Greetings, Kia ora, Kia orana, Talofa, Mālō e lelei, Namaste, Ni Hao, Bula, Hola, Kumusta, Namaskārām, Sat Shri Akaal, Vanakkam and Ayubowan
Dear Families
Once again, we have raced through another term of busy school life and now find ourselves fast approaching the July School holidays! So as we go on holiday, we pause to give thanks to God for all that has been achieved as a school community. We give thanks to God for our staff and the dedication they show in working with each child as they grow in their learning and personal development. We give thanks to God for our children who take on the opportunities and challenges of school life with willingness and positive attitudes. We give thanks to God for our families/whānau who continue to support their child and school in the many shared activities and events AND we give thanks to God for all those who lead and support our school through governance (School Board), prayer and spiritual life (our Parish Priest), fundraising and social events (our PTFA) – may we all be blessed for the work we do to nurture and grow this special school community in learning ka ako, loving ka aroha and serving ka manaaki.
THANK YOU Support Staff!
We have a wonderful team of Support Staff here at Holy Trinity School! These dedicated and hard working staff members certainly live up to their ‘support staff name’ each and every day. Next week is Support Staff Week and we publicly want to ACKNOWLEDGE, THANK and give BLESSINGS to our support staff team. Often they are the folk who go the extra mile, work quietly behind the scenes, make sure everything is ship shape, support the children to make them feel safe, loved and secure at school, calm upsets, generate the laughter, give a helping hand, share their expertise, always say ‘yes’ to any request and never see a need without doing something about it!
We cannot function as a school community without these fantastic people contributing to the team and strengthening our community through their daily work. Sometimes in the busyness of the day, we forget to share our love and thanks to you all – so A BIG THANK YOU SUPPORT STAFF TEAM – we love you and are grateful for all that you do for us as staff, the children and our whānau. ENJOY your special week ahead! Ka mau to wehi!
We give grateful thanks for …
Stephen Stewart – Caretaker
Carmel Stewart – Office Administrator
Jocelyn Ochoa – Office Administrator
Carolyn Harvey – Learning Assistant/ESOL
Angela Aiesi – Learning Assistant/ESOL
Vincet Lautua – Learning Assistant
Bronwyn Sewell – Learning Assistant /Communication Support Worker
Thea Guadalupe – Learning Assistant
Rachel Farley – Learning Assistant
Venus Anand – Learning Assistant
DRS Report
YCC Day
The last day of the term, Friday June 30 is Caritas YCC Day for all Catholic Schools across Aotearoa NZ. YCC stands for “Youth Creating Change or You + Caritas Combined or Your Coins Counts and Young Catholics Care”.
We will have a whole school mufti day with the theme of Crazy Socks – old, new, colourful, stripy, long, short, mismatched! We’ll come to school in our crazy socks and bring a gold coin donation in support of Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand who is working to support Oecusse School in Timor-Leste. Our Bishops are excited about the event and about us all joining in solidarity with the school, which Caritas supports.
Your gold coin will help provide working toilets for Oecusse School, which has more than 800 students and no working toilets. It’s in great need of support to repair and replace broken, unsanitary toilet bowls; repair hand washing stations in the toilet facilities; and fix water pipes for supplying water to different areas in the school.
Don’t forget to bring your gold coin and we look forward to ending our school term with a YCC Crazy Socks Day!
Curriculum News
Discovery Learning Sharing Day – Wednesday, 28th June
We look forward to seeing you next Wednesday when students will be presenting how they have used scientific investigation skills to make ‘discoveries’ about how people lived in the past, and use these to make a difference that can strengthen communities today.
You are welcome to bring your whānau along to see your child/ren present their discovery learning between: 9.00am-10.30am and 1.45pm-2.30pm.
St Ignatius of Loyola Catholic College
If you are intending to enrol your child in St Ignatius of Loyola Catholic College in 2025, please go online to their school website page https://www.saintignatius.school.nz/ and complete the Expressions of Interest online form as soon as possible. This is for Year 5 students in 2023 who will be Year 7 students in 2025.
Term 2 Reporting to Parents
Term 2 digital reporting will be available to families from Monday 26th June on HERO through each student’s individual learning pages. You will be able to read about the progress and achievement your child/ren are making in reading, writing and maths, to read their progress in meeting learning goals, to explore their reflections on working as a Holy Trinity Learner through their Toku Reo profile and to share learning from their Concept/Science and Arts learning.
Mahi Tahi Parent/Teacher/Student conferences will be offered in Week 2 of Term 3.
Matariki – the Māori New Year!
Matariki, the Māori New Year, is approaching, and it will be celebrated on Friday 14th July, coinciding with school holidays.
We want to end Term 2 with a Matariki learning day celebration next week, on Friday, 30th June. The aim is to gather in our whānau groups to commemorate this special event.
Our kaitiaki are planning various learning activities that will enhance our understanding and foster a greater appreciation for Matariki and Te Ao Māori. The focus will be on three key aspects:
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Remembrance: We will take the time to honor and remember those who have passed away since the last rising of Matariki.
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Celebration of the present: It’s important for us to gather as a community and express gratitude for what we have.
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Looking to the future: We will also embrace the anticipation of a new year and the exciting possibilities it holds.
PTFA Matariki Disco!
Get ready to groove and celebrate Matariki at our dazzling Matariki Disco! Join us on Friday, July 28th for an evening filled with music, dancing, and a whole lot of fun! 2023 Disco Flyer
Calling all Juniors, Years 0-4, the dance floor awaits you from 6:30 to 7:30pm. Show off your best moves and compete for the title of Best Dancer!
For our Seniors, Years 5-8, it’s your turn to shine from 7:30 to 8:30pm! Prepare to be blown away by our amazing DJ, who will bring the tunes and awesome lights that will make the dance floor come alive with energy!
Please note that children must have a caregiver on-site for the duration of the disco to ensure everyone’s safety and enjoyment. We welcome all whānau to join us in the parent-zone, located in the staffroom. The session times provided are a guide, but all children are more than welcome to attend both the junior and senior disco sessions if they wish.So mark your calendars and gather your friends and family for an electrifying night of Matariki celebrations. Let’s come together, dance the night away, and make lasting memories at our Matariki Disco.
PTFA Highlights July 2022 – June 2023
Pizza Lunch – 26 August 2022
We switched to individual mini pizzas for the kids and made a profit of $550 profit.
Wave Rave – 30 September 2022
We hosted our first Wave Rave at Massey Park Pools. It was a great way to end Term 3 and the kids had lots of fun. And it was relatively easy to organise. $2,098 profit from tickets, raffles and food sales.
Fun Run/ Colour Run – 4 November 2022
Our biggest money earner! This was a great event to bring the school community together. We made some improvements to the obstacles for the run on the field. We’ll keep trying to build these as we do more.
$2,343.30 from food stalls at the event AND $12,288.65 profit from Fun Run sponsors.
Calendar Art
This was a good option for gifts for Christmas and a fun activity for kids to do. $391.45 profit.
Second Hand Uniform Shop
Teresa Friis has kindly stepped up to run the second hand uniform shop. She has got the stock into a great order and is currently doing a stocktake to be able to better keep track of items.
From January- May 2023, the Second Hand Uniform Shop has brought in $1,945.50.
As well as making a good profit, it’s great to be able to make use or second hand items and to have affordable options for families. Thanks to all that that have donated unwanted uniform items.
The Twilight Market – 28 April 2023
Our biggest and most profitable market yet! It was a fun filled family evening. Special thanks to all those that took on the responsibility of running a stall and donating their time and goods.
A total profit of $9,810.30 was raised!
Congratulations to our Filipino Families!
A HUGE thank you to our Filipino Families for the awesome community evening celebrated together on Monday 12th June – especially on such a special occasion as celebrating the Independence Day of the Philippines!
We loved the shared meal with all of the delicious delicacies. And the entertainment from our very own Filipino children as a special treat for Filipino Independence Day.
We loved our time together, to get to know each other a little better, to build whanaungatanga/relationships and to learn about what makes the Philippines so special.
A special thanks to Maila Altamirano and Alma Santos, both School Board members, for their leadership and organisation of this fabulous night of celebration!
Learning Community News
Learning Community Whenua
Whenua learners have been working on what material to use to make their Pataka kai.The first experiment has been cardboard boxes. The learners have worked collaboratively to create a pataka that would be accessible to all learners. The teams worked out whether the door should open left to right or right to left or with the hinge upwards and what type of handle would be best to open and close the Pataka kai. They had a great time decorating the Pataka kai using their colour knowledge gained during their art lessons.
This term we have been learning how to ask questions and these are some of the questions that arose while making the Patakia kai were;
Why do we put food in a Pataka? Amaya
Can we put hamburgers in the Pataka? Chloe
How do we make a Pataka ? Zeke
Would the box survive outside? Thomas
Should it be in the wind? Izzy
What would happen if it rained? Flynn
Will there be air inside? Lachlan
How do we keep bugs away? Lucy
How will people know what it is? Felicity
The collaboration and engagement of the learners has been fantastic. The next step is to test whether the pataka kai can withstand wind and moisture if left outside. Let’s see what the tamariki come up with as they work together, research and collaborate to innovate a better design/ material etc in the next term!
Learning Community Awa
Awa learners have been enjoying working on their transfer tasks to share their learning at our Science Expo next week. Each group of citizen scientists collaborated on the best way to present their learning.
Some ideas on their presentation are:
Green Crystals – made their compost bins
Trash and Good Scientists – brochures on recycling
Cherry Trees – Nature through visual art
Recycling Team – Decorative jars
Honey Bees – Rock Art
Smart Team – Recycling model
Rainbow Scientists – Recycling plastic
Collaboration is definitely evident in the way learners engaged in KWHLAQ framework in working with their transfer task.
Learning Community Moana
Moana learners had a wonderful time travelling to the Papakura Stream. As soon as we got to the stream we got into our groups and each group was given a scoop, a poster of the bugs we might find in the stream, a magnifying glass and ice cream containers. Learners collaborated to scoop water from the stream and pour it into the containers. We used our ‘thinking like a scientist’ skills to observe what we noticed in our sample of water. We found many bugs in the water! When analysing the bugs in the stream we learnt that the Papakura stream isn’t as clean as we thought, as most of the bugs we found were bugs that can survive in polluted environments!
Learning Community Maunga
Holy Trinity Catholic Primary School is one of nine schools who are a part of the South Auckland Catholic Schools Community of Learners (CoL)/Kāhui Ako. Our LC Maunga tamariki were invited to represent our school at a special Kāhui Ako Mass on Wednesday 21 June at St Theresa’s Church in Māngere. Our LC Maunga children were amazing representatives for our school, displaying the Gospel values for all to see. After the Mass, the tamariki were treated to lunch, hosted by St Mary MacKillop School, and then all the tamariki were encouraged to mingle to get to know one another. It was a wonderful morning of whanaungatanga and following in Jesus’s footsteps.
Student reflections:
Yesterday, the Year 6’s in LC Maunga went to Saint Therese’s in Mangere where other Catholic schools met one another. As we were singing the hymns, every school was joining in. Every school gave it a go. It was like we were bonding with each other and it felt like we all already knew each other. When all the schools went back to St Mary Mackillop School we had play time. We made new friends.
“Sweet friendships refresh the soul and awaken our hearts with joy, for good friends are like the anointing oil that yields the fragrant incense of God’s presence.” Proverb 27:9.
By: Liz and Jana
On Wednesday the 21st of June, we had Mass which was hosted by St. Mary Mackillop’s School. They had invited 8 Catholic schools. During the Mass we heard many different songs that we had never sang before. When we had communion, we saw many students from different schools. To us this was very new. When the Mass had ended, the Principal, Mr Piper, invited us to their school to have some lunch. After eating, we played on their big fields and playground. In the playgrounds and fields we met some new friends from other schools and started talking and playing with them. We left at 12:30 pm to go back to school. This showed whanaungatanga by all students gathering, meeting other schools and having Mass together. We look forward to the next time we can meet again.
By: Andrea, Kat and Karize
Learning Community Ngahere
Students in LC Ngahere have been working on their art projects. They used many components to demonstrate their scientific knowledge and expertise through the arts. Our tamariki created art pieces using synthetic and organic materials, as well as their creative and artistic abilities. During next week’s Expo, students will share their art pieces with whānau.
Students in Literacy are working hard and looking forward to presenting their Rehu Tai/speeches in their classes. They are preparing to present their speeches, spoken words, and raps orally in their classrooms.
Duffy Books in Homes Research and Evaluation – Invitation to Participate
It is important to understand the impact of the Duffy Books in Home programme from those who directly use the books at school or home and enjoy or know about Duffy activities.
If you are interested, we invite you to read the Participant Information Sheet for more information about the study. The online survey will be available for you to complete until July 31, 2023
The survey will take approx. 5-10 minutes to complete. All completed parent surveys go in the draw to win a $50 Prezzy card.
The survey is anonymous. Any data you provide us won’t have your name on it, and any information you provide can never identify you. We will keep the information we collect from you safe, and it will be stored at the University of Auckland.
Completing this survey is voluntary. Submission of the online survey is taken as consent to participate.
We would like to hear from parents to get a full picture of the impact of the programme, thanks in advance!
If you have any questions or would like more information, please do not hesitate to contact the researchers running this project:
Dr Jacinta Oldehaver: j.oldehaver@auckland.ac.nz
Dr Shengnan Wang: Shengnan.wang@auckland.ac.nz
The online survey can be accessed using the links below:
Caught Being Good Awards
Duffy Books Time!
Kia ora whānau
It’s Duffy Book time and your child will be bringing home two books they have received for free thanks to the Duffy Books sponsors.Sports News
North Counties Rippa Rugby Tournament
On Wednesday 21 June, Holy Trinity Catholic Primary School co-hosted the North Counties Rippa Tournament for Years 5-8. With 30 teams entered, we thank God for the wonderful day spent at Bruce Pulman Park! Our Year 7/8 team participated in the tournament and came first in the non-competitive group. It was great to see the different local schools participating.
Special thanks and acknowledgement to Daren Taimalie who volunteered as our referee for the day and to all our helpers who supported Mrs Silva with the running of the Year 7/8 Competition. Thank you Miss Aiesi, Miss Lautua, Chaesi Alosio, J’navieve Aiesi and Georgina Lautua. Your support was greatly appreciated!
Special acknowledgement goes to the high school students from Papakura High School, Rosehill College and Strathallan College who came along to referee our tournament games. It was a successful day that we could not have had without these young men and women supporting us!
Whole School Cross Country
Coming up next week on Wednesday 28 June, we have a whole School Cross Country Day. Our children will be participating and coming to school dressed in their whānau colours ‘ready to run’. Parents are welcome to come along, wear your whānau colours too and be our cheerleaders as we encourage all our tamariki to show resilience when completing the course.
We will be closing our school carpark entrance from 10:30am as our Cross Country will start at 11:15am with the students using this area as part of their running course. Let’s pray for fine weather!
Music Competition Results
Music Tutor
Reminders!
School Enrolments
It is really important that we know of all younger brothers and sisters that are commencing schooling with us in 2024. If you have little ones at home, please contact the school office to make a time to meet with Miss Lindstrom so they can be assured of a placement at Holy Trinity School for when they are ready to start in 2024.
School enrolments for 2024 CLOSE by 31st August 2023 and
placements for 2024 will be confirmed by 30th September 2023.
sKids School Holiday Programme
As the July school holidays approach, we are delighted to announce our July Holidays Programme is all about Exploring! We would like to extend a warm invitation to the entire school community to join us in this exciting holiday programme.
During these holidays, we are eager to take your students on an immersive journey of exploration, discovery, and endless fun. Each day of our programme will be filled with a wide range of engaging activities and games that will captivate and entertain students throughout the day. Our carefully curated experiences aim to foster their curiosity, stimulate their sense of adventure, and provide opportunities for them to discover new interests and expand their horizons.
“Unlock the spirit of exploration these July School Holidays! Join us for an incredible journey and explore the July School Holidays with sKids. From exciting activities to immersive games, there’s a world of discovery awaiting your child. Don’t miss out! Visit skids.co.nz/Holy_Trinity
Thank you for your support, and we look forward to an unforgettable July Holidays Exploration with our students.
Upcoming School Events
Holy Trinity School Cross Country Day
Wednesday 28th June
Holy Trinity DISCOVERY LEARNING Sharing Day
Wednesday 28th June 9:00am-10:30am & 1:45pm-2:30pm in the Learning Communities
School Board Monthly Meeting
Wednesday 28th June 7:00pm in the school staffroom
MUFTI DAY – YCC Caritas Fundraising
Friday 30th June
MATARIKI Learning Day – Whanaungatanga Time
Friday 30th June
Term 2 Concludes at 2:50pm
Friday 30th June
Term 3 Commences at 8:50am
Monday 17th July
School Whakatau – Welcome to New Families and Liturgy – led by Senior Leadership Team
Monday 17th July @ 9:15am in Taamaua/school hall
CELEBRATING 100 YEARS
OF ST MARY’S CATHOLIC SCHOOL, AVONDALE
Calling all ex-students, staff and supporters of St Mary’s Avondale. Momentum is gathering for our school’s 100th birthday celebrations with lots of exciting events planned for Friday 8th – Sunday 10th September 2023.
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Friday 8th September – early afternoon |
Liturgy to open the weekend of celebrations, student led school tour and open classrooms, special assembly led by the current students and afternoon tea for the Adults/Guests. (Times TBC) |
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Saturday 9th September |
Back to the Future Gala run by ex students 11am – 3pm Junior Rugby League Tournament on the field |
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Saturday 9th September |
Mix n Mingle Social Event From 6pm – 11pm at Avondale RSA R16 |
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Sunday 10th September |
Mass of Thanksgiving 10am on the field followed by a potluck picnic |
Ngā mihi nui
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Sacred Heart College Hostel Tour
Sunday, 23 July at 2pm
We are pleased to advise that we are offering tours of our Sacred Heart College Hostel on Sunday 23 July, beginning at 2pm in the Hostel Dining Room. The best way to access the Hostel is via Gate 3, off West Tamaki Road.
We welcome everyone to attend the Hostel Tour, even those who have been to the Hostel before, or are a parent of a current SHC day student. Tours will be conducted by our Hostel Staff, allowing families to visit the dormitories and common areas.
Join us for our Hostel Tour on Sunday, 23 July 2023 at 2pm.
Register your attendance here.
Applications for enrolment to Sacred Heart College as a Boarder close on Thursday, 31 August 2023.
Upcoming Community Events
BOOK FAIR – Rotary Club
The Rotary Club of Manurewa-Takanini is holding a BOOK FAIR from Wednesday 5th July to Saturday 8th July 9:00am-5:00pm at Alfriston College 550 Porchester Rd., Randwick Park.
The Roary Club urgently needs your old books! BOOK FAIR Drop Off points are:
26 Trossach Place, Wattle Downs
Hill Park Phanrmacy, 77 Grande Vue Road, Manurewa
8 Catania Place, Conifer Grove
Last day for drop off is Friday 30th June.
All proceeds go towards local Rotary Projects!
