Greetings, Kia ora, Kia orana, Talofa, Mālō e lelei, Namaste, Ni Hao, Bula, Hola, Kumusta, Namaskārām,
Sat Shri Akaal, Vanakkam and Ayubowan
Dear Families
We have had much to celebrate these past weeks with the various successes and achievements of our students and school families – this brings an enormous sense of pride to our school community as we gather around our successful achievers to congratulate them and to honour them.
One of our school Gospel values is EXCELLENCE/HIRANGA – and we recognise this Gospel value as we express our joy in our students and families as they share their gifts and talents so admirably with us all. Excellence/hiranga is a reflection of God’s blessings and we are mindful that we never achieve success on our own but with the support of our whānau/families, friends, community – all leading and guiding us towards excellence!
We see excellence in action when:
- our students, families and staff grow in knowledge and understanding that life has meaning and that their gifts, talents, backgrounds, experiences, family and faith are shared and celebrated.
- we create a strong academic programme which is delivered in the spirit of current learning approaches to meet the abilities and needs of all students
- high learning expectations are fostered and maintained and there is belief that all students can achieve regardless of abilities and backgrounds
- our students are motivated, engaged and strive to reach their personal best
- our students persevere through challenges and difficulties to achieve quality result
- our students care for one another and there is commitment to serve
- we encourage the engagement of parents, families, whānau and the community with the life and work of the school
We acknowledge all of these wonderful students, whānau and staff for the fantastic achievements celebrated with so much happiness this week …
Our Indian and Sri Lankan families for the joyful procession of liturgical dance expressed so beautifully and reverently at the Feast of the Assumption Liturgy
Our thanks to our Indian and Sri Lankan community for the generous sharing of traditional sweets for all of the school community to celebrate Indian Independence Day
Our Tongan community for the vibrant display of cultural dance – especially Daniel and Sosiolo Kaloni and to our children and families for the beautiful rendition of the Tongan National anthem
Our Caring Foundation Awards recipients who attended the Caring Foundation Mass to receive their certificates from Bishop Steve
Our Year 5/6 school speech finalists especially Timothy for achieving at the highest level
Our school Book Week team for the preparation and organisation of a busy and very successful Book Week
Our PTFA for the organisation of the Read-a-thon fundraiser as we work together to raise the necessary funds for another adventure playground for our children
And to the many un-named Holy Trinity school whānau who help to make our school community a place of excellence – learning ka ako, loving ka aroha and serving ka manaaki, in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit! God Bless you all!
DRS Report
YCC Day for Tonga
Today we held our YCC Day in support of Takuilau College in Tonga. YCC Day is an acronym that stands for many great actions that call our children to serve and this is part of Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand initiative of solidarity. YCC – Your Coin Counts! Your Choice of Clothing! You + Caritas Combine! Young Catholics Care! Today, our YCC Day raised $386.10 to go towards supporting Takuilau College to fund their music room. Thank you to all our whānau and friends for your support. Mālo ‘aupito!
Fathers Day Liturgy
On Friday 4 September, we have our Father’s Day Liturgy in Taamaua/school hall at 1:30pm. It’s a special time for our school to celebrate all the dads and father figures we have in our lives. Students and kaitiaki from Pompallier whānau will be leading this special celebration – save the date!
Caritas Challenge Day
Parent Education Workshops
Our second Parent Education Workshop will be held next week on Wednesday, 26 August. To accommodate as many parents to attend, we are offering two sessions:
- Morning session: 8.30am – 9.00am
- Afternoon session: 2.15pm – 2.45pm
These workshops provide practical strategies to support your child’s learning. The upcoming sessions will focus on key areas such as letter formation, using sight words to write simple sentences, and navigating digital tools like Oxford Maths and IXL Maths. Please read the HERO notices on Monday for confirmation of the key areas that each Learning Community will focus on. We look forward to seeing you there!
Congratulations!
Success at Rehu Tai Papakura/Takanini Schools Speech Finals
On Thursday the 13th August, LC Moana learner Timothy Isip, represented our school at the Papakura/Takanini finals of the Rehu Tai Speech competition. Rehu Tai is an Auckland-wide contest where students from around the city compete for the best speech, spoken word, rap, or flash talk.PTFA READ-A-THON News …
Just a quick reminder to sign up for the HTCPS Read-a-thon – it’s the final week to get your donations in.
Congratulations to all our winner of the spot prizes!
- Monday 17th Aug
- Senna B – Aubert
- Max W – Aubert
- Tuesday 18th Aug
- Daniel K – Patrick Dunn
- Marcus AW – Aubert
- Wednesday 19th Aug
- Leo S – Pompallier
- Telin S – Patrick Dunn
Individual Prizes to be won!
- 1st Prize: $150 Sculptureum voucher
- 2nd Prize: $100 Silky Otter voucher
- 3rd Prize: $50 Bounce voucher
Whānau Group Prizes to be won!
- 1st Prize: Movie Afternoon
- 2nd Prize: Pizza Lunch
- 3rd & 4th Prize: Ice blocks
The HTCPS Read-a-thon aims to support Book Week and our fundraising efforts for the new playground equipment that we are running a Read-a-thon fundraiser!
We are raising funds go towards new playground equipment for our students. With your help, these enhanced outdoor spaces will encourage teamwork, boost confidence, and improve motor skills for our students.
We have partnered with Go Raise It to run our fundraising platform and we have some great fundraising spot prizes up for grabs – further details on the fundraising website. Thanks for your support!
HTCPS PTFA
Teaching and Learning News
South Auckland Catholic Schools Speeches
On Thursday 3 September, one of our Year 6 students, Timothy Isip, will be representing our school at the South Auckland Catholic Schools Speech competition which will be held at Holy Cross School in Papatoetoe. He will speaking about how his cultures have strengthened him as a person and how this is worth celebrating!
Tongan Language Week
We would like to extend a heartfelt mālō ‘aupito to our Tongan children and whānau for the wonderful way they participated in and contributed to Tongan Language Week.
Our Tongan children proudly opened the week by singing the Tongan National Anthem, showing such confidence and pride in their language and culture.
Daniel and Sosiolo then shared a beautiful Mako dance, a traditional Tongan dance that showcases the strength, agility and grace of Tongan men through movement. It was wonderful to see them sharing their culture with our school community.
A very special mālō ‘aupito to Mrs Sela Kaloni for her amazing support, encouragement and commitment in helping our children learn the words, movements and cultural significance behind their performances. We are so grateful for the way you continue to share and preserve Tongan language and culture within our school.
Cultural Group Rehearsal
Our fortnightly cultural practice continues this Monday.
Thank you for your continued support in helping your child learn their words, actions and dance. We really appreciate the time and encouragement you are giving at home. It is wonderful to see the children growing in confidence as they share and celebrate the cultures of our school.
As we get closer to our Cultural Performance Evening, please keep an eye on HERO notices for important updates about the evening, costumes and anything else your child may need.
We are looking forward to an evening of celebration and the sharing of the diverse cultures of our school community..
Thank you for your continued support.
Book Week 2026
Throughout the week, our tamariki took part in a range of fun competitions and activities, while our kaitiaki visited classrooms to share the joy of reading. We also had a very successful Book Fair, with lots of excitement around choosing new books to take home.
We brought the week to a colourful close with our Book Character Parade, which was a wonderful celebration of imagination and creativity. The school was a riot of colour thanks to the tamariki and kaitiaki, who looked fantastic in their costumes.
Learning Community News
Ngahere
Learning Community Ngahere has been learning and exploring our Gospel stories and the messages they share with us as Catholic learners. We have also been using these Gospel stories as Kōrero Paki/storytelling to support our oral language development and story writing.
During the visit from Fr Tony King Archer, our learners gained a new perspective on the Gospel story of The Good Samaritan. Through Father Tony’s explanation, they came to understand that Jesus is the Good Samaritan, who reaches out with love, compassion, and mercy to those in need. We feel truly blessed to have our parish priest share his knowledge and help deepen our understanding of the Gospel stories.
In Mathematics, our learners have been developing their understanding of place value to the hundreds place. They have also been practising their basic facts through fun and engaging games, helping to make their learning meaningful and enjoyable.
In Concepts, our tamariki have been learning about the Design Thinking Process through our EDIPT–KWHLAQ integration. We are currently unpacking each step and building our understanding of what we need to know as we move towards our transfer tasks.
Ngahere learners are also getting ready for next week’s Cross Country. To support their preparation, we have been enjoying some afternoon jogging sessions and building our fitness and endurance together.
It has been a busy and rewarding time of learning, growing, and preparing for the exciting weeks ahead!
Awa
Learning Community Awa has been learning about how stories, culture, movement, and hauora connect to our lives. In Dance, learners have been comparing two cultural dances and exploring how elements such as movement and music help to tell and preserve important stories. They have discussed the messages within each dance and shared which elements they connected with and why.
In Health & PE, learners have been exploring the four pou of Hauora/well-being and identifying how characters in different stories look after their physical, social, mental and emotional, and spiritual wellbeing. Year 3 learners have also been learning how we can empower ourselves and others to make positive choices to support our hauora.
We are proud of the thoughtful discussions, curiosity, and enthusiasm shown by our tamariki as they continue to make connections between their learning and the world around them.
Ka mau te wehi, Learning Community Awa!
Maunga
In Maunga, we have been busy with planning for our liturgy of the Feast of the Assumption and, alongside some of our Indian children, including a liturgical dance about Mother Mary. We completed our taonga, which was a representation of mountains drawn by the children and transferred onto a koru. This is now on display in the foyer.
In RE, we have been learning why it is important to preserve our taonga, learning about the sacraments and the Catholic Social Teachings.
In Literacy, we have been gathering this information to write a report with examples of everyday life and verses from a relatable Bible passage such as Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. It has been a positive learning experience to locate these teachings from Jesus and reflect on the messages behind them.
In Mathematics, we have used tally charts to add up specific data, then translated this information into a graph. We have calculated the real worth of money and how currency is not reflected when purchasing goods, as we need to round up or down to the nearest 10c, as we do not have 1, 2 and 5 cent coins in New Zealand. This has been a time of remembering what the problem is asking of you as -given number, order of operations, and the best strategy to use to solve the problem. Key points to note during maths.
In Dance, we have been using the 5 elements of body, relationship, energy, space and time, and in just 30 mins, have begun our choreography for our LC dance. We have 6 groups presenting their interpretation of the same music but with different movements. It has been a great experience, and the children have worked collaboratively towards our transfer task.
We have celebrated Indian Independence Day and Tongan Language Week respectfully, and ended our week with sweets from our Indian whanāu-families.
Nandi (നന്ദി): Thank you
Mālō ʻaupito: Thank you very much.
Moana
It has been another busy and productive learning time in LC Moana!
In English, our learners are working on report writing. They are learning how to organise information, use clear paragraphs, and include facts and details to inform their readers.
In Maths, learners have been developing their understanding of money and money calculations. They have been practising working with amounts, adding and subtracting money, finding change, and solving everyday money problems.
In RE and Technology, most learners have begun their Transfer Task, where they are designing and creating a digital prototype to preserve and share a Catholic story around Catholic Social Teaching (CST). They have been focusing on their audience and how their digital design can communicate an important message of hope.
In Dance, learners have explored the elements of dance, including space, time, energy, relationships, body and movement. They are now using these elements to create movements that represent and communicate ideas from their chosen story. They are learning that dance can be more than just movement—it can be a way of telling and preserving a story without using words.
Learners are creating a liturgical dance that represents a Catholic Social Teaching (CST) of Stewardship. They are looking at how their movements, formations and the use of dance elements can communicate the values of the CST and inspire others to live as people of hope.
It has been wonderful to see our learners using their creativity and working collaboratively as they connect their learning across RE, Technology and Dance.
Sports News
Cross Country
On Friday 28 August, we are having a whole School Cross Country Day. It will be a day where staff and students can come dressed in their whānau colours. Cross country running will commence at 11:30am with the school driveway being closed off at 11:00am to allow our senior students to run through the carpark. Please note that face painting can only be applied at home and washed off at home. Also, it is compulsory that all students run in their shoes, so it’s important for all tamariki to bring proper running shoes on the day.
Here is the order of Cross Country runs on the day:
Year 6 Boys
Year 6 Girls
Year 5 Boys
Year 5 Girls
Year 4 Boys
Year 4 Girls
Year 3 Boys
Year 3 Girls
Year 0/1 Boys
Year 0/1 Girls
Year 2 Boys
Year 2 Girls
Our younger students will also be participating in fun games in Taamaua/school hall during the times the older students are running.
We pray for good weather with lots of sunshine!
Cultural Performance Evening held at St Ignatius College.
We are delighted to announce our upcoming Cultural Performance Evening! Please save the date for this wonderful celebration of our school’s diverse cultures.
This year, the event will be held at St Ignatius College in Drury. As many of you remember, we were unable to fit everyone into Taamaua (school hall) last year due to the incredible turnout. We are very lucky to be able to host our performance at St Ignatius this year, which will provide plenty of space for all our families to join us.
We look forward to seeing you all there for an evening of music, dance, and community spirit.
Sports News
Malo e lele Whanau,
Next week promises to be an exciting and busy week for our school as our Year 5-6 tamariki will be participating in the St. Anne Shield Sports competition at Bruce Pulman Park. We will be competing in both Netball and Soccer divisions. We encourage all whānau to come along and support our teams in these exciting events!
On Thursday 27th August, our Basketball team, made up of Year 5-6 students, will also be taking part in the North Counties Basketball tournament at Bruce Pulman Park. A big thank you to our tamariki, parents, and our wonderful coaches for their hard work and dedication in preparing our school teams for these competitive levels. Special thanks to Mr. Horace of HJ Elite Academy for helping to polish our soccer skills!
On Friday 28th August, we will hold a school-based Cross Country event, and we warmly invite all whānau to come and cheer on our tamariki. This event starts at 11:00 am and provides an excellent opportunity for every tamariki to participate – promoting healthy, active learning.
We look forward to celebrating our tamariki’s efforts and achievements next week!
Situation Vacant – Catholic Diocese of Auckland
Administration Assistant Wanted
Marriage & Family Life Ministry is seeking a part-time Administration Assistant (16 hours per week) to support its work serving marriage and family life. Based at the Pompallier Diocesan Centre. For details and to apply, visit: www.aucklandcatholic.org.nz/
Upcoming School Events
Cultural Group practices
Monday 24th August 9:15am -10:30am @ school
PTFA Monthly Meeting
Tuesday 25th August 7:00pm in the school staffroom
Parent Education Workshops – Session 2
Wednesday 26th August 8:30am-9:00am and 2:15pm-2:45pm in Learning Communities
St Anne’s Shield Sports Day (Year 5/6 students)
Wednesday 26th August 9:00 – 2:25pm @ Bruce Pulman Park grounds
School Board Monthly Meeting
Wednesday 26th August 6:00pm in the school staffroom
Year 5/6 Inter-schools Basketball Competition
Thursday 27th August @ Bruce Pulman Park Arena
Outdoor Education Day for Learning Communities Maunga and Moana
Thursday 27th August @ school
School Cross Country
Friday 28th August 10:00am – 2:00pm @ school
School Gathering Liturgy and Assembly – led by Mrs Malgas/Mrs Cortez and LC Ngahere students
Monday 31st August @ 8:50am in Taamaua/school hall
Rehu Tai Speech Finals – Auckland
Wednesday 2nd September 5:30pm @ Dilworth College – Junior Campus
Holy Trinity Netball Club Netball Prizegiving
Wednesday 2nd September @ 6:00pm in Taamaua/school hall
South Auckland Catholic Schools Speech Finals
Thursday 3rd September @ Holy Cross School, Papatoetoe
New Zealand Playhouse Theatre Performance
Thursday 3rd September @ 11:30am in Taamaua/school hall
Fathers Day Liturgy – led by Pompallier Whānau
Friday 4th September @ 1:30pm in Taamaua/school hall
Social Justice Week
Monday 7th – Friday 11th September
Cultural Group School Rehearsal
Thursday 10th September 9:30am -12:00 @ St Ignatius of Loyola Catholic College, Drury
School Gathering Liturgy and Assembly – led by Mrs Griffiths/Mrs Buzmion/Mrs Guadalupe and LC Whenua students
Monday 14th September @ 8:50am in Taamaua/school hall
School PHOTO DAY
Wednesday 16th September @ school
Parent Education Workshops – Session 3
Thursday 17th September 8:30am-9:00am and 2:15pm-2:45pm in Learning Communities
School End of Term Mass – Fr Tony King-Archer celebrating – led by Patrick Dunn Whānau
Thursday 17th September @ 9:30am in Taamaua/school hall
Cultural Groups Performance Evening
Thursday 17th September 5:30pm – 8:30pm @ St Ignatius of Loyola Catholic College, Drury
Duffy Books in Homes – Role Model Assembly
Friday 18th September @ 9:30am in Taamaua/school hall
School Board Strategic Plan Development Day
Saturday 19th September @ 9:00am-12pm in the school staffroom
Term 3 Concludes 2:50pm
Friday 25th September
Term 4 Commences 8:50am
Monday 12th October
Upcoming Community Events
Kiwi Lunchbox Ideas
Feeling the pinch on lunchboxes? kiwilunchbox.co.nz is a free tool built by an Auckland parent. It plans a week of school lunches around whatever is on special at Woolworths and New World, shows what the week will cost, and gives you a prep plan. No sign-up, nothing for sale.
I’m a parent in Flat Bush who built a free website for other parents packing lunches at home: kiwilunchbox.co.nz
I price every menu against the current Woolworths and New World specials, and across the full menu set a complete lunchbox – a main, a piece of fruit and a second snack – has a median of about $4 a day, ranging from roughly $2 to $7.60 depending on the main. Over a 10-week term that spread works out at about $100 a child at the low end and around $380 at the high end.
I also track what regular shelf prices do over time. Between our May and August rounds, pasta fell 28% and carrots 27% – while butter rose 60%, canned tuna 67% and eggs 24%. The vegetables got cheaper and the protein got dearer.
The prices are estimates. I re-check them against the Woolworths and New World mailers every Monday, but they move week to week, so they’re a planning guide rather than a guarantee.
Thanks for all you do,
kiwilunchbox.co.nz
Lomu Film Day
We would love to invite your students, staff and whānau to the South AKL LOMU Film Day, a special family-friendly community event celebrating the life and legacy of Jonah Lomu.
Born in Pukekohe and raised in Māngere, Jonah’s story is deeply connected to our local communities and continues to inspire young people across Aotearoa and around the world.
Event details:
Saturday 29 August 2026
5.00pm to 9.00pm
Māngere Town Centre
This special community event takes place ahead of LOMU’s nationwide cinema release on 3 September, bringing South Auckland whānau together to celebrate Jonah’s life and legacy before the film reaches cinemas across Aotearoa.
The event will be an evening of culture, entertainment and community connection. It is a drug, alcohol and vape-free event designed for the whole whānau.
We would love to see your school community there to help us celebrate one of our own.
Mālō ‘aupito,
Vea Mafile’o
Co-Director, LOMU
CEO, Taro Patch Creative
