Such has been the experience of students at St Peter's College in Palmerston North who have amassed more than 1000 dolls, books, figures, teddy bears, Lego sets and Nerf guns for a festive toy drive.

They are now busy boxing them up for families in need who will otherwise have little under the tree this Christmas. Read more

The Catholic school's Evaristus team won the excellence award and the tournament championship at the national robotics championships in Christchurch. The four-member team has now been were invited to the world championships.

The school performed consistently well in robotics nationally, with its second team, Apollo, being beaten by Evaristus 15-8 in the final.

In this, the student-made and controlled robots, had to race around a grid collecting coloured balls and dropping them in a basket.

Evaristus member Charlie Mollard says his team had been working on their robot for four months, perfecting it leading up to the event and making sure it didn't break down.

The team's secret weapon was that it was a "double-robot team" with two robots to collect the balls during the competition.

A good driver is the key to controlling the double robot, he says.

The four-member teams agrees it was stressful in the final. One says they had to fan the motor of their robot with a sheet of plastic to keep it cool.

Mollard says as robots are the future, being able to work with robots gives the team an advantage in life.

At present he's working on a new robot, which could play the piano.

The runner-up St Peter's team had mechanical difficulties the morning of the competition, but worked on their robot through the lunch break and came from last place to reach the final.

Their robot had a vision sensor, which helped pick up the right coloured balls.

One of the Apollo team members, who is planning a career in artificial intelligence and programming, says working in robotics encourages students to take up science, technology, engineering and maths subjects.

Source

• Stuff
• Image: Stuff

In 2015 the number of persons living in a country other than where they were born reached 244 million for the world as a whole, a 41 per cent increase compared to 2000.

New Zealand is experiencing record numbers of people wanting to settle here.

So it is no surprise then that this year the theme for Social Justice week this year is: We all have a migration story: Fostering a culture of encounter.

During Social Justice week people are being asked to take time to reflect on their own migration journey and consider how they can foster a culture of encounter in our own life and in the life of the parish.

In their recent statement on refugees and migrants the bishops of New Zealand remind people that:

"We each have a migration story; a story of how our ancestors, or we ourselves, came to this land."

"Maori trace their ancestry or whakapapa to the waka upon which their ancestors arrived in Aotearoa New Zealand."

"As Catholics we trace the migration story of our Church in Aotearoa New Zealand through the arrival in the 1820s of Catholic settlers, followed by Bishop Pompallier and the Society of Mary who arrived from France in 1838, landing first in Hokianga where they were welcomed by the tangata whenua, the people of the land."

The bishops say the lack of connection to the local community can often contribute to a migrant's vulnerability to exploitation and difficulty in finding work.

"As newcomers join our communities, we have an opportunity to meet and encounter each other - on the one hand, to extend welcome and friendship and on the other."

"To discover and celebrate the gifts that people from migrant and refugee backgrounds bring to our parishes, schools, farms and other workplaces."

In From Strangers to Family: 4 students at St Peter's College in Palmerston North talk about their experience

Click here for Caritas Aotearoa's Resources for Schools

Click her to get Caritas Aotearoa's Resources for Parishes

Events planned for Social Justice week include a seminar in Wellington, a public forum in Palmerston North, and Social Justice Mayoral Forum in Auckland. Click here for details

Source

• caritas.org.nz
• catholic.org.nz
• Image: www.youtube.com screen shot