Greetings, Kia ora, Kia orana, Talofa, Mālō e lelei, Namaste, Ni Hao, Bula, Hola, Kumusta, Namaskārām,
Sat Shri Akaal, Vanakkam and Ayubowan
Dear Families
What a wonderful, warm, heart filled welcome we celebrated with our new families and students on Thursday 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.
This is the lovely prayer/karakia we prayed together at our Welcome Liturgy – please continue to pray for our school community this year!
O Lord, thank you for our gifts. May we continue to use them wisely. Help us to share them with others in your Name. So, if we are called to serve, then serve, if it is helping, then help; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. We are all members of our faith community and our school, and it is only with the combination of each other’s gifts that we can work well together. Amen
2024 School Staffing
Due to Holy Trinity Catholic Primary School becoming a ‘Contributing’ Primary School (offering education to Years 0-6 students) from this year, 2024, our learning communities spaces, make-up and composition have changed.
Our 2024 Learning Communities and kaitiaki/teachers have been organised as:
Learning Community Awa = New Entrants, Years 0 and 1 students
Mrs Euginea Fernandes, Mrs Michaela Griffiths and Mrs Danielle Clarivette
Mrs Thea Guadalupe – Learning Assistant
Learning Community Whenua – Older Year 1s and Year 2 students
Mrs Geraldine Malgas and Mrs Sahlee Cortez
Learning Community Ngahere (relocatable rooms) – Year 3 students
Miss Alana Gaynor and Mrs Upashna Nadan
Learning Community Maunga – Year 4 students
Mrs Lainee Davies and Mrs Amandeep Kaur
Mrs Venus Anand – Learning Assistant
Learning Community Moana – Years 5 and 6 students
Mrs Lynn Rhodé, Ms Kirstie Gill and Mrs Mavis Chung
Mrs Bronwyn Sewell, Mrs Venus Anand and Mrs Rachel Farley – Learning Assistants
Ms Laura Ahern, Mrs Liezl Jeftha and Mrs Rochelle Drollét will also be working with us in a ‘teacher release’ capacity.
Mrs Carolyn Harvey and Mrs Angela Aiesi – Learning Assistants for the ESOL programme (Supporting english learning for speakers of other languages)
Senior and Middle Leadership Team:
Miss Peta Lindstrom, Mrs Maria Speechlay, Mrs Ana Silva (DRS), Mrs Lynn Rhodé, Miss Alana Gaynor and Mrs Euginea Fernandes
Welcoming New Staff!
We warmly welcome Mrs Upashna Nadan 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 Upashna as part of Holy Trinity school community and we have already seen her strengths in action as she has spent time preparing for the school year! Upashna is a kaitiaki/teacher in Learning Community Ngahere (Year 3s).
Staff Leave
Mrs Ana Silva will be on family leave for the first 6 weeks of Term 1. We extend our love and blessings to Ana for this time and look forward to having her return to school from Week 7 Monday 18th March.
DRS Report
Dedication Mass
On Tuesday 13 February, our staff will be gathering alongside other staff members from our Auckland Diocesan Catholic Schools to celebrate and rededicate ourselves to the work of Catholic education. It’s always a gentle reminder of our calling as teachers in Catholic schools to be able to continue the teachings of Jesus to the best of our ability. We look forward to another successful year.
Ash Wednesday/Lent
Lent commences on Ash Wednesday which falls on Wednesday 14 February this year. Lent parallels those 40 days when Jesus ventured through the wilderness to strengthen himself for the challenging journey that would lead him to that first Easter. During this period, we too are invited to make our own journey to Easter. During this time we re-examine our own lives, by sifting through the “ashes” that have resulted from our separation from God. Our school will be having an Ash Wednesday Liturgy on this day at 9:15am in Taamaua/school hall. You are welcome to join us as we begin our journey to Easter together as a whānau.
Beginning of Year School Mass
This year, we welcome to school, our new Parish Priest for St Mary’s, Papakura, Father Mathew Vadakkevettuvazhiyil. We are hoping to have Father Mathew celebrate our beginning of year Mass on Wednesday 21 February. More information will be shared with you closer to the time and we do hope that you are able to join us as we welcome Father Mathew to our school.
Student Leaders
For the first time, our Year 5/6 students will be taking on leadership roles and responsibilities within the school. We are working together with our senior students to prepare them for these roles as they learn to use their gifts and talents to serve different areas of the school.
Whānau Patrons
We have four Whānau/House patrons which are significant people that helped to shape our Catholic story here in New Zealand. They are people who lived and worked alongside the people of New Zealand and have dedicated their lives in service to God. Our Whānau patrons are inspiring people with stories that we hope to empower our tamariki with.
Aubert Whānau (Green)
Venerable Suzanne Aubert, a courageous woman of faith who travelled from France to work with Māori people and small communities and learned to converse in Te Reo. She founded the Sisters of Compassion who worked diligently to care for the poor, the sick and the underprivileged, especially the families who had little to no opportunities to build a life. To this day, the Sisters of Compassion are still actively working for the people of New Zealand and the Pacific and are based in Wellington.
MacKillop Whānau (Red)
St Mary of the Cross MacKillop was born in Australia in 1842. She co-founded the Sisters of St Joseph because she saw a need for education in the isolated and rural country areas in Australia – where children did not have the opportunity to attend school or learn about Jesus. Mary, a woman of constant faith, travelled to New Zealand and continued her mission to establish schools for children of underprivileged families. She always reminded others to show active compassion by seeing a need and doing something about it! To this day, the Sisters of St Joseph continue to work with the people of New Zealand.
Pompallier Whānau (Purple)
Traveling from France to New Zealand, Bishop Jean Baptiste Pompallier was the first bishop of Aotearoa New Zealand. He brought many priests and worked to establish many Catholic missions in New Zealand. He taught about God and converted many people to the Catholic faith, especially the Māori people. The Māori people were very special to Bishop Pompallier and he even learned to converse in Te Reo as well. He understood and recognised the need to protect the Māori way of life – te reo and tikanga māori. To this day, we’ve had many bishops continue the work of Bishop Pompallier and many people travel up north to Motuti where the remains of Bishop Pompallier rests.
Patrick Dunn Whānau (Gold)
Bishop Patrick Dunn is our only living patron and the 11th Bishop of the Auckland Diocese. Bishop Pat is intimately a part of our Holy Trinity school story as he was instrumental in the naming of our school and was present during the blessing of the grounds and buildings and attended the official opening ceremony of our school in 2017. Born in London, Bishop Pat came to New Zealand and was ordained a priest at 26 years old and appointed as an auxiliary bishop at the age of 44. Bishop Pat was the previous Bishop of Auckland and is known for his gentle nature and knowledge of the Catholic history of Aotearoa New Zealand.
Year 5/6 Retreat
On Thursday 22 February, our Year 5/6 students will be spending this day in a quiet Retreat at St Francis Retreat Centre, Hillsborough. It will be a time of reflection as they explore leadership through the lens of our Whānau patrons – Bishop Patrick Dunn, Venerable Suzanne Aubert, St Mary of the Cross MacKillop and Bishop Jean Baptiste Pompallier. They will also be working collaboratively to build trust in themselves and in each other. We have Mrs Cynthia Piper facilitating our student Retreat this year. Cynthia is a lecturer at the Catholic Theological College and works closely with the Religious Education Advisers of the Auckland Diocese. We pray for our students as they take the mantle of leadership this year to serve in all areas of our school community and we give thanks for the gift of Cynthia as she prepares to lead our students for this special day.
Curriculum News
This year our learning focus is centred on “Our Story Our Taonga”. The students will be learning to independently use their learning to reflect on how their own and others’ stories can become taonga that empowers the way we respond to God’s mission.
Whakatauki:
Inā kei te mohio koe ko wai koe, I anga mai koe i hea, kei te mohio koe. Kei te anga atu ki hea.
If you know who you are and where you are from, then you will know where you are going.’
Our Term 1 connected curriculum concept is Korero Pūrākau/Storytelling! Religious Education, Social Sciences/Aotearoa NZ Histories, Health and Physical Education will be the key curriculum Learning Areas along with English and Maths.
The Key Understanding for learning is that:
Korero Pūrākau enriches the way we value stories as taonga to empower our mission
The Essential Questions for learning are:
- What is korero pūrākau?
- Why value korero pūrākau?
- How does korero pūrākau enrich stories as taonga?
Student Attendance
As you will be aware through the media, there is a great concern around students attendance at school and the impact this is having on levels of student progress and achievement. The Ministry of Education is requesting schools to have an “intervention tier” in place so that student attendance is monitored, tracked and intervention strategies are put in place quickly and efficiently to ensure high rates of school attendance for every child.
For Holy Trinity School, our student attendance concern is with the large number of children who are regularly arriving late to school after the 8:50am bell and/or are leaving school early in the afternoon.
The school gates open from 8:30am and children are able to be on site. This then allows time for them to organise themselves for the day ahead, greet and spend time with their kaitiaki/teachers and friends, undertake roles and responsibilities, prepare for morning karakia/prayer etc. School begins at 8:50am with morning karakia/prayer – it’s important that the children are at school and have this time for prayer, song, reflection and meditation.
As the first intervention tier for our school, we will be monitoring student lateness and will be communicating promptly with those families where there is regular lateness – special circumstances permitting.
We are also asking parents to refrain from requesting early afternoon finishing time for their child/ren unless it is necessary or a special circumstance.
We are confident that by working together and respecting the school bell times, we can ensure our children have the best possible opportunity for their learning!
School Traffic – Beginning and End of Day Reminders!
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, please make sure you park on the left hand side facing Kuaka Drive – DO NOT park on the yellow lines, DO NOT park in the turning bays. The side gate to/from Kapowai Boulevard will be open from 8:30am/mornings and from 2:30pm/afternoon for parents/families to access the school.
The pick up/drop off area in the front of the school (the Bus Bay area) is NOT for parking. This area is ONLY for a short time to stop and either drop off your child or to pick up your child. Please DO NOT leave your vehicles to come into school.
Whānau are welcome to park in a designated car park space in the school car park if there is a space available. Please DO NOT park in the Disabled carparks unless you have the necessary permits. Thank you for understanding this request.
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.
2024 Attendance Dues Payments
Attendance Dues 2024 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
- Full amount paid by Internet Banking to ASB school account – details for payment are on the statement.
- Automatic Payment to be set up via internet banking to ASB school account
- 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 2024 payments must all be completed by 1st December 2024.
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.
PTFA News …
2024 Key Events:
Mark your calendars for our key events for 2024:
Welcome Picnic/Mahi Tahi Informla Conferences Evening – Wednesday 28th February 3pm-6pm
Wheel-a-thon Fundraising Event – Friday 5th April
Matariki Whānau Breakfast – Thursday 27th June (TBC)
Disco – Friday 16th August
Wave Rave – Friday 27th September (TBC)
Christmas Market – Friday 29th November (TBC)
Next PTFA Meeting:
Scheduled for Tuesday 27th February 2024. All welcome to come along to the staff room at 7pm.
We need sponsorship!!!
Do you own a business or work for a generous employer who would like to donate to our school? For the Wheel-a-thon on Friday 5th April, we need big prizes to be donated for spot prizes and raffles or money to go towards food and supplies. We’d be happy to put the company’s logo on our advertising. Please get in touch if you have any contacts or items to donate.
We need a PTFA Treasurer!
Thank you to Astrid Birgel who held this position in 2023 – we are very grateful for Astrid’s time and commitment to this role. We are now on the look out for another parent or Holy Trinity School family member that could take on this role for the PTFA. It is not an onerous job and there is a good team of support around you. Please email us if you are interested in lending a ‘helping hand’.
Thank you for your continued support.
Email – ptfa@holytrinity.school.nz
Laura Cooper and Michelle Porter
Co-Leaders PTFA Team
St Ignatius of Loyola Catholic College
Enrolments for Year 7 Students in 2025
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Property Update …
The Eco Lawn was installed over the summer holidays in the first bark area of the playground and what a difference it has made! THANK YOU to Grassroots Charitable Trust for funding this project and a BIG THANK YOU to Carmel Stewart, our Office Administrator for seeking out this funding and making the application on our school’s behalf. It is a wonderful play area for the children and is already being well utilised – THANK YOU CARMEL!
The Catholic Diocese of Auckland (CDA) has also had a team in clearing out, tidying up and reseeding the back field area of the school. This was known as ‘no man’s land’! Once the area is properly prepared and grass has grown, it will be come an integrated area of our school environment and be part of the school field and accessible as the children’s play area.
Our Sacred Space/Prayer Garden has survived the heat of the summer and is already being used as a prayer, reflection and meditation area by the Learning Communities. The PTFA is underway with locating a statue of ‘Mother Mary’ that will take pride of place in the grotto area.
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.
School Uniform
Thank you for having the children so neat and tidy in our Holy Trinity School uniform – they look great!
Students are expected to be in the correct school uniform except for ‘mufti’ days or event days. This includes the short sleeved blouse or shirt, open toed black school sandals and the school sunhat. sandals are to be worn in Term 1 and Term 4. Shoes and socks are to be worn in Term 2 and Term 3. Please name all items of clothing so that they can be returned to the children immediately when found.
Our School uniform is only available for purchase from NZ Uniforms on 20/5 Lambie Drive, Manukau.
Upcoming School Events
Waitangi Day School Liturgy – led by Mrs Speechlay
Monday 5th February @ 2:00pm in Taamaua/school hall
Waitangi Day – School Closed for Public Holiday
Tuesday 6th February
ASB Getwise Financial Programme for Years 3/4/5/6
Wednesday 7th – Thursday 8th February
Dedication Mass for Catholic Schools Staff
Tuesday 13th February @ 7:00pm Christ the King Parish Church, Owairaka
ASH Wednesday Liturgy
Wednesday 14th February @ 9:15am in Taamaua/school hall
Craft Lab Outdoor Education programme for Years 5/6
Friday 16th February on site
School Gathering Liturgy and Assembly – led by Mrs Rhode/LC Moana
Monday 19th February @ 8:50am in Taamaua/school hall
Beginning of the Year School Mass – Whānau Leaders Commissioning (TBC)
Wednesday 21st February @ 9:15am Taamaua/school hall – Fr Mathew presiding (TBC)
Retreat Day for Year 5/6 students
Thursday 22nd February @ Franciscan Retreat Centre, Hillsborough
PTFA Monthly Meeting
Tuesday 27th February 7:00pm in the school staffroom
Mahi Tahi Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences – informal
Wednesday 28th February 3:00pm – 6:00pm
School Board Monthly Meeting
Wednesday 28th February 7:00pm in the school staffroom
Term 1 Concludes
Friday 12th April
