Dear Parents

Here we are again, almost at the end of Term 2! It is hard to believe that the term has flown by so quickly and with so many accomplishments and momentous occasions to be treasured. We are grateful for the continuing support of our school community as we continue to grow and flourish as a school family.

heartsWith grateful hearts we pray, God of Thanksgiving …
We give thanks for our children who celebrate the wonder of the smallest thing. We give thanks for our staff who nurture each student and give witness to Christ.
We give thanks for our school community who companion us on this new school journey.
We give thanks for our Board of Trustees who serve the needs of our school so generously.
We give thanks for our school family who accept and value others with warm , hospitable loving hearts

Online Digital Reporting on Student Progress and Achievement – June 2017

linc-edAll reporting for students has been published online. You are able to access your child’s current progress and achievement reporting, learning goals, learning comments and evidence by accessing the parent portal through Linc-Ed. You will have set up your own password to enable you to do this. If you are unable to access or are unsure of the process then please call in to the school office and we will help action this step.

We hope this way of communicating students’ learning encourages shared conversations at home about each child’s learning journey … their successes, their challenges, what they love to learn about, how they like to learn, what helps them to learn and a sharing of ways that learning can be supported at home.

Students progress and achievement in relation to National Standards will also be reported on.

Enjoy spending time with your child/ren exploring their digital reporting information and we look forward to continuing these learning conversations at the Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences to be held next week Wednesday 5th July. We do encourage students to be present and involved in these learning discussions. Conference times will be for 15 minutes, commencing at 3:15pm with the last time slot at 7:15pm. Learning Community Moana families will also be able to book on Tuesday 4th July from 2:00pm – 3:45pm.

Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences – please contact the school office 296 9039 or email office@holytrinity.school.nz to book a suitable conference time with your child and their teacher/kaitiaki.

DRS News

Whole School End of Term 2 Mass

forgiveNext week, on Thursday 6 July we are having our school Mass to celebrate the end of another successful term.  This celebration will take place in our Taamaua (school hall) at 9:00am with Fr Mike Wooller as our celebrant.  The theme for our Mass is ‘To Forgive is Divine’.  The Gospel story is around the healing of the paralyzed man and how Jesus showed love and compassion when he recognises the faith of those who came to seek his healing.  We are reminded that God is a forgiving God and that to forgive is a divine act of compassion (arohanui).

Mufti Mania (Warm Winter’s Day)

Screen Shot 2017-06-29 at 9.55.12 AMWe will be having a Mufti Mania Day on the last day of the term, Friday 7th July to support the joint project of the New Zealand Catholic Primary Principals’ Association and Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand.  We ask that your child donate a gold coin to go towards this special fundraiser for Nawi Catholic Primary School in Fiji.  The money raised will help them to get access to power and buy new books for the children at the school.  This is a wonderful outreach for us as we bring our school mission statement to life: Learn, Love and Serve – Ka Ako (Learn), Ka Aroha (Love), Ka Manaaki (Serve).  Because the weather is so cold, the theme for our Mufti Mania is ‘Warm Winter’s Day’ which means that students can wear their onesies or pyjamas to school!

Holy Spirit – Te Wairua Tapu

doveIn Learning Community Moana we have been learning about the Holy Spirit – Te Wairua Tapu.  We learned that some of the symbols of the Holy Spirit are water, fire, wind, the dove, the finger of God and the clouds from the Scriptures.  These symbols can be recognised in different stories and parables from the Bible.  For example:  The symbol of water as the Holy Spirit reminds us of the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River by John the Baptist, where the dove descends upon Jesus.  

We also learned about the Gifts of the Holy Spirit: Counsel, Understanding, Knowledge, Piety, Fortitude, Wisdom and Fear of the Lord.  We wrote reflections about each of these gifts and we made some connections to the Bible stories and our school Gospel Values as well as our Mission Statement – Learn, Love and Serve.  We created awesome artwork around the Holy Spirit and learned the many names we give the Holy Spirit such as the Spirit of Truth, Comforter, Advocate, Supporter and many more.

We would like our parents and whanau to understand these things about the Holy Spirit.  It would be a great conversation you can have at home and even around the table at dinner time.

By Matthew (Year 5) and Tayla (Year 6)

Scratch Programming Workshop

Dr Stephen Thorpe (Rebecca T. from Awa’s Dad!) has offered to facilitate some workshops for students on an introduction to “scratch programming”. This is the very first steps of learning coding in a visual and fun way with the students creating their own computer game/project which they can continue to develop at home too! This future focussed learning activity will help improve digital literacy and skill development. Dr Stephen and students from AUT will be working with us next Friday 7th July. Our thanks to AUT staff and students for sharing of expertise and support of the school.

Matariki Puppet Show

matarikiLearning Communities Moana and Awa attended a Matariki Puppet Show at the Hawkins Theatre this week. It was a wonderful story of creativity and story telling about the Seven Sisters or the Matariki Constellation. One of the stars, Waipuna-a-Rangi, sneezes and falls from the sky. Everything changes for her as she survives an adventurous journey back to her Sisters in the sky before time runs out!
By Rebecca T. (Awa) and Mrs Silva

Updates

From Term 3, we will trial different bell times for our teaching/learning block times. The start of day and end of day bell times remain the same.
Belltimes will be:
8:50am                         Start of Day
8:50am – 10:30am     Block 1
10:30am – 11:00am   Morning tea
11:00am – 1:00pm     Block 2
1:00pm – 1:40pm       Lunch
1:40pm – 2:50pm       Block 3
2:50pm                        End of Day

Coming Events

School Prayers and Assembly
Monday 3rd July 9:00am in Taamaua/School Hall
Learning Community Whenua leading

Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences
Tuesday 4th July 2:00pm – 3:45pm (Moana)
Wednesday 5th July 3:15pm – 7:15pm (Moana, Awa and Whenua)

Whole School Mass
Thursday 6th July 9:00am in Taamaua (school hall)
Fr Mike Wooller officiating

Mufti Mania Day – Warm Winter’s Day!
Friday 7th July

Scratch Programming Workshops
Friday 7th July

 

With God’s Blessings
Peta Lindstrom
Principal