Greetings, Kia ora, Kia orana, Talofa, Mālō e lelei, Namaste, Ni Hao, Bula, Hola, Kumusta, Namaskārām,
Sat Shri Akaal, Vanakkam and Ayubowan
Deputy Principal’s Message
Kia orana families,
From the Deputy Principal
This week we celebrated Book Week, Cook Islands Language Week, and the Eye on Nature Wearable Arts Fashion Show — three events that bring joy, learning, and a sense of belonging to our tamariki. These celebrations happen because of our amazing staff, who plan, organise, and go the extra mile so our children can have fun while learning. The success of these events is also made possible through the aroha, encouragement, and hands-on support of our whānau, who help bring these special moments to life.
As the body of Christ, our unity/kotahitanga makes this possible. Inspired by the Holy Trinity, we work together to strengthen relationships and nurture a Catholic school of excellence where renewal and growth flourish in a spirit of oneness and harmony.
Meitaki ma’ata,
Maria Speechlay
DRS Report
Whole School Mass
We celebrated a beautiful beginning of term Mass with Father Mathew of St Mary’s Papakura. It was lovely to have our whānau join us for Mass as we listened to Father Mathew talk about the greatest ‘treasure’ in our lives, that comes in the form of God’s unwavering love for us as his children. Even when we sometimes make mistakes and we fail to love others, God’s love for us is constant and warm. Let us continue to pray for each other as we share God’s love with our family, friends and neighbours.
Catholic Caring Foundation Jubilee Mass
The annual Catholic Caring Foundation Jubilee Mass was celebrated this week at Christ the King, Owairaka with Monsignor Bernard Kiely as the celebrant. This annual celebration is alo an opportunity for students in Catholic schools to be recognised for the extraordinary service of care in their school and Parish communities. It was also the first time that teaching staff were able to receive these special awards. We are proud to celebrate with Genesis Feagaiga, Lilac Encino, Eva Abin, Joseph Seemon, Isaiah Raega and Mia Yandall, along with our two teachers nominated; Mrs Sahlee Cortez and Miss Jennifer Anacleto.
What wonderful examples they are in our communities.
Prayer Focus from the Heart
This term, our teaching staff had the privilege of learning from the wonderful Diane Porter who is the Religious Education Advisor from the Hamilton Diocese. Diane was invited to Holy Trinity to share her passion for creative prayer spaces in the classroom. Each staff member was given an opportunity to reflect, choose and create a meaningful prayer focus that represented a significant theme for themselves. As we walked around the learning community and listened to the symbolic meaning of the different prayer focuses from each staff member, the Holy Spirit was at work, stirring our hearts as we were moved with respect and understanding for each other. The prayer focuses that were shared, offered an insight into the world of the person who created it. In time, we hope that we, as teachers, can do the same for our children. To enable them to share their love of Christ through their own creative prayer spaces.
The Feast of the Assumption of Mary School Mass
On Friday 15 August, we celebrate the special Feast Day of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary with a whole school Mass at 9:15am in Taamaua/school hall with Father Kevin Murphy of St Anne’s Manurewa. On this holy day of obligation we attend Mass with our families as we are reminded of Jesus’ mother, Mary who is our mother too. Having completed the course of her earthly life, Mother Mary was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory. As the patron saint of Aotearoa New Zealand, we remember Mary as a woman of grace who said yes to being the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ. We celebrate the upcoming Feast of the Assumption by reflecting on the ways we can be more like Mary.
School Board News …
School Board Elections
Dear Parents,
Nominations for the forthcoming School Board Elections are now CLOSED .
You will receive an envelope with Voting Forms and the Candidates Statements by Wednesday 13th August.
NOTE : Each parent is eligible to vote in this Election.
Your voting paper needs to be delivered or posted in the envelope supplied to the Returning Officer – Jocelyn Ochoa at Holy Trinity Catholic Primary School before 4pm on the day of the election : Wednesday 10th September.
Postal votes will be counted if received by the Returning Officer within 5 five days after the day of the election.
Many Blessings
Jocelyn Ochoa
Returning Officer
Paid Union Meetings
Tēnā koutou,
Paid union meetings are being held between Monday 18 August and Friday 29 August 2025 for all members of NZEI Te Riu Roa employed at Holy Trinity.
NZEI Te Riu Roa leaders are calling paid union meetings for members to discuss and consider important issues related to their bargaining.
Our teachers are attending meetings on Thursday the 21st of August, Tuesday the 26th of August and Thursday the 28th of August.
Thanks to careful arrangements, these meetings should have minimal impact on regular school operations and all classes will be running as usual.
We wish to thank all the teaching and support staff for their dedication and hard work at Holy Trinity, and hope that their bargaining proceeds well.
Haere rā,
Jason CJ Farley
Presiding Member
Holy Trinity Catholic Primary School Board
Eye on Nature Wearable Arts Fashion Show
Our school entered the Eye on Nature Wearable Arts Fashion Show for the very first time this year – and what an incredible experience it was! This annual event challenges students from across Auckland to design and create stunning eco-friendly garments inspired by the yearly theme.
The 2025 theme was ‘Wellbeing – Taiao and Me’, all about caring for and connecting with nature for a healthy self.
The designers were challenged to reflect on their Wearable Arts creations and explore how they could show kaitiakitanga for te taiao (the environment) and for themselves by considering three key questions:
- How does a healthy environment support healthy people?
- How can I connect with te taiao through te whare tapa whā?
- What actions can I take to create a nourishing environment for nature, myself, and my community?
We would like to give a huge congratulations to our amazing contestants: Mia, Ileanah, Zia, Lucy, Arkin, Mary, Nicaella, Josephine and Skylah W. They poured their creativity, commitment, and courage into their designs.
Although they didn’t place this time, we are incredibly proud of their imaginative creations and their willingness to step up and represent our school. Their mahi and positive spirit were a real inspiration!
Teaching and Learning News
Cyber Safety with Constable Lisa
Our seniors students in Learning Community Maunga and Moana had the pleasure of having our very own Education Police Officer, Constable Lisa Ross who led a session with our students around Cyber Safety – being safe online. It was a wonderful session where tamariki were able to ask questions about safety online and Constable Lisa shared different strategies on ways we can all be responsible and use the internet in a safe way.
Cook Islands Language Week
This week we had a little celebration of Cook Islands Language Week, a special time to honour the rich language, culture, traditions, and heritage of the Cook Islands. It was a wonderful opportunity for our school community to learn, share, and embrace Te Reo Kūki ‘Āirani through language, dance, music, storytelling, and food.
We encouraged everyone to participate. The Cook Island – Māori children were asked to dress in their Cook Islands attire. Throughout the week, we enjoyed the learning, celebrated together and strengthened our sense of connection and community. We had our students design their own tivaevae patterns, then create them using paper. Now all we have to do is join all the squares together to make one big tivaevae. We also received special greetings from Miss Cook Island / New Zealand 2024-2026 Ngatepaeru Maoate, who is Ruby Lee and Rangi’s aunty ( Dad’s younger sister). A special thanks to Ngatalia and Reign Iripa’s mum who helped display some of the Cook Island cultural artefacts in the office foyer.
Kia orana e kia manuia!
Awhi Team – Peer Mediators
Local Speech Competitions
This week two learners from LC Moana (Years 5/6) represented our school at two local speech competitions. Mia Yandall represented us at the Kāhui Ako South Auckland Catholic Schools Speech Competition, where she spoke about unity/kotahitanga. Eva Abin represented us at the Rehu Tai Competition (Papakura area), where she presented a speech about being kaitiaki through Catholicism. Eva came second in the primary speech section of the competition. We are very proud of Mia and Eva’s accomplishments and how well they showed resilience/ngāwari and excellence/hiranga.Book Week 2025
Learning Community News
Whenua
In Religious Education, we are learning about important people and events in the life of Jesus. Learners can share how Mary, Joseph, Elizabeth, Zechariah, and John showed love and care for Jesus, just as our own families care for us. To deepen this understanding, we will use the KWHLAQ inquiry to ask thoughtful questions to know more about and encounter Jesus.
In Literacy, we are looking at different types of text and exploring how creators design and innovate text to share their messages. It is inspiring to see our learners noticing fine details in how texts are crafted, and how they reflect on the choices made by authors. This learning will support students as they create their own texts to communicate meaningful messages—especially ones that help others encounter Christ and care for our common home.
In Technology, we are connecting our understanding of innovation with everyday life. Learners have been exploring how familiar objects have changed over time to become more useful and efficient. This has sparked exciting conversations and discoveries! Currently, we are engaging with the Design Thinking Process to guide us as we brainstorm and create innovative solutions for sustaining our common home.
Across all learning areas, we are seeing how inquiry, creativity, and care for others are interconnected—and how learners are becoming thoughtful contributors to our world.
Awa
In RE our tamariki have been learning about Jesus’/Hehu’s whānau. They are able to identify the members of Jesus’ whānau and their relationship to Jesus and to each other. They are also learning the roles of each member in Hehu’s family. We are currently learning about Jesus’ stories that help us encounter Christ. We are learning to ask questions about the way stories are shared in the Bible as well as using the 5W and H question word to know more about a chosen story in the Bible.
LC Awa has also been busy learning about design thinking, sharing and describing the innovations using the design thinking process. Over the next couple of weeks, we will be using the DTP to identify a problem in our common home and design a prototype to meet the need such as a water conservation system for the hot summer months; a bokashi reusing food scraps to make healthy fertiliser and creating plant boxes to give to people to start planting their very own healthy fruit and vegetables.
Our learners are excited to engage in creating their innovations through RE, Technology and Music learning. In Maths, our learners are working on identifying, describing, and sorting 2D and 3D shapes, including ovals, semicircles, polygons and rectangular prisms (cuboids).
At present, learners are receiving Gospel Value certificates and a scholastic book in LC Awa. Kaitiaki will also award certificates to learners who are consistently engaging in their home learning through IXL and PMe reading.
Maunga
During literacy, the learners in LC Maunga have looked at innovative ways of sharing stories. Some students have been reading chapter books and decided to share the main ideas of the story in the form of a comic/graphic novel. Other students have read plays and thought of innovative ways to perform using the magic play box as props.
They have been working equally hard in RE learning a range of Jesus’ parables. It was important for us to understand that ‘a parable is a short story that Jesus made up to help people understand an important truth’. In each parable we identified the key messages and discussed how they relate to our lives today.
On Wednesday, Constable Lisa Ross visited our school and gave an informative talk about cyber safety. She shared very useful messages regarding the responsible use of devices both at home and in school. Constable Ross emphasized the importance of being cautious online and provided practical tips on how to protect personal information, recognize online threats, and avoid cyberbullying. She also encouraged all tamariki to only use and watch videos in the presence of their whānau, fostering a safer and more supportive environment for our children. The information she shared was very insightful and educational, and our children have gained valuable knowledge on how to safeguard themselves while using technology. We are grateful for her visit and the positive impact it has made in promoting digital safety among our students.
Moana
On Tuesday and Thursday two of our Moana learners had the opportunity to attend the Papakura Principals Association Speech Competition and Kāhui Ako/ COL (community of learners) Speech Competition. Eva Abin attended the Papakura competition along with 7 other students from other schools. She stood proud and presented her speech about “Kaitiakitanga”. Mia Yandall participated at De La Salle College in Mangere. She competed against 12 other Catholic schools’ students. Mia took the lead and confidently presented her speech.
In Learning Community Moana, learners have been introduced to the design thinking process. This approach encourages creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving by guiding students through stages such as empathy, ideation, and prototyping. Learners have been exploring problems in our school (like litter) and brainstorming innovative solutions to address the issue. It’s been exciting to see their confidence grow using the design thinking process as they will be developing ideas and solutions to problems we face everyday at school.
Sports News
North Counties Inter-school Cross Country
Next Wednesday 13 August, twenty of our Year 5/6 tamariki will be representing our school at the North Counties Cross Country held at Te Hihi School. It’s a tough course running through the muddy paddocks and in the past, our students have shown great resilience and enjoyment as they completed the course for the day. We encourage the whānau of the students participating to come down and support our students on the sideline.
St Anne’s Shield Sports Tournament
We are the hosting school for St Anne’s Shield Sports Tournament this year which will be held at Bruce Pulman Park on Tuesday 9th September. The tournament involves nine Catholic Schools with Year 5-8 students playing netball, rugby, tag and football. We are currently in preparation for training as we have entered netball and football teams to participate on the day. We pray for fine weather as we look forward to a fun day of sporting competition.
Reminders!
Concerns and Complaints Policy
It is always good practice each year to inform parents and community of the appropriate channel to share concerns or worries. Schools are required to have a Concerns and Complaints Policy in place. The purpose is to provide clear guidelines for the school community in raising and resolving concerns and complaints.
These procedures enable us to:
- maintain the best learning environment for our students
- resolve matters of concern early, if possible
- respond to feedback and concerns constructively
- deal with complaints fairly, effectively, and promptly
- take into account individual circumstances
- maintain confidentiality
- preserve school/community relationships and communication
- monitor and record complaints and concerns about student safety.
Most complaints can be resolved informally by discussions with the people concerned.
- Discuss the issue with the right person.
- Work towards a resolution.
School policies and procedures are held online with SchoolDocs. Access to this information is shared with you at each student enrolment interview. Please access by logging on to http://holytrinity.schooldocs.co.nz/ – User Name: holytrinity – Password: learnloveserve
Upcoming School Events
School Gathering Liturgy and School Assembly – led by Mrs Griffiths/LC Moana and Mrs Chua/LC Whenua
Monday 11th August @ 8:50am in Taamaua/school hall
Cultural Group Practice
Monday 11th August 9:30am-10:30am
School Mass – Feast Day of The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary – a HOLY DAY
Friday 15th August @ 9:15am in Taamaua/school hall
Indian Independence Day Celebrations
Friday 15th August @ school
Tongan Language Week Celebrations
Monday 18th – Friday 22nd August
Cultural Group Practice
Monday 18th August 9:30am-10:30am
Whole School Cross Country Day
Thursday 21st August 11:30am – 2:00pm @ school
Term 3 Concludes
Friday 19th September 2:50pm
Term 4 Commences
Monday 6th October 8:50am
Upcoming Community Events
Kumon After School Tutoring Programme
