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
Innovation Leading to Serve
We are now halfway through our learning concept of Innovation. Our learners have been exploring how innovations in our common home help us to think in new ways. Using the design thinking process—empathising, defining, ideating, prototyping, and testing—they are working towards our transfer goal: to design and create an innovation that will show ways people encounter Christ when we seek to serve, nurture, and sustain our common home.
This week, our pātaka kaitiaki noticed that the weather has turned quite chilly and the children who arrive early to school are waiting outside in the cold. Empathising with this need, they came up with a solution: making hot chocolate. They worked together to choose a recipe that was inclusive for children with allergies and gluten-free needs. Their audience were children arriving between 8:30 and 8:45am, and the response was a big success—they even made enough for everyone!
Looking ahead, our pātaka kaitiaki hope to continue offering hot chocolate once a week and are planning to make lemonade in the summer. This example shows how our learners are living out the transfer goal of Innovation—designing and creating solutions that not only meet real needs but also help others to encounter Christ through acts of service.
DRS Report
Feast of the Assumption Mass
What a beautiful Mass we celebrated with Father Kevin Murphy of St Anne’s Manurewa. Father Kevin shared a special reminder for us all, that we are called to be like Mary, a woman of faith, a woman of grace. That in our lives, no matter the struggle, we know that we can ask our Mother Mary to intercede for us and help us to follow her son Jesus. Father Kevin also blessed our whānau banners which our school is very proud to display in the front office.
St Mary’s College Service Day
On Tuesday this week, we had the great pleasure of hosting students from St Mary’s College who came through to spend a day in service for our school. It was wonderful to see them eagerly assisting tamariki and kaitiaki by taking groups of children in their learning and helping the teachers with resources for the classroom. Our children loved having them for the day and the extra support they gave was deeply appreciated!
Fathers Day Liturgy
Fathers Day is just around the corner and as an annual celebration, we will be having our own Fathers Day celebration here at school in Taamaua/school hall on Friday 5 September at 1:30pm. It’s a time for our Holy Trinity whānau to celebrate and give thanks to God for all our fathers and father figures in our lives!
RE Books Coming Home
The week commencing 1st September, your child will be bringing home their Religious Education (RE) books for you to have a look at their learning at school. It would be great if you are able to give your child/ren an opportunity to share their RE learning with you and we encourage all our whānau to write a family comment in the section available.
Board Elections
Dear Parents,
Just a reminder that you have until the day of the election : Wednesday 10th September before 4pm to bring your vote to the School Office.
Postal votes will be counted if received by the Returning Officer within 5 five days after the day of the election.
Many Blessings
Returning Officer – Jocelyn Ochoa
Cultural Celebrations
Indian Independence Celebration
Thank you so much to all of our Indian and Sri Lankan families for helping organise and prepare to celebrate the Indian Independence day for our families! Also it has been wonderful to see you at school supporting children to sing and dance at the feast of Assumption Mass last Friday. A beautiful expression of prayer through the Liturgy of the word procession by these children. It was lovely to see our school community engaging in a variety of activities throughout the day last Friday celebrating Indian Independence Day—flag making, a rangoli competition, showcasing traditional Indian and Sri Lankan attire, and taking part in a fun and educational quiz competition. A heartfelt thank you to the Patria family for providing sweets and ice cream for all the children at school. Blessings to you for your generosity and kindness—it is truly appreciated!
Tongan Language Week
This week we celebrated Tonga Language Week with the theme:
“Ko ‘etau lea, ko e fe’unu mahu’inga ia ki he mo’ui ‘a e Tonga – Our language is a vital strand of our Tongan culture.”
A highlight of the week was enjoying some delicious ‘otai and keke ‘isite, lovingly prepared by our Tongan families — mālō ‘aupito for sharing this with us! We also enjoyed hearing Tongan stories read by Mr Kumar over the intercom, which gave our whole school a chance to listen and connect with the language. Each of our learning communities also planned their own Tongan language activities.
We are so grateful to our Tongan whānau for their support and for helping us to honour and celebrate the richness of Tongan language and culture at our school.
Learning Community News
Whenua
Learning Community Whenua had a fantastic week, starting off with Hungerball on Monday. While enjoying the physical activity, learners also strengthened social skills like turn-taking and cooperation. Simple soccer games through Hungerball support both taha tinana (physical wellbeing) and taha whānau (social wellbeing) as our children learn to play safely and respectfully with others.
In Religious Education, we unpacked our school’s Gospel Values of Ngākau Pono (Integrity), Hiranga (Excellence), and Ngāwari (Resilience). Learners are expressing their understanding in creative ways—such as using blocks to construct scenes from the parable of the Wise and Foolish Men. Each learner has selected a Bible story and is now engaging in an individual KWHLAQ inquiry. Through this process, they are deepening their encounter with Christ and preparing to share their story’s message in a way that inspires others to take action in serving our common home.
Through Technology, our Whenua children are learning to follow the Design Thinking Process, enabling them to identify the needs or problems of their audience. Next, we will move into the exciting phase of designing and creating prototypes as a way to serve our common home.
In Music, we are exploring sound through body percussion and using the basic elements of music to create our own musical patterns.
Last week, we had been practising hard for our cross country event and were excited to finally run the course this week.
Awa
In Technology, Awa learners continue following the EDIPT process and exploring ways to respond to the need of healthy foods in order to keep our body systems healthy as we have learned previously in term 2. Our tamariki have started preparing the plant boxes by weeding and getting the soil ready for planting. A group of learners are collecting different materials to use in their quest to solve the problem of watering the plants during the weekends and summer holidays.
In RE, our learners are looking into ways they can innovatively share Bible stories which they will present to inspire and help us and others to serve, nurture and sustain our common home.
As part of Health and PE, learners are excited and actively engaged in Hungerball and learning how the game helps to grow our Haoura well being.
Last Friday, we celebrated the Feast of the Assumption and Indian and Sri Lankan Independence day through arts and crafts like stained glass window colouring of Mother Mary, flag making and designing and creating Rangoli patterns.
Ngahere
In Technology and Health, we have been exploring innovative ways to support our hauora. We noticed that during the cold winter months we often have less energy, and more and more people are getting sick. Building on our learning from last term about food systems, and using the design thinking process, we came up with some creative recipes to help support our hauora. Learners from Kōwhai created their own recipe for a delicious fruit salad, while Pōhutukawa designed a recipe for a fruit and yoghurt smoothie. By eating healthy, nourishing foods, we hope to strengthen our physical well-being, Taha Tinana.Our next steps will be to come up with more innovative ideas to support all aspects of hauora.
Here are the recipes if you would like to give them a go!
| Pohutukawa Nourishing Smoothie Recipe for Winter Colds
Ingredients ½ cup Strawberries 1 cup Mango ½ Banana ½ cup Blueberries 1 teaspoon Honey 1 cup Yogurt- Vanilla Handful of Spinach ½ Mandarin 1 cup Milk Method: Put in a blender and blend until smooth. |
Kowhai Fruit Salad Recipe
Ingredients (Fruits): Kiwi fruit Method:
|
Maunga
LC Maunga learners have been looking forward to Hungerball returning to Holy Trinity all term, and they were thrilled when it arrived this week. They quickly remembered how to play and eagerly taught our newer students.
The LC Maunga learners have also been actively engaging with the design thinking process as they develop their technology projects aimed at addressing specific needs. For example, one group is focused on issues with the digestive system, so they are creating a prototype for a delicious gluten-free recipe where you can’t tell the difference. Throughout their journey, they have demonstrated a strong commitment to understanding their users by empathising with their experiences and challenges. This empathetic approach has helped them define clear and meaningful problems that their prototypes can effectively solve.
The learners have shown creativity and a collaborative spirit during the ideation phase, generating a variety of innovative ideas to meet the needs they identified. They are now at the prototype stage, where they are translating their ideas into tangible models. This hands-on process allows them to explore different solutions and refine their concepts.
Overall, the learners are making excellent progress, demonstrating perseverance, creativity, and a deepening understanding of the design thinking process. They are on a meaningful journey to create solutions that not only address needs but also inspire others in their faith journey.
Moana
LC Moana learners have been continuing their work around following the Design Thinking Process to create a prototype to address a specific need. Learners have empathised, defined, ideated, and are at the prototype stage before testing their idea out and presenting how their prototype helps others to encounter Christ. Our learners are busy creating crosses for Visual Arts, sharing their learning of Old Testament stories for RE, and coming up with a plan for how they can look after our common home in Technology.
On Wednesday 13 August, selected learners from LC Moana took part in the North Counties Cross Country races at Te Hihi School. Our learners showed incredible excellence/hiranga and resilience/ngāwari by doing their very best on a course that goes through paddocks – very different from our field! Well done to Makarios who was our top runner, coming 28th place out of a very large group of Year 5 and 6 runners.
Whole School Cross Country
Last Thursday we held our whole school cross country, and what a fantastic day it was! Our tamariki showed great determination as they ran the course, while also encouraging their whānau members to win their races – all competing for the winning whānau group. It was wonderful to see so many families cheering on and supporting the children to run their very best.
The cold but sunny weather didn’t stop our runners from giving it their all. Our senior course was slightly shorter this year, due to a number of children and staff being away sick.
We are proud of the effort, resilience, and whānau spirit shown by everyone who ran.
Book Club
Book Club
Issue 6 of the Book Club catalogue is out now. Orders close at 3pm next Friday, the 29th of August.
Orders can be placed online at https://scholastic.co.nz/parents/book-club-parents/ or complete the order form at the back of the catalogue and pay at the school office.
Thank you for your continued support of the Book Club as your purchases earn reward dollars that we spend on the school library and learning communities.
Book Week in Schools Live NZ Theatre Performance
Today we had a performance by Book Week in Schools Live called Maybe a Miracle where our tamariki got to explore three books by NZ authors through a play. Tanya and Jackson had our tamariki laughing, dancing, and answering questions as they shared the fabulous books What Knot You Got?, Pipi Dance, and The Dream Factory. Their reminder that miracles surround us every day, and that we are capable of achieving great things because anything is possible, are messages well worth holding onto.
Sports News
Hungerball
Our tamariki and kaitiaki were very excited to see Hungerball back to school on Monday, staying for the rest of the term. Our student leaders took part in the training and will be leading sessions in the morning across the week for the rest of the school. Hungerball encourages inclusive play and maximum fun!
Cross Country
Our Year 5/6 students recently participated in the Cross Country event at Te Hihi Primary School, and we couldn’t be prouder of their efforts. Each student showed incredible resilience, pushing through the challenge of the challenging course with a positive attitude. Their sportsmanship was equally impressive—cheering on teammates, supporting one another, and representing our school. There was also some unexpected learning as students became very invested in watching worms navigate the bumpy terrain, just as they had to on their run. Ka pai to our learners who represented our school!
Sport News
Holy Trinity Netball Club Prizegiving
A huge thank you to Larce Kippen for her leadership in managing and organising our Saturday netball teams this season. We are also very grateful to the coaches and managers—many of whom were parents—who generously gave their time to support the teams, helping the players to grow their skills and play so well together. Congratulations to everyone who has been part of this year’s netball season, and especially to our players, who we celebrated at the Netball Prizegiving on Wednesday night.
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- Thank you to our team of Coaches and Managers
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- Thank you Larce Kippen
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- Congratulations Mele – 2025 Netball player of the Year
Karate News
Zia and Zara, we are thrilled to celebrate your success in a recent karate tournament! Well done to Zia for achieving first place in her category. Zara, you also performed admirably, showing great skill and determination. Congratulations to you both on your achievements, and we wish you all the best for the future!
PTFA News
Kia ora HTCPS whānau,
Get ready to make a splash at the Barnyard Bash Wave Rave! We are thrilled to invite you to an evening of fun, music, and good vibes!
Date: Friday, August 29th
Time: 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM
Location: Massey Park Pool
Ticket Information:
Tickets are $10
Tickets can be purchased through the school office until next Wednesday!
Note: Please see the supervision requirements outlined below.
Tickets will be available to be purchased from the office until 3pm Wednesday 27th August, after that date you will need to pay directly to Massey Park.
On Friday 29th August, all tickets will be handed out in the children’s learning communities, please remember to bring your tickets to skip the line.
What’s Included:
– Hydro Slide (participants must be 1.2 meters tall)
– Bombing
– Wave Pool
– Inflatable Aqua Run (participants must be 1.3 meters tall or able to swim in a 1.2-meter pool)
– Exciting games and competitions with fantastic prizes to be won
– Live music to keep the party going
– Live music to keep you dancing the night away
Child Supervision:
For the safety of our younger attendees, please note that children aged 10 years and under must be actively supervised by a caregiver aged 17 years or over at all times. Children 4 years of age and under MUST be accompanied by an adult in the pool, within arms reach at all times (supervisor must be 17 years or older).
All proceeds from this event will go towards supporting our school on our goal for new playground equipment.
Upcoming School Events
School Gathering Liturgy and School Assembly – led by Mrs Malgas/LC Awa and Mr Kumar/LC Maunga
Monday 25 August @ 8.50am in Taamaua
Staff and School leaders Photos
Wednesday 27 August @ 9.00am
PTFA Meeting
Tuesday 26 August @ 7:00pm
NZ Playhouse Theatre
Thursday 28 August @ 11.30am
PTFA Wave Rave at Massey Park
Friday 29 August from 7.00pm – 9.30pm
RE Books going home
Week 8 01-05 September
School Board Elections
Wednesday 03 September
Fathers Day Liturgy
Friday 05 September @ 1.30pm
St Anne’s Shield
Tuesday 09 September
PTFA Pizza Lunch
Friday 12 September
Cultural Groups Performance Night
Wednesday 17 September
Term 3 Concludes
Friday 19th September 2:50pm
Upcoming Community Events
After School Workshops for Sustainable Papakura
activities@
Contributing to a vibrant Papakura through the promotion of eco-friendly waste minimisation choices.
STEM Sessions
