school which acknowledges and supports this cultural diversity."

Source:

• Dominion Post
• Image: Dominion Post

Six players - two from Newlands College and four from Bishop Viard College - have also been separately charged with offences contrary to the laws of rugby, and their hearings will be held next week.

"Our students are over-represented in the tail, we have 6 per cent Pasifika and 20 per cent Maori in our college. We have worked hard for a lot of years to keep them all moving along. I see a lot of what is happening at the moment is going to be really unhelpful to their continuing to believe that they can achieve".

She was one of about 30 board chairmen and women and principals who were at the Mana Education Centre in Porirua last Thursday to express questions and concerns to Education Minister Hekia Parata.

Others at the meeting said achievement tables tended to play to the fears and prejudices people already had, and the data was not valid because it could not be compared effectively between schools.

The Dominion Post has asked schools across the Wellington region to release the information they were required to send to the Education Ministry about the number of pupils at, above, below or well below national standards in reading, writing and maths.

The ministry declined a request for the data, but acting senior manager Dennis Cribb said individual schools could be approached.

About 10 have already responded with information and others have indicated their data will be forthcoming.

Source

• Stuff.co.nz
• Stuff.co.nz

Teresa moves to Bishop Viard after 30 years at Sacred Heart Girls College,l in Hamilton. she is a graduate of the Otago School of Physical Education and the Auckland College of Education.