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 with great pride and joy that we welcomed Fr Nathaniel Brazil to Holy Trinity Catholic Primary School on Wednesday morning. Fr Nathaniel is the Parish Priest Administrator at St Mary’s Parish, Papakura for this next period of time. Ana Silva and myself had visited Fr Nathaniel at the parish a few days before and had invited Fr Nathaniel along to school to be formally welcomed to our school community with our school Whakatau.
Our students performed admirably with a stirring ‘Toia Mai’ haka, our Papakura /Takanini haka and our own school’s ‘Ko te Tokotoru Tapu’ haka along with mihi and waiata plus hongi – the sharing of breath to symbolise we are one – and then hariru, morning tea to conclude the kawa of a formal welcome into Holy Trinity whānau. We loved sharing the mana whenua story and our own catholic story with Fr Nathaniel. We also loved Fr Nathaniel sharing his story with us too!
We look forward to strengthening our relationship with Fr Nathaniel – we hope he feels the wairua/spirit of the Holy Trinity expressed in many different ways each time he is with us as part of our school whānau.
Mahi Tahi Conference Thank You!
Many thanks to all our families who were able to meet with kaitiaki/teachers at the recent Mahi Tahi Parent/Student/Teacher Conferences. It is so important to have these learning conversations about your child’s progress and achievement – the sharing between home and school enriches everything that we do for the children so we are most appreciative of the time and effort that you give to these events. This reflects great school/home partnership!
Thank You to our teaching staff for the preparation of reporting and learning goals for each individual child. We are thrilled when we see the students progressing and achieving academically and personally – to hear the children discussing and sharing their own learning goals means they truly are learners … knowing what they are learning, why they are learning, how they’re going with their learning and knowing what their next steps are!
DRS News
Sacramental Programme at St Mary’s Parish Papakura
Please note that registrations will be open for Sacramental Programme 2024 this Sunday 6 August at St Mary’s Church Hall at 12:00pm. This programme is open for all baptised children from the ages of 8-14 years. Just bring along your child’s Baptism certificate on the day.
Feast of St Ignatius of Loyola
On Monday 31 July, we travelled with 14 of our Year 6 students from Learning Community Maunga (in response to an invitation from St Ignatius of Loyola College) to St Patrick’s Church in Pukekohe in celebration and commemoration of the Feast Day of St Ignatius of Loyola. Some of our students had special parts in the Mass as we gathered together with staff and students from St Mary’s Papakura and St Joseph’s Pukekohe. It was a special Mass where we remembered again the journey of Ignatius to starting the Jesuit order. We are excited for our students as they witness the beginning of many more feast day celebrations to come as they begin their journey at the college in Drury in 2024.
Catholic Caring Mass
This year on Tuesday 1 August, six of our students attended and received a Catholic Caring certificate at the Catholic Caring Mass held at Christ the King Parish in Owairaka. We had the pleasure of Monsignor Bernard Kiely who was the main celebrant of the day. It was wonderful to see and acknowledge all the good, caring work that is done in the community. We congratulate our nominees who received a Catholic Caring Certificate on the day: Ma Larracas, Carla Witbooi, John-Paul Feagaiga, Norma Stephens, Raiden Dawinan and Chaesi Alosio.
Welcoming Father Nathaniel Brazil
Our school gathered in Taamaua/school hall on Wednesday 2 August in excitement as we awaited Father Nathaniel Brazil of St Mary’s Papakura. We welcomed him zealously by pulling him in with our school haka and our principal Miss Lindstrom sharing our school pepeha. We look forward to having Father Nathaniel come to visit our tamariki in their Learning Community and for him to celebrate school Masses with us.
Feast of the Assumption Mass
This year the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a holy day of obligation, is on Tuesday 15 August. Our school will be celebrating our whole school Assumption Mass on MONDAY 14 AUGUST at 9:15am in Taamaua/school hall. You are all welcome to come along and be a part of this special Mass as we commence our journey this term. Father Kevin Murphy of St Anne’s Parish, Manurewa will be our celebrant for the Mass and we also have our Indian/Sri Lankan families actively involved in the Mass.
Parish Bulletins
Please click on this link to access the Parish Bulletins for St Mary’s Parish, Papakura and St Anne’s Parish, Manurewa for this Sunday.
St Anne’s Parish Manurewa Bulletin #28 – Sunday 6th August 2023 (1) St Mary’s Papakura Newsletter_ 6 August
Book Week!
Next week is Book Week! Keep an eye on your HERO notifications and posts on Facebook to find out what we will be up to during our annual celebration of reading. The Book Fair will be open in the school library from 8:30 – 8:50am and 2:50 – 3:20pm every day next week. You can buy books at the Book Fair for your family!!
Indian Independence Day Celebrations with Indian/Sri Lankan Families
We are delighted to announce that on Monday, 14th August, our Indian/Sri Lankan families will be actively supporting our Mass ministries in a special celebration of Indian Independence Day. The families will be involved in the word procession, prayers of the faithful, and sharing a Malayalam song. It’s a fantastic opportunity to share the rich cultural heritage and traditions of India and Sri Lanka.On Tuesday, 15th August, the festivities will continue with a whole-school celebration following a liturgy by LC Ngahere. Our Indian and Sri Lankan students will share a powerpoint presentation, dance performance, and singing. To add to the excitement, there will be a colourful parade of cultural wear, reflecting the diverse and beautiful traditions of India and Sri Lanka. At the end of the day, students will receive flags and sweets to take home.
We look forward to celebrating Indian Independence Day together.
Teaching and Learning News
Cook Island Language Week Activities
Kia orana whānau, we celebrated Cook Island Language Week with a series of lunchtime activities in Taamaua. The aim was to embrace the rich culture and traditions of the Cook Islands and provide our students with opportunities to learn and appreciate their heritage.
A big thank you to Mrs Davies, Ms Drollet, Mrs Kaur, Mrs Chung and Mrs Cortez who planned and organised the following lunchtime activities :
- Storytime: Our students were able to listen to stories from the beautiful Cook Islands, fostering a love for language and culture.
- Tivaevae: Making a Bookmark or Placemat: Learning the art of Tivaevae, a traditional Cook Island quilting technique. Students created their own unique bookmarks or placemats.
- Single Tiare: Cut Out and Wear Behind the Ear: Students learnt about the significance of this beautiful flower and had the chance to cut out and create their own tiare to wear proudly behind their ears.
- Weaving: Learn Simple Techniques: They explored the art of weaving and students were able to create beautiful crafts to take home.
It has been a wonderful week of learning and celebrating Cook Island Language Week.
Learning Community News
Learning Community Whenua
In our home groups in Whenua, we have been looking at developing innovative ideas and systems to help strengthen community. In one inquiry, our tamariki have been investigating innovating a water system to ensure our plants at school are watered over the holidays. Tamariki have thought of many innovative ideas by researching through, watching videos and reading about plants. The action they will take is to innovate a watering system that catches water and slowly waters the plants through tiny holes. They are currently in the process of choosing a suitable material to use for their watering system.
Another inquiry has been to establish a system to effectively use the ‘pataka kai’ at our kura. The tamariki have been putting on their innovative caps to draw up a plan that will make the running of our ‘pataka kai’ very smooth and effective.
These are some of their ideas;
We must bring food to put in the Pataka Kai that will last long like crackers – Heavenly-Rose
Children can come at morning tea and take 3 things and at lunch time they can take 4 things – Lucy and Ryleigh
We must make a big poster so that everyone knows what to do- Mischa
Everyone can use the Pataka kai – Everly
Another home group has been investigating the most effective material to use to make a ‘pataka kai’. By using the KWHLAQ model of inquiry, the tamariki have been predicting and experimenting with the cardboard pataka kai and other materials by leaving them outside. The results from the experiment have enabled them to come to a conclusion about the best material to construct a pataka kai.Watching videos and images of various pataka kai in the community, has inspired tamariki to design their pataka kai through their drawings and creatively using recycled materials to construct their models.
Next, the tamariki will construct a model pataka with wood!
Learning Community Awa
We are learning about the Sacraments of Initiation, Healing, and Service in LC Awa, and how they help us grow in God’s grace. Learners had a great time singing their action song on the Sacraments for Father Nathaniel, who visited LC Awa yesterday. In Health and PE, we are learning about how people nurtured and grew hauora in the past by playing games, and we are learning that Maori games are a way for them to strengthen their minds, bodies, and communities. Games are a form of innovation. We are encouraging our students to think of game innovations that they would like to share with other LC Awa students. In celebration of Cook Island Language Week, learners learned a Cook Island song to welcome and greet each other.
Learning Community Moana
Moana learners have had a great week celebrating Cook Island Language Week. We have learnt all about the Cook Island culture and have enjoyed getting creative by making head ‘Ei’ and cooking some traditional Cook Island style doughnuts. We have also been practicing how to greet each other and introduce ourselves so that the Cook Island language is alive in our LC!
Learning Community Maunga
In Maunga, we celebrated Cook Island Language Week in many ways. We learnt new words, different greetings, colours and numbers. We also learnt to make tivaevae, a form of needle point work. A paper pattern was created first, with each family having their own unique design. These designs would then be transferred onto huge cloths to be used as bed spreads. Students also played games that were popular on the islands. Two games were stilt walking and racing as well as juggling. The islanders showed innovation by recognising a need in their community, the need to play, and used what was around them for equipment. These games not only strengthened their village community but also the wider community when taking part in inter-village games.
In Week 1 of this term, our students had the opportunity to learn how to code with support from the MOTAT team. Coding is using a set of instructions to communicate with computers. There are different coding languages and they all have different rules and uses, but they all give computers instructions on how to do specific tasks. A lot of learning and fun was had.
The people from MOTAT taught us how to use the app for Dash the robot. Our first task was to buddy up with a friend. The challenge was to make our robot dance. It was super fun. Next, we got our robot to play soccer. It was hard to get the coding right because the robot had no aim. We ended up not being successful because we got side-tracked into racing with another group. I learned a lot about coding. By Felix
Each robot had a name. Our robot was called Kitty Hawk. It was quite a unique name. I enjoyed controlling the robot and we could make our own sounds. After a few minutes our instructor told us that we could do different challenges like racing, challenge cards, making our robot score a soccer goal and try making our robot race around the table. By Celyn
The instructors explained that we were going to learn block coding. We learned the functions on the ipad that would help us to control the robot Dash by making it look like a jigsaw puzzle. There are instructions on the iPad that make the robot move, such as turning, moving forward and disco lights. We had so much fun and learnt how to code. By Ebenezer
Learning Community Ngahere
Technology
In technology this term, we are learning about the inquiry cycle/design thinking process to extend our knowledge to innovate new ideas/designs. It consists of simple steps: Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, and Test. Empathizing is about finding the problem from the user’s perspective. Define is to explain the problem, dive deeper into the problem and explain it more clearly and giving more details. Ideate is to find solutions, create ideas, and brainstorm possible solutions for the problem. Prototyping is creating the first bit of the solution, basically an early version of the product/model/solution that you can use to progress further. Testing is self-explanatory, it’s the stage where you test the prototype (product/model/solution) to see if it works, and if it doesn’t then you basically just repeat the cycle until it does. By Annie and Skylar
Cook Island Language Week
In LC Ngahere, students are learning to make Tīvaevae patterns using soft material (fabric and felt paper). We will be making our own Tīvaevae Prayer Cloth for our prayer focus. Students are encouraged to keep practicing this at home in their free time so that they can master the skills of cutting new patterns neatly.
Korero Paki/Oral Storytelling
Every Friday, students are encouraged to share their cultural stories with us. Students have to create a visual resource (powerpoint with relevant pictures only). We would like to encourage our whānau to share this responsibility to teach cultural stories to your child to enable them to share this wonderful tradition of story telling with us!
Sports News
North Counties Year 7&8 Inter-Schools Cross Country
Some students from LC Ngahere represented our HTCPS at ACG Strathallan for North Counties Cross Country event on 2nd of August. Marija Levkovska secured 11th position and Ma Joreen Larracas managed to secure 14th position in their respective races. Congratulations to all our participants and Well Done!
St Anne’s Shield
On Tuesday 22 August, our school is taking 3 teams to participate at the St Anne’s Shield held at Bruce Pulman Park. We have entered a Year 6 Netball team, Year 8 Netball team and a Year 5/6 Mix soccer team. It will be an exciting day for our Years 6-8 students taking part and you are welcome to come along and cheer our tamariki on.
Hauora/WellBeing News
Matariki Goals
Connecting with Matariki is an important part of our Aotearoa culture. Feeling proud of our culture and identity impacts positively on our wellbeing.
Here is a great Whānau Challenge idea: Create a star for each member of your family on paper. Put your goal for the year in the middle of the star. Keep your paper somewhere visible so you don’t lose sight of your goal – remember to support each other so that everyone is able to achieve their goals!
PTFA News
Kia ora PTFA Whānau,
Thank you all so much for your amazing support last Friday night at the Matariki Disco! We couldn’t have done it without all of you, and a special thanks to our epic DJ, MC and all of the wonderful volunteers on the night.
We raised over $1,200! But most importantly, it was a great night for our school community, and the kids had a blast!
As always, we are so grateful for your generosity and support.
Ngā mihi and God bless,
Co-Chairpersons
Holy Trinity Catholic Primary School
Parent, Teacher & Friends Association
St Ignatuis of Loyola Catholic College Update
Staff from St Ignatius of Loyola Catholic College are looking forward to hosting Community update events for all of the 2024 enrolled families.
A community event will be held Tuesday 8th August 6:00 -7:00pm at Holy Trinity Catholic Primary School, Takanini in Taamaua/school hall.
St Ignatius College personnel will also be meeting with enrolled Holy Trinity Year 6/7/8 students during the school day.
Reminders!
Student Phones
We do not encourage students to have their personal phones at school. There are a few exceptions only. This is for students who are using public transport or walking to and from school – having a phone with them at this time is a good safety measure. However, there is no other reason for a child to bring their phone to school. If a student is bringing their phone to school, then it must be handed into the school office each morning and collected at the end of the school day. Our Office Admin Team will be contacting families to confirm the need to have phones at school for these children. Thank you for supporting us with this request.
Upcoming School Events
HTCPS BOOK WEEK!
Monday 7th August – Friday 11th August
St Ignatius of Loyola Catholic College Community Update (for 2024 enrolled students)
Tuesday 8th August 6:00pm-7:00pm in Taamaua/school hall
Feast of the Assumption Mass
Monday 14th August 9:15am in Taamaua/school hall with Fr Kevin Murphy celebrating
Gathering School Liturgy – led by Learning Community Ngahere
Tuesday 15th August @ 9:15am in Taamaua/school hall
Indian Independence Day Celebrations – led by our Indian and Sri Lankan Families
Tuesday 15th August following Liturgy in Taamaua/school hall
New Families Information Morning Meeting
Wednesday 16th August 9:00am in the school staffroom
Michael Mangan School Concert
Thursday 17th August 1:30pm in Taamaua/school hall
St Anne’s Shield Sports Day – Catholic Schools
Tuesday 22nd August @ Bruce Pulman Park Sports Ground
PTFA Monthly Meeting
Tuesday 22nd August 7:00pm in the school staffroom
School Board Monthly Meeting
Wednesday 23rd August 6:00pm in the school staffroom
Term 3 Concludes at 2:50pm
Friday 22nd September
Term 4 Commences at 8:50am
Monday 9th October
