Greetings, Kia ora, Kia orana, Talofa, Mālō e lelei,  Namaste, Ni Hao, Bula, Hola, Kumusta

Dear Families

What a wonderful, warm, heart filled welcome we celebrated with our new families and students on Tuesday morning.  It was also great to see the happy, smiling faces of our children and whānau returning for another year of schooling.  As our community grows, we are heartened by the kindness, arohanui and generosity of our families who reach out to support those who are new, who need a helping hand with transport, who need support and extra love as they settle into their new environment. THANK YOU – this is what it means to be Holy Trinity people and helps to “strengthen community”.

As a Catholic School we share in the goals for Catholic education … to be a place where we communicate Christ, helping to form Christ in the lives of others … a place to encounter the loving God so that each person and child experiences a genuine and ongoing encounter with Christ … a place to grow in knowledge and understandings of Christ’s teachings …  a place where Christian witness is nurtured and strengthened within the community of our Lord’s disciples, the Church.

This is our hope for our school community – that together we grow/flourish in unity and in learning ka ako, loving ka aroha and serving ka manaaki, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

The photos below depict our new students with their families and our new staff being welcomed with a school whakatau and receiving their welcome certificates.

Welcoming New Staff!

We warmly welcome Mrs Raquel Biggar, Mrs Geraldine Malgas, Mrs Sahlee Coretz and Mrs Euginea Fernandes to our teaching team this year! It is always exciting to have new staff members especially when they bring a wealth of teaching experience, knowledge and skills along with their gifts and talents to our school community. We are very blessed to have Raquel, Geraldine, Sahlee and Euginea as part of Holy Trinity school community and we have already seen their strengths in action as they have spent time preparing for the school year!

Introductions …

Mrs Raquel Biggar – I am an enthusiastic and insightful South African born educator. I have been teaching for 25 years, immigrated to New Zealand in 2003. I am married to Kevin Biggar and I have 4 children (Matthew, Adam, Hannah and Andrew).
I believe in leading with a moral purpose and am dedicated to educating and helping learners identify and enhance their unique potential to learn, love and serve.
I am looking forward to being a part of The Holy Trinity Whānau.

Nga Mihi Nui
Raquel

Mrs Geraldine Malgas – Geraldine has been teaching in a NZ catholic school for many years and has held the leadership role of Deputy Principal. Geraldine has a huge strength in, and wealth of curriculum knowledge and understanding and we are delighted to have her expertise as we begin to implement the new NZ Religious Education curriculum. Geraldine has young grandchildren at home so her days are busy at school and busy at home!

 

 

Mrs Sahlee Cortez – Sahlee returns to Holy Trinity in a teaching role after previously been with us as a Learning Assistant. Sahlee was an experienced primary school teacher in the Philippines and has spent the past 18 months of her time in NZ, diligently completing and applying for her NZ teacher registration. It is a joy to welcome Sahlee back to our school as she continues her teaching career.

 

Mrs Euginea Fernandes – Euginea is currently overseas visiting family and will join Holy Trinity School towards the end of February. Euginea has been teaching in Waikato schools and has a teaching background in special education, being very experienced in working with students who have additional learning, social and behavioural needs. This will bring a great strength to our school, helping us to deepen our teaching and learning strategies and approaches with our tamariki.

DRS Report

Beginning of Year Mass

We have our very first school Mass next week on Friday 17 February at 11:30am in Taamaua/school hall. Our celebrant is our very own Parish Priest, Father James Mulligan of St Mary’s Parish, Papakura. You are invited to come along and be a part of our special celebration as we will be commissioning our senior student leaders for 2023.

Ash Wednesday/Lent

Ash Wednesday comes early this year on 22nd February, marking the beginning of our Lenten journey. Lent is a special Season of the Church’s Liturgical year. It begins on Ash Wednesday where Catholics around the world attend a special Liturgy where we are marked with the ashes on our foreheads. It is a period where we as Christians pray, fast and give. Our school will be gathering for our own Ash Wednesday liturgy at 9:00am in Taamaua/school hall on the 22nd February which you are welcome to be a part of. All our children will be marked on their forehead with ashes that were from the burnt palms of last year’s Palm Sunday celebration. This is a special time of repentance where we reflect on ways we can be closer to God.

Year 7/8 Retreat Day

Our Year 7/8 students will be attending a special Retreat Day at St Francis Retreat Centre on Friday 3 March. Father Kevin Murphy of St Anne’s Parish, Manurewa will be facilitating this special time of prayer and reflection for our senior students. We continue to pray for our tamariki as they journey through this year of new learning and new opportunities.

2023 Staffing and Learning Communities

Learning Community Whenua – New Entrants/Year 1 students
Mrs Susan Champion, Mrs Michaela Griffiths (nee Harvey) and Ms Rochelle Drollet (release teacher)

Learning Community Awa – Year 2/3* students
Mrs Danielle Clarivette, Mrs Geraldine Malgas and Mrs Sahlee Cortez

Learning Community Moana – Year 3/4 students
Miss Alana Gaynor, Mrs Lainee Davies, Mrs Euginea Fernandes and Ms Rochelle Drollet (release teacher)

Learning Community Maunga – Year 5/6 students
Mrs Lynn Rhodé, Miss Kirstie Gill, Mrs Mavis Chung and Mrs Ana Silva (release teacher)

Learning Community Ngahere – Year 7/8 students
Mrs Amandeep Kaur, Mrs Raquel Biggar and Mrs Ana Silva (release teacher)

2023 Senior and Middle Leadership Team:
Miss Peta Lindstrom, Mrs Maria Speechlay, Mrs Ana Silva (DRS), Mrs Susan Champion, Mrs Lynn Rhodé and Miss Alana Gaynor

Staff Celebrations!

During the summer holiday break, two of our staff members celebrated very special and significant events in their lives!

Miss Michaela Harvey married her partner, Jamie and is now Mrs Griffiths so we are all very busy making sure we remember to call Michaela … Mrs Griffiths …. here at school!
AND
Miss Alana Gaynor became engaged to her partner, Sam!

We extend our heartfelt congratulations, love and many Blessings to them both on these very special life occasions and look forward to celebrating with them once we have settled into the new school year.

2023 Attendance Dues Payments

Attendance Dues 2023 statements will be sent electronically to families next week.

Please note that there are 3 options for payment of the Attendance Dues and Catholic Special Character Contribution

  1. Full amount paid by Internet Banking to ASB school account – details for payment are on the statement.
  2. Automatic Payment to be set up via internet banking to ASB school account
  3. Payment can be made at the school office – cash or Eftpos

Many of our families choose the AP (Automatic Payment) option to make a small payment each week or fortnight which helps families to manage their financial budget for the year. This is a very good option and one that is encouraged by our school. For those families paying by Automatic Payment (AP), please note that 2023 payments must all be completed by 1st December 2023.

Please see Carmel Stewart (Office Administrator) or Peta Lindstrom (Principal) in the strictest confidence if you have any concerns or questions regarding the payment of Attendance Dues.

Financial Assistance is available for payment of Attendance Dues.

Cool Schools Programme!

Holy Trinity Catholic Primary School is now a Cool School!

Cool Schools is a peer mediation programme developed by the Foundation for Peace Studies that has been adopted by many schools in New Zealand. Its philosophy is based on conflict being seen as something that can be handled positively and confidently, and is something that can be learnt from. It is a whole school programme that teaches essential life skills for peaceful conflict resolution, thereby helping our learners play their part in God’s world as peacemakers.

This term, our tamariki will be learning the ideas behind peer mediation, such as using ‘I statements’, working together to come up with solutions to problems, and developing empathy. Early next term, we will train peer (student) mediators so they can work in the playground at break times to help their fellow students deal with minor conflicts.

For more information about Cool Schools, go to www.peacefoundation.org.nz or contact me at kgill@holytrinity.school.nz

Kirstie Gill
Cool Schools Coordinator

End of the Day Reminders/Traffic

We would like your support in helping us to ensure that we are all following the expectation for school pick up and drop off, before and after school.

The safety of everyone, especially our children, whānau and the public, is paramount. Please read the information on the photo and discuss this with your whānau and children so everyone knows the expectation for school pick up and drop off.

For whānau who will be picking up children after school on Kapowai Boulevard, we ask that you remain over there and a staff member will bring the children over to Kapowai Boulevard. We have identified that traffic delays happen when groups of children and people use the crossing at different times and this can cause traffic queues on Airfield Road. 

On wet days we encourage you to continue to park your car around the nearby streets shown on the photo. Please come with wet weather gear (e.g raincoat, umbrella etc) or maybe have it ready in your child’s school bag to keep them dry from the rain when walking back to the car.

Remember that you are most welcome to come into school. It is a great way to meet kaitiaki/teachers and see the learning that is happening in the learning communities.

 

 

Connected Curriculum

This year our connected curriculum overarching concept is Strengthening Communities. By the end of the year we want our learners to use their learning to inspire ways to strengthen communities in our common home. 

We begin with the concept of Whanaungatanga, where we look for ways to grow our relationship with Te Atua (God), Hehu Karaiti (Jesus) and Wairua Tapu (Holy Spirit), and work together with others to build connections that bring a sense of community for all. 

The Essential Questions that will help learners to unpack the big ideas around Whanaungatanga are:

  • What is whanaungatanga?
  • What is our role in whanaungatanga? 
  • How can whanaungatanga strengthen communities? 

Learning Community News

Learning Community Whenua

In Whenua this week, we have been learning routines, getting to know each other and building great relationships. We found that one of the best ways to do this was through play. The tamariki had a great time while playing in the playground, using the parachute to play “cat and mouse “ and moving to the “stretchy lycra” song. It has been wonderful listening to their giggles and laughter that have been forthcoming during their play. The tamariki have engaged in activities where they were able to share information about themselves. These introductions are a part of our concept of Whanaungatanga learning.
What a great start to the year, Whenua!

Learning Community Awa

This week Awa Kaitiaki has been ecstatic to begin our 2023 year with the children. It has been a fun filled but busy week. We are proud to say that Awa children are becoming more familiar with their routines and have begun Whanaungatanga learning. The children have enjoyed getting to know their kaitiaki and sharing about themselves. They are stars at displaying the Gospel values of Manaakatia-Respect in their learning.

Learning Community Moana

Moana Learners have settled into the Learning Community well. It has been great to see them all looking so smart, tidy and taller! We have enjoyed sharing our adventures from over the holidays. We are looking forward to more time together.
This week we have focussed on learning about our school Gospel Values and the Gospel Stories that relate to these values. Learners have been unpacking what this would look like in action inside our Learning Community. We are using our ideas to create our LC Moana treaty and promote a positive learning community culture.

Learning Community Maunga

In LC Maunga we have been getting to know each other and sharing our strengths, interests and hopes through awesome hoodie artwork. We have been learning about Te Tiriti o Waitangi/Treaty of Waitangi, looking towards creating our own LC Maunga treaty. Through our treaty, we will live out the Gospel Values with the hope of strengthening our learning community and our common home.

Learning Community Ngahere

In Ngahere this week, learners have been getting to know each other with activities that allowed them to share their differences and similarities. We have also been discussing and sharing Our Class Treaty and the expectations for successful learning to take place this year. Ngahere learners have also prepared letters of application for different leadership roles within the school. We are excited and look forward to having our senior leaders officially commissioned at the school Mass on Friday 17 February at 11:30am in Taamaua/school hall.

PTFA News

Thank You PTFA from the children!

Dear PTFA Whānau

On behalf of Holy Trinity Catholic School, we would like to extend a huge thank you for purchasing beanbags for our kura/school. This term, we begin our Whānaungatanga (Strengthening Communities) learning and having these amazing outdoor beanbags aids relationship building within our school community.

Miss Lindstrom and the children of Holy Trinity came up with some fantastic ideas on how to take care of our new outdoor furniture and we will all do our best to take care of it.

Here are some pictures of Miss Lindstrom and Holy Trinity tamariki coming up with rules for our new beanbags as well as a picture of the learning community enjoying some sunshine on the new beanbags.  

Thanks again!

From Learning Community Awa

PTFA Highlights for 2023

  • Twilight Market Date confirmed 28th April – please look out for HERO notifications for stall information and ideas/ helpers needed.
  • Disco and Movie night Friday 28th July
  • Wave Rave Event tentatively booked for Friday 27th October

We also bid farewell to our Treasurer, Fiona Rudsits. Fiona has been a dedicated treasurer for the PTFA since 2018, THANK YOU for all your support and help over the years – you will be greatly missed!

Fiona has been an absolute stalwart of the PTFA Committee, not only holding the very important role of Treasurer but also having the idea of setting up and managing the Second Hand Uniform Shop here at school. We have seen this service grow over the years thanks to Fiona’s organisation and care and encouragement of our families to donate and also to buy second hand.

Fiona has been a true Holy Trinity school member – loving and serving our community with generous heart and hands. THANK YOU Fiona!

 

If there is anyone who would like to help with the Twilight Market please let us know, there will be a specific Twilight Market meeting closer to the time (date to be confirmed – look out on Hero)

Wishing you all a great 2023 and we can’t wait to get all the exciting activities under way!

Kind regards
Laura Cooper and Michelle Porter
Co-Chairpersons
Holy Trinity Catholic Primary School
Parent, Teacher & Friends Association

Curriculum News

Life Education

Life Education is coming to our school in Week 4, Monday, 20th February to Friday, 24th February. 

Life Education is a non-profit organisation. It is a mobile classroom equipped with high-tech 3G technology to create an extraordinary learning experience that children LOVE. 

The Learning Communities will be rostered during the week to have some time in the mobile classroom with Daniel Garland, the Life Education educator.  Staff have worked closely with Daniel to design teaching and learning around the curriculum areas of Health & Physical Education and Social Science, as well as connecting it to Whanaungatanga. We will send out more information to you next week.

2023 Music Tuition Lessons

Want to learn to sing or play an instrument at school?
Lessons for piano/keyboard, violin, or singing are available.
Contact Esther-Shahn Pedersen for details.

Book Club

Kia ora whānau.

The first issue of the Book Club catalogue is out now, and it has a new look!

For this first issue of 2023, Scholastic have a great offer for those of you who use LOOP (online ordering): add attached photo with free book offer here

Orders close at 3pm on Friday 17 February. To order with a credit card, please go to https://mybookclub.scholastic.co.nz/Parent/Login.aspx If you wish to pay by cash or EFTPOS, please clearly write down your child’s full name, learning community, item number and item name on the order form and pay at the school office.

Every order earns reward dollars for the school to spend on resources for the learning communities and library, so we thank you for your continued support.

Ngā mihi,
Kirstie Gill
Book Club Coordinator

Duffy Books in Homes

Last year we became a Duffy School. ‘Duffy Books in Homes’ is a programme which gives two books to each child in Terms 1 and 3, and also a government-funded book in Term 2. These books are for your child to take home and keep. To learn more about Duffy Books in Homes, go to www.booksinhomes.org.nz

This year we are introducing Caught Being Good awards. Our tamariki can nominate anyone who they feel has shown the Gospel values at our school. At every school assembly, one child each from each learning community will be presented with a certificate and a book in recognition of their efforts.

Kirstie Gill
Duffy Books Coordinator

Job Vacancy

We have a Learning Assistant position vacancy at school.

This position is for a full time Learning Assistant (25 hours per week, 5 hours per day) to support students with additional learning, social and behavioural needs. The position is in the junior Learning Communities.

If you are interested in this position, please contact the school office – office@holytrinity.school.nz or 09 296 9039  for further information in regards to this role.

Thank you for considering this position.

Reminders

School Hours

8:50am                           School commences
8:50am-10:30am         Block 1 – teaching & learning
10:30am – 11:00am      Morning Tea
11:00am – 1:00pm        Block 2 – teaching & learning
1:00pm – 1:40pm          Lunch
1:40pm – 2:50pm          Block 3 – teaching & learning
2:50pm                           School concludes

School Office Hours:

Monday – Friday 8:30am – 3:30pm.

Mrs Carmel Stewart and Mrs Jocelyn Ochoa are our welcoming and helpful Office Administration staff members who are there to be available to our families to answer any queries and to support with information.

Food and Nutrition

Children are to bring their own prepared morning tea, lunch and drink bottles to school. Water is the only acceptable drink at school. Children are asked to keep litter, food scraps and food wrappings in their lunchboxes to take home at the end of each day as part of our recycling, and reusing focus.

Please name all of the children’s belongings.

School Term Dates 2023

Term One    10 weeks     Thursday 2nd February – Thursday 6th April
Term Two     10 weeks     Monday 24th April  – Friday 30th June
Term Three   10 weeks     Monday 17th July – Friday 22nd September
Term Four     10 weeks     Monday 9th October – Monday 18th December

Reminder

Upcoming School Events

School Liturgy and Assembly – led by learning Community Ngahere 
Monday 13th February @ 8:50am in Taamaua/school hall

School Board Meeting with Ngāti Tamaoho iwi personnel
Tuesday 14th February @ 7:00pm in the school staffroom 

Dedication Mass for Catholic Schools Staff
Wednesday 15th February @ 7:00pm Christ the King Parish Church, Owairaka

Holy Trinity School Beginning of Year Mass – Whānau Leaders Commissioning
Friday 17th February @ 11:30am Taamaua/school hall – Fr James Mulligan presiding

School Liturgy and Assembly – led by Learning Community Whenua
Monday 20th February @ 8:50am in Taamaua/school hall

LIFE Education Caravan and presenters on site (Health Education lessons)
Monday 20th – Friday 24th February on school site

ASH Wednesday Liturgy
Wednesday 22nd February in Taamaua/school hall

Board of Trustees Monthly Meeting
Wednesday 22nd February 7:00pm in the school staffroom

Mahi Tahi Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences
Wednesday 1st March 1:00pm – 6:00pm AND Thursday 2nd March 3:00pm – 6:00pm

Term 1 Concludes
Thursday 6th April

sKids Before/After School Care

We are excited for what 2023 brings, as we launch our fresh new look for sKids!  The link for Holy Trinity Catholic Primary School is link is: www.sKids.co.nz/holy_trinity 

Other Schools’ Information

Baradene College

BARADENE COLLEGE – OPEN DAY TOURS – Wednesday 1 March and Thursday 2 March 2023 

BOOKINGS online REQUIRED (opening 9.00am Monday 20 Feb)

Tour times: 9.00am, 10.00am, 11.30am

Book at www.baradene.school.nz/enrol

Book your time by 3.00pm Monday 27 Feb

Enrolments for Year 7, 2024 and for limited places in other Year levels are being accepted now and will close at 3pm on Friday 17 March, 2023.

Upcoming Community Events

Kuraconnect

Kia Ora Koutou

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!!!

Excited to be sharing the details of Kuraconnect FIRST ACTIVATION for 2023!

Please see attached FLYER! AND SHARE! SHARE! SHARE!

The link to register is on the PDF FLYER that will take you straight to the registration page.

This coming term, our focus is on whānau touch! GET YOUR WHĀNAU TEAMS together!! We had so much whānau engagement at our last activation, we would now like to offer a whānau grade where everyone can be involved.

REGISTER YOUR WHĀNAU or SOCIAL TEAM AND GO INTO THE DRAW TO WIN A $50 REBEL VOUCHER!! There will be two draws!!

Kuraconnect will also provide a tiny tot/tamariki free space to cater for our littlies – Deets on Flyer

Ardmore Marist Rugby & Sports Club

 “Rally the Village” Festival on Saturday, February 18th.

This is a great opportunity for our community to come together, get involved and to see what we can offer our tamariki in the active space during Rugby Season.

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