Greetings, Kia ora, Kia orana, Talofa, Mālō e lelei, Namaste, Ni Hao, Bula, Hola, Kumusta, Namaskārām,
Sat Shri Akaal, Vanakkam and Ayubowan
Dear Families
It is hard to believe that we have already reached such a significant milestone in the life of our beautiful school — ten years of being Holy Trinity Catholic Primary School!
Offering Catholic education to the Takanini community was a vision held by so many. On Friday we were able to celebrate this vision that has been realised, the community formed, our faith lived and shared, and the beginning of our story that will continue to unfold. We wanted to honour everyone who contributed to that dream and who continues to bring it to life.
Over this first decade, we have written the opening chapters of Holy Trinity School’s story. Together, we have shaped a school that is a place of love and happiness, a place where everyone is welcomed and learning is valued, and a place where we encourage one another to strive for hiranga — excellence.
We have sought to live out our school Gospel values of arohanui — compassion, manaakitanga — respect and care for others, ngāwari — resilience, and ngākau pono — integrity. Above all, we have endeavoured to grow together in kotahitanga — unity.
These are not simply words displayed around our school. They are the Gospel values that shape who we are, how we treat one another and the kind of community we aspire to be.
Each of us has played a part in making these Gospel values real and bringing the spirit of Holy Trinity to life. Our school’s story belongs to all of us.
To our mana whenua, on whose land we reside, we thank you for sharing your story and inviting Holy Trinity community to become whānau and to be strong and resilient Takanini and Papakura tangata.
Thank you to Monsignor Bernard Kiely for celebrating our special Mass together with Fr Mike Wooller and our very own Fr Tony King-Archer. We are grateful to all the priests who have walked alongside us throughout this journey of establishment and growth, supporting and guiding us in so many ways. Your presence, encouragement and spiritual leadership have been an important part of our story.
To our parish community of St Mary’s, we thank you for the great support and prayers that you continue to offer for our school.
To our School Board, our original Establishment Board members, and our PTFA members and office holders — thank you. Your commitment, generosity and belief in the vision of Holy Trinity has helped establish and nurture the culture and charism of our school. Together, we have laid strong foundations for the school we are today and the school we are becoming.
To our dedicated and hardworking staff, our supportive families, our wider community and, most importantly, our delightful tamariki — thank you. You have breathed life and wairua — spirit — into this school. Through your learning, your laughter, your achievements, your friendships and your care for one another, you have helped make Holy Trinity the special place it is today.
We will continue to honour the name of Holy Trinity, nurturing the unique charism of our school and strengthening our identity as a learning community and a faith family.
Thank you and happy tenth birthday, Holy Trinity School!
School Board News …
Our 10-Year Anniversary Celebrations!
What a beautiful and grace-filled day we shared on Friday the 30th as we celebrated our 10-year anniversary as a school community. We were deeply honoured to welcome our special guests: Monsignor Bernard Kiely, Father Mike Wooller, the Vicar for Education Sandy Pasley, the Vicar for Māori Manuel Beazley, and all our other distinguished guests. To our whānau, ākonga, and tamariki—thank you for making the day so special. The cultural performances were outstanding, showcasing the rich diversity and talent of our students, and the wonderful feeling of community we shared together truly reflected the love and unity of the Holy Trinity. It was a day to remember, and we are grateful to everyone who contributed to its success.
PTFA Leadership
We extend our sincere thanks to Louise Ruegg (2025/2026 PTFA Chair), Danny Yandall (2025/2026 PTFA Treasurer), and Jeff Williams (2025/2026 PTFA Secretary), who have generously stood again for the next year at the PTFA AGM held on Tuesday 20th October 2026 at 6:00pm in the Taamaua (School Hall). Across the past year, along with the members of the PTFA team, they have made an enormous contribution to our school, including fundraising the bulk of the cost for our new Senior Student Adventure Playground, which we hope to break ground on soon. Their dedication and service embody the spirit of Ka Manaaki, to serve, and we are deeply grateful for their leadership.
May God continue to bless our Holy Trinity community as we journey together in faith, hope, and love.
Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou katoa.
Jason Farley
Presiding Member of the Board
Holy Trinity Catholic Primary School
DRS Report
All Saints and All Souls Day
November is here and the first two days are special days to celebrate and commemorate. Sunday 1 November, All Saints Day is a special day when Catholics celebrate and remember all the saints in heaven. Some saints are well known, like Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and St Peter. Others are people whose names we may never know, but who lived holy lives and followed Jesus with love. All Saints Day reminds us that we are all called to be saints by loving God, caring for others, and following Jesus by serving others. The saints inspire us to live with faith, kindness, courage and hope.
Monday 2 November, we remember All Souls Day.
All Souls Day is a special day when Catholics remember and pray for all those who have died, including our family members, friends and loved ones. We believe that death is not the end, because Jesus promises us eternal life with God. All Souls Day reminds us that we remain connected to those who have died through love and prayer. We pray for them, remember the joy they brought into our lives, and trust in God’s love and mercy.
Both days remind us that God’s love is stronger than death. All Saints Day celebrates those who are with God in heaven, while All Souls Day invites us to pray for those who have died. Together, they strengthen our belief in eternal life and remind us that we are part of one big Catholic family, united in God’s love.
We invite all our whānau to join us as we celebrate All Souls Day with a special liturgy on Monday 2 November at 9:00am in Taamaua/school hall. All are welcome.
Sacramental Programme
The Sacramental Programme at St Mary’s Catholic Church is held annually for baptised Catholic children aged 8–14 years who wish to receive the Sacraments of First Reconciliation, Confirmation and First Holy Communion. We warmly invite parents and guardians to enrol their children in this important programme as they continue to grow in faith, deepen their relationship with Jesus Christ, and become more fully involved in the life of the Church.
Important Dates
Registration Opens: 2 November 2026
Registration Deadline: 31 January 2027
Classes Begin: Early March 2027
How to Register
Collect a registration form from the back of the church or download it from our parish website. Attach a copy of your child’s Baptismal Certificate to the completed registration form. Submit your application to the Parish Office or email it to office@stmaryspapakura.org.nz
Staffing News …
Welcome to Kim Batters – Our New Deputy Principal from 2027
On behalf of the Board, I am delighted to announce that Kim Batters will be joining us as our new Deputy Principal, commencing at the beginning of 2027. Kim brings with her a strong and vibrant Catholic faith, which will enrich our special character and the spiritual life of our kura. She also brings a wealth of curriculum development experience from her time as Assistant Principal at Bombay Primary, along with significant wellbeing expertise drawn from her recent work with Sir John Kirwan’s Mitey programme. We are excited to welcome Kim to our Holy Trinity family and look forward to the gifts she will share with our tamariki, kaitiaki, and whānau.
Farewell to Alana Sherlock
We acknowledge and thank Alana Sherlock for her service to our school these past 8 years as a wonderful classroom practitioner and especially as Team Leader for Learning Community Awa. The Board has recently received her resignation, effective from the end of 2026. Alana has made a significant contribution to our school during her time as a teacher /kaitiaki and is a highly valued member of the Holy Trinity team. We are proud of the work that Alana has undertaken in her middle leadership and teaching roles. We thank her for her strong curriculum knowledge, her rich relationships and her pastoral care of our children. Alana has been a special gift to our school.We are grateful to Alana for her dedication and the contribution she has made to our school community, and we wish her every blessing in her next chapter in the education sector.
Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou katoa.
Jason Farley
Presiding Member of the Board
Holy Trinity Catholic Primary School
Celebrating our Teachers!
On Friday we also took time to celebrate, thank and bless all our teachers as part of Aotearoa New Zealand Teachers’ Day. This is a day to recognise teachers, their hard work and their vital role in shaping our children!
A Blessing Prayer for all Teachers
Loving God,
Bless all teachers as they gather in Your name today to continue the wonderful work of nurturing young hearts and minds.
May the light of the Father guide their decisions, the love of the Son shape their actions, and the wisdom of the Holy Spirit inspire their teaching.
Grant them patience when the days are challenging, courage when the way forward is uncertain, and renewed energy when they feel weary.
May they recognise the gifts and potential within every child and create classrooms where all feel welcomed, valued, safe and loved.
Bless them with the wisdom to teach with understanding, the generosity to give without counting the cost, and the compassion to see beyond behaviour to the needs of each child.
May the Holy Trinity bless them in their calling, strengthen them in their service, and fill their hearts with peace.
Amen.
Teaching and Learning News
Tūmanako-Hope: Continuing Te Wa/Our Journey
As we come to the final part of our overarching concept, Journey – Te Wā, our tamariki will focus on Tūmanako – Hope concept learning.
Throughout the year, our four connected concepts – Whakapapa, Taonga, Preserve and Tūmanako – have helped learners explore our Catholic journey, making connections between our past, present and future.
What do we want our learners to understand?
Tūmanako is strengthened when we learn from, preserve and share the taonga of the stories of our Catholic journey, so that we can act with hope and inspire others to continue it into the future.
What questions will guide our learning?
- How can the stories of our Catholic journey strengthen Tūmanako?
- How can the way we preserve and share our Catholic journey strengthen Tūmanako now and in the future?
Through stories, discussions, activities and shared experiences, our tamariki will explore these questions and consider what actions they can take to carry our Catholic journey forward.
Where will our learning take us?
Our transfer goal is:
Learners will independently use their learning to grow, preserve and continue our Catholic journey and charism as people of hope, now and for the future.
Our tamariki will identify what is important to carry forward, choose an action that reflects our Catholic charism, and share it in a way that encourages others to live, learn and serve as people of hope too.
Together, we learn, love and serve as people of Tūmanako – Hope.
PTFA News
THANK YOU to our 2026/2027 PTFA Office Holders!
THANK YOU PTFA team, led by our fabulous Mrs Ruegg – thank you for actively serving and working hard for our school community. We are so very proud of you!
- Chairperson – Louise Ruegg
- Secretary – Jeff Williams
- Treasurer – Danny Yandall
Kids Art Calendars
Your children have been working hard on some great artwork for this year’s Calendar Art sales! Your child/ren will have come home with a flyer last week with your personalised details.These make unique Christmas gifts for family and friends and are perfect for posting overseas.
Follow these instructions to place your order online:
1/. Go to www.kidsartworks.com
2/. Use the Entrance Code: KZ8081
3/. Enter your child’s room & name when prompted
The order is open from today until Monday 2nd November.
Payment can be made over the website via credit card or account2account.
Please reach out to the PTFA if you have any questions at all, on our email ptfa@holytrinity.school.
HTCPS PTFA
Uniform Donations
Is your child growing out of their uniform or heading off to another school next year? Stocks are running low at our second hand uniform shop and we would be grateful for any uniform donations.
The second hand uniform shop provides a great opportunity for families to get quality second hand uniforms
If you have any uniform donations please
The PTFA will be running another uniform sale in the coming weeks, keep an eye on Hero for the next sale date.
Hauora/WellBeing News
Awhi Peer Mediation Team
On Monday we celebrated our peer mediators who have shown the Gospel values of excellence/hiranga, compassion/arohanui, and unity/kotahitanga by working hard to earn points for their service awards. Congratulations to all of our bronze and silver service award winners, and our gold service award winners Victoria, Lilac, Timothy, Precious, and Charlotte.
Sports News
Whole School Fun Athletics Day
This Friday 6 November, we are having our whole school fun Athletics Day at school commencing at 10:00am. It will be an exciting day of learning the skills of running, jumping and throwing with rotations facilitated by our teachers and Counties Manukau Sports team. As an extra fun surprise, we will also be having Hungerball in Taamaua/school hall as a fun inclusive game for all ages. It will be a wonderful event in which we encourage all our tamariki, staff and whānau to come to school dressed in their whānau colours and a hat!
Duffy Books in Homes Programme
Save the Dates: Term 4 2026 End of Year Special Events and Activities
Please save the date for these ‘end of Term 4’ celebrations events and activities. These are all family/whānau events and we are delighted to warmly welcome our school families and wider school community to be part of each special event and activity where we celebrate who we are as a catholic school – rejoicing in our catholic faith, our students achievements and our school’s achievements from throughout 2026.
Monday 2nd November
All Souls Liturgy/Assembly 9:00am-9:45am in Taamaua/school hall
Friday 6th November
School Athletics Day commencing 11:00am
Thursday 19th November
Orientation Morning for 2027 New Families and Students 9am – 12pm @ school
Tuesday 1st December
School Supporters and Helpers THANK YOU Morning Tea 10:30am @ school
Thursday 3rd December
Whole School End of Year Mass – Blessing and Acknowledgement of 2026 Year 6 Leavers and their families @ school 9:30am followed by morning tea for Year 6 leavers and families
Friday 4th December
Praise-giving Awards Afternoon 12:00pm @ school in Taamaua/school hall
Monday 7th December
Liturgy and Assembly for Other School Leavers and Service/Leadership Awards 9:00am @ school
Wednesday 9th December
Whole School Whānau/Family Picnic and Nativity Liturgy celebrations 5:00pm – 7:30pm @ school
Thursday 10th December
Whole School “Have a Go” Sports Day
School Dates for 2027
The School Board has approved the 2027 school terms dates as:
Term 1 Wednesday 3rd February to Friday 9th April
Term 2 Tuesday 27th April to Friday 2nd July
Term 3 Monday 19th July to Friday 24th September
Term 4 Monday 11th October to Wednesday 15th Dec
2027 School Holiday Dates are:
Term 1 school holidays: Saturday 10th April to Monday 26th April
Term 2 school holidays Saturday 3rd July to Sunday 18th July
Term 3 school holidays Saturday 25th September to Sunday 10th October
Term 4 school holidays commence Thursday 16th December
2027 Public Holiday Dates are:
Term 1 – Waitangi Day – Saturday 6th February observed Monday 8th February / Good Friday – Friday 26th March / Easter Monday – Easter Tuesday – Monday 29th March – Tuesday 30th March
Term 2 – King’s Birthday – Monday 7th June / Matariki – Friday 25th June
Term 3 – no public holidays
Term 4 – Labour Day – Monday 25th October
2027 Attendance Dues
- Primary (Years 0–6): $139.00 per term ($556.00 per year) including GST
- Catholic Special Character Contribution: A voluntary donation increasing to $18.00 per term ($72.00 per annum) per student in 2027
Job Vacancy
sKids is looking for casual staff to support our sKids programmes and they would really appreciate any interested personnel from our school community to make contact with them.
Thank you very much for your support. It is greatly appreciated!
Reminders!
Summer School Uniform Requirements
Students are expected to be in the correct school uniform from Tuesday 27th October (after Labour Day weekend). This includes the short sleeved blouse or shirt, open toed black school sandals and the school sunhat. 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.
All students are required to wear the correct school uniform for summer as listed below.
Girls Uniform
Tartan skort or culottes
Blue short sleeved monogrammed blouse (summer)
Black open toed school sandals (summer)
Navy bucket sun-hat monogrammed
Navy monogrammed school polar fleece OR school jacket
Boys Uniform
Navy shorts
Blue short sleeved monogrammed shirt (summer)
Black open toed school sandals (summer)
Navy bucket sun-hat monogrammed
Navy monogrammed school polar fleece OR school jacket
Please note that the school monogrammed jersey is still able to be worn as we remain in the ‘phasing out’ period of this item.
Upcoming School Events
All Souls Day Liturgy/Assembly and Rosary Prayer – led by Mrs Buzmion, Mrs Sherlock and Mrs Davies
Monday 2nd November @ 9:00am in Taamaua/school Hall
PTFA Meeting
Tuesday 3rd November @ 7:00pm in the school staffroom
Walk to School MILO Morning
Wednesday 4th November 8:30am – 9:00am at school
Whole School Athletics Day
Friday 6th November 11:00am – 2:30pm @ school
Gathering School Liturgy/Rosary and Assembly – led by Learning Community Moana
Monday 9th November @ 9:00am in Taamaua/school Hall
PTFA Pizza Lunch Day
Friday 13th November
North Counties Year 5/6 Inter-schools Athletics Day
Friday 13th November
Walk to School MILO Morning
Wednesday 18th November 8:30am – 9:00am at school
Counties Get Firewise Programme Years 0-3
Wednesday 18th November
Orientation Morning for 2027 New Families and Students
Thursday 19th November @ 9:00am at school
School Board Monthly Meeting
Wednesday 25th November @ 6:00pm in the school staffroom
Maraetai Beach Sailing Experience – Year 6 students
Friday 27th November @ Maraetai Beach
Outdoor Education Day at School – Year 4/5 students
Friday 27th November @ school
School Supporters and Helpers Morning Tea
Tuesday 1st December 10:30am @ school
Whole School End of Year School Mass/Acknowledgement and Blessing of 2026 Year 6 Leavers
Thursday 3rd December @ 9:30am in Taamaua/school Hall
followed by morning tea for Year 6 leavers/families
Praise-giving Awards Celebration
Friday 4th December 12:00pm @ school in Taamaua/school hall
Liturgy and Assembly for Other Leavers and Service/Leadership Awards
Monday 7th December @ 9:00am in Taamaua/school hall
Whānau/Family Picnic and Nativity Liturgy celebrations
Wednesday 9th December 5:00pm-7:00pm at school
School ‘Have a Go’ Sports Day
Thursday 10th December @ school
Term 4 Concludes for the 2026 year at 1:00pm
Friday 11th December
Health and Well-Being
School Information received from Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora
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