School Board Newsletter September 2022

Greetings, Kia ora, Kia orana, Talofa, Mālō e lelei, Namaste, Pagbati, Ni Hao, Bula, Hola, Kumusta

Dear Families

With only another two weeks left of this term, it is hard to believe that we are almost three quarters of the way through another year. It is great to see an increase in the number of sunny days and the many signs of spring appearing outdoors.

It has been a very busy Term 3, with so much being achieved. On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank the staff, children, school families, our Parish Priest, Father James and our wider community for the great work that is being done. A special thanks to Peta Lindstrom, our Principal, and the staff team for the wonderful work being done for our children on a daily basis in the learning communities. The time, thought and effort that you put into our children’s learning, is bearing great fruit!

COVID- 19

THANK YOU to all our families for following COVID-19 restrictions and supporting our school protocols, processes and guidelines around the COVID 19 pandemic over the past two years, in our efforts to keep our children and families safe.

While the Governments’ COVID Protection Framework is no longer in place, we still need to be vigilant in our endeavours to keep the virus out of our home and school environments. Please continue to focus on indoor ventilation, good hand hygiene encouraging everyone to cough or sneeze into their elbows and staying at home and getting tested if you have COVID-19 symptoms.

With the lifting of restrictions, we can now look forward to seeing our school families and wider community involved in more school activities and gatherings, with more ease. We will look forward to seeing you at school.

School Board

You will all be aware that the national triennial elections for school Boards were held recently. As Holy Trinity only had five nominations for the five parent representative vacancies on the Board, we had a non-voting election. A special thank you to those who put their names forward to be considered for our new Board. WELCOME ABOARD! With the four Bishop’s appointees having just been confirmed, we now have our full complement to make up our new Board.

Our Board for the next three years is as follows:

Parent Elected Representatives: Patricia (Trish) Martin, Maila Altamirano, Jason Farley, Vineetha Uthamaputhiran and Lenis Martin

Bishop’s Appointees: Philip Cortesi, Anna Soo Choon, Apaula Lautua and Alma Santos

Staff Elected Representative: Lynn Rhode

Principal: Peta Lindstrom

It is great to have you all on the team and we look forward to the valuable contribution you are going to make to the work of our Board.

As a Board, in our governance role, we are ultimately responsible and accountable for the school’s performance and are required to set the direction for the school and monitor the progress towards achieving the goals set. This is seen in the form of our Strategic Plan. Student achievement is a key part of the Board’s responsibilities.

The Board’s governance determines:

the “what”- designing the school’s future

the “ends” – the outcomes to be achieved

the policies- statements of what is expected

The Principal’s management, as professional leader of the school, determines:

the “how”- designing how to get there

the “means”- strategies to achieve the desired outcomes

the procedures – steps to be taken to meet the expectations.

In fulfilling our respective roles, we must never lose sight of our prime responsibility, which is the achievement of our children and as a Catholic school, providing them with the best Catholic education we possibly can.

Over the next months, the new Board will be reviewing the school’s Strategic Plan. The feedback from our school families gained over the first half of this year, through various forms of consultation, will be very valuable in helping us with the review process and look ahead in planning the school’s direction.

The first official meeting of our new Board is on Wednesday 28 September at 7.00pm in the school staffroom, then monthly on the last Wednesday of each month.

Catholic Special Character

In a recent letter from Bishop Steven Lowe, the Bishop of Auckland, Boards are reminded that the Catholic Special Character is central to all that we do and is at the heart of the school. It provides the foundation as we live out our Holy Trinity School vision of Learn, Love and Serve- Ka Ako, Ka Aroha, Ka Manaaki- in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Schools must provide a holistic education which enables our students to have the values, attitudes, knowledge/qualifications and skills that will enable them to move confidently to the next stage of their lives. Being a Catholic school we are charged with an even greater responsibility of providing an education where students can foster a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and helping them become Disciples of Christ. Our Catholic schools are an integral part of the evangelising mission of the Church.

Our Catholic schools have an excellent reputation and highly sought after, and Holy Trinity is no exception. When parents are asked why they want their children at our school, we hear the reply that it is not only the high quality of education provided, where we strive to achieve high academic standards, but also the Gospel values that are lived and promoted in the school and the strong pastoral care that is given to ensure that the children are safe, known and cared for as individuals.

As we continue to develop and nurture the Catholic Special Character of our school as a living reality, we are reminded that we cannot do this alone. It is about the school, parish and community working as one to provide a Catholic education to be proud of, as we fulfil our school vision and the evangelising mission of the Church.

Catholic Secondary College – St Ignatius of Loyola

It is wonderful to know that our long awaited Catholic Secondary College in Burt Road, Dury, is becoming a living reality, with ground works well underway. Our first group of students, the current Years 5, 6 and 7, can look forward to being foundation members of St Ignatius of Loyola in February 2024.

Mr Dean Wearmouth, Foundation Principal of St Ignatius of Loyola, will be hosting an information evening at Holy Trinity Catholic Primary School this coming Tuesday 20 September at 6.00pm, in Taamaua/school hall.

This evening is for students and families who are intending to enrol and attend St Ignatius of Loyola when it opens at the beginning of 2024.

Please register your interest at the school office by emailing office@holytrinity.school.nz. Posters and accompanying return form have already gone home with children in Years 5, 6 and 7.

We look forward to seeing you at this gathering.