School Newsletter 6th September 2024

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 were so privileged to have been invited and encouraged to participate in the hikoi to the tangi for Kiingi Tūheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII, Māori King and Paramount Chief of Waikato-Tainui at Tuurangawaewae Marae in Ngaaruawaahia on Monday. Gathering with our fellow Tainui Catholic schools and members of our wider Catholic community especially those from the Diocesan Office was very special and humbling. The importance and significance of representing our Catholic community to pay our respects to the family, friends and iwi of Kiingi Tūheitia was a huge honour and one that we will treasure for years to come.

Our group was ably led by Manuel Beazley, our Vicar for Māori and representative of Bishop Steve Lowe. Manuel supported and guided us through the kawa and kaupapa/protocols of the day ensuring we experienced, heard, felt and shared in the best of Te Ao Māori – the world of Māori.

Our heartfelt thanks to the Holy Trinity students who represented us with such pride and to Mrs Stewart from our school office, the Foster/Fuiava/Martin and Soo Choon whānau – ka mau te wehi/you are amazing!

From the tamariki …

I learnt about my culture by participating in the day. We waited with hundreds of people to pay our respects, we listened to the speakers and we sang our waiata. I felt proud to be Māori and to be Catholic! By Lawlor

I felt very proud from the warmth of my culture that surrounded me. It made me feel like I belonged. I think the courage and belief that was brought through from the waiata and the mihi where the speakers talked about whānau and land/whenua was so special as I could see everyone relating to what the speakers were saying. It was a lovely, welcoming experience. By Korah

When we were entering the marae, you could hear people doing the haka. It was very loud and welcoming and it was shared so passionately. It has made me feel more passionate and more confident to do our school haka in this way too. By Luisa

At the King’s Tangi, it was great to see the people coming from all over Aotearoa to pay their respects. We prayed for the King that he would have eternal life. I loved the hospitality/ manaakitanga as we were made to feel so welcome! By Cruze-John

It was a great day to experience. My favourite part of the day was when we stood up to sing He Honore. It was so beautiful, strong and positive and it made me feel very proud to be Māori. Practising and singing all the waiata gave me so much positivity. By Mila

At the King’s tangi, I felt more connected to my Māori side and I felt proud to represent my school and the Catholic community. The karanga/calling on to the marae, the karakia/the prayer, the mihi/speeches and the waiata/songs all reminded me of where I come from and made me proud to be Māori. Hearing the beautiful te reo māori made me so proud. By Zoey

Education Review Office/Te Tari Arotake Mātauranga (ERO)

The Education Review Office is the N.Z Government external education evaluation agency, whose role it is to evaluate and report on education and care of learners in schools, kura, kōhanga reo and early childhood services.

It works in partnership with schools to inform and improvement for all learners- what is working well and what we can improve.

Schools are reviewed on a 3 year cycle and our school’s review began last Thursday 5 September. Our ERO Evaluation Partner, Amanda Douglas, will also be working on site with us on Tuesday 17th September. During this day, Amanda will be spending time in the Learning Communities focusing on our teaching and learning programmes and our students’ progress and achievement capabilities.

A key part of the process will be working alongside the school to determine future priorities and how we can continue the on-going journey of school improvement.

We will be keeping you all up to date with our time with ERO, as we look at where our school is at and where we go to next.

DRS Report

‘Kaitiaki2Share’ Caritas Competition

Some of our Year 5/6 students entered the national ‘Kaitiaki2Share’ competition that is run annually by Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand. Student entries highlight the power of collective action and reflect the Catholic social teaching principle of ‘Stewardship’. Through their work, these young minds demonstrated how ‘stewardship’ can guide us in preserving God’s creation, ensuring the well-being of both humanity and the environment.

We congratulate Liliana Chang who is the overall winner for the New Zealand Year 6 cohort with her speech presented on why it’s important to take the responsibility of being the kaitiaki of God’s creation. Liliana has won prize money along with a tree planted in her name in our region. We also have three finalists who will also have a tree planted in their name. Congratulations to our finalists, Cooper Pihema, Aidan Singh and Celyn Rogayan.

And finally, we have some other notable entries to be acknowledged … Elijah Bautista,  Isabella Porter, Emanuella Ofori-Anyinam, Jan Silver Manalo, Lupea Kaloni, Jane Tatui, Korah Walker, Kiera Vibal, Alicia Soriano and Zia Sarath. Check out the website for you to see Liliana’s winning speech!

Fathers Day Liturgy

What a wonderful afternoon it was to have so many HTCPS dads and father figures fill our school hall last Friday as we celebrated them and the special roles they play in our whānau. Our students led a beautiful liturgy that reflected the importance of our dads in our lives. We even had brave dads who stood up and shared special moments that spoke to them about being ‘dad’ to the special young people in their lives. We thank God for all our HTCPS fathers, for the gift of them in their families and our school-wide whānau.

Food Cans for Christmas

This week our student leaders have been busy in Taamaua/school hall collecting cans of food from our tamariki, whānau and kaitiaki to go towards our annual ‘Can Drive for Christmas’. What an amazing effort from our HTCPS whānau! We can be assured that our school has shown solidarity for our Auckland families this week through the generous giving of cans of food. St Vincent de Paul will be picking up the cans later in the term and will work to distribute these across Auckland for families who need it for this Christmas time. Thank you for your kind and generous hearts! Our can drive this year has collected 579 cans!

Here is the breakdown for the whānau collection. Congratulations to MacKillop Whānau who collected the most cans!

Ka mau te wehi Holy Trinity Whānau!

Social Justice Week

Social Justice Week commences on Sunday 8 September and goes through to Saturday 14 September. During this week, our tamariki will be learning more about the Social JusticeWeek (SJW) focus for this year: ‘Choose forgiveness, know peace / Kōwhiria te murunga hara, kia mōhio ki te rangimārie’. As part of the SJW, some of our student leaders from the Catholic Special Character and Awhi teams will be running simple workshops at lunchtime in Taamaua which all children are invited to attend. The workshops are based on activities that promote peace and forgiveness which is connected to the students’ learning in the classroom. At the end of Social Justice Week, we will have a non-uniform day to celebrate our efforts for the Food Can Drive for St Vincent de Paul and for our learning from Social Justice Week.

Our School/Parish Mass

You are invited to our upcoming school’s Sunday Parish Mass to be held at St Mary’s Parish Church, Papakura on Sunday 22nd September at 10:30am. It will be wonderful for our school community to attend and celebrate Eucharist with Father Mathew Vadakkevettuvazhiyil. Please bring a plate of finger food for morning tea to share with the parishioners after Mass. More details will be shared on HERO closer to the time.

Parish Bulletins …

Please click on the links to access this weekend’s parish bulletins for St Mary’s Parish, Papakura and St Anne’s Parish, Manurewa
St Anne’s Parish Manurewa Bulletin #33 – Sunday 8th September 2024 St Mary’s Parish, Papakura Bulletin 8th September 2024

Teaching and Learning News

Craft Lab Outdoor Education

On Thursday 19th and Friday 20th September, Learning Communities Kohanga, Awa, and Whenua will be taking part in Craft Lab, an exciting outdoor education programme. The mission of Craft Lab is to connect tamariki and whānau with nature through fun exploration and crafting with natural materials, promoting well-being and enriching learning. This outdoor education experience, which is part of our Health and Physical Education curriculum, will run at school from 9:00 am to 2:50 pm. The programme is organised by Craft Lab NZ Education Outdoors. Throughout the day, students will learn bush craft like knot tying, flax weaving, kite making, and preparing a bush treat!

Teaching and Learning News

Mahi Tahi Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences for nominated students

Mahi Tahi Parent/Teacher/Student OPEN Conferences will be held for some students on Wednesday 18th September 3:30pm – 5:30pm. Kaitaiki of each learning Community will be contacting families of students that would benefit from this Mahi Tahi time – this is an opportunity to check in to see how your child is progressing especially if they are receiving learning support either for learning, social or behavioural needs. 

It was great to meet with many of our school families for the Mahi Tahi Conferences at the end of Term 2. This upcoming Mahi Tahi Conference time is a touch-base for some families only.

Keep an eye out for HERO digital reporting that will be published for all students in Week 10, our last week of this term.

PTFA News

The PTFA Team is organising a Pizza Lunch for all children on Friday the 20th of September. Please use the order form that has been sent home and place your orders at the office.

Children will receive mini pizzas in their choice of flavours: Cheese, Ham & Cheese, Classic Vege, Pepperoni or Hawaiian.
Pizzas are $6 each, please take your completed order form to the office, and pay by cash or EFTPOS

The last day for ordering is Tuesday the 10th of September by 3:00pm.

The pizzas will be delivered to your child’s Learning Community on the day.

Ngā mihi nui,
HTCPS PTFA

Learning Community News

Learning Community Awa

LC Awa learners have been working collaboratively at the ‘prototype stage’ of the Design Thinking Process, creating their own ways of preserving stories and their learnings across different curriculum areas. In R.E., they have been using puppets, drawings, and posters to preserve faith stories. In Health & PE, learners are selecting items to include in their Hauora boxes to support different aspects of wellbeing. Building on their learning from AI’s music, they have also created musical instruments by reusing rubbish. Learners are excited and preparing to present their creations to their peers and families.

We have also been developing our ball skills through the Hungerball Game. The children have had opportunities to participate in challenging games and physical activities that help them practice core foundational and movement skills. Through these activities, they are encouraged to take care of their overall hauora/well-being by supporting their tinana/physical, hinengaro/emotional/mental, whānau/social, and wairua/spiritual dimensions.

Learning Community Whenua

In LC Whenua, we used the design thinking process  in Technology to create prototypes to inspire our chosen audience to take care of our common home. We will share our creations with learners in our LC and use their feedback to improve our designs and then write our reflections.  In R.E., we have been learning about the messages of Jesus and using the design thinking process to create a way to preserve our messages as taonga that helps to empower us to respond to our mission.  We also enjoyed playing the Hungerball Game in the inflatable stadium. We are enjoying going every week and during morning tea as this helps to enrich the four pou of our hauora- wellbeing.

Learning Community Ngahere

Learning Community Ngahere learners have been working collaboratively in small groups to create a game that enhances Hauora. We have been following the design thinking process to plan for our games and are looking forward to teaching other learners in our LC how to play them. We have also been writing stories to preserve the message of ‘looking after our common home’ and have been practising making a soundscape for our stories using musical instruments. 

Learning Community Maunga

LC Maunga learners have been using their creativity in R.E. and Music to write a song or rap to preserve our faith stories or the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  Using design thinking, they have been working to create a simple and catchy song or rap to present to our junior audience.  Check out Sebastian Dawinan’s song about The Good Samaritan (photo). 

In Maths, we have been focusing on our  statistical investigations using an authentic context to find out more about our learner’s in Maunga.  We are enjoying collecting our data and learning to present data using a variety of graphs.  Our learners have also been engaged in coding and are becoming awesome coders! They have been learning to apply their knowledge of using sequencing, if conditions, loops and functions to complete more challenging tasks this week.

In Literacy, we are learning to create and present a story that is preserved as taonga to empower others to respond to our mission.  Our learners have been busy creating their picture storyboards and scripts about our korero paki story ‘Tulevai and the Sea’.  Their next steps will be to visually create an image digital story voice over (storytelling) powerpoint to present.

Each week, our learners have been enthusiastic in participating in Hungerball as part of our Healthy Active Learning for PE, developing ball skills and hand and eye coordination skills.  We were very fortunate to have a surprise visit from a few of the Warriors players who took a skills session on tackling technique, passing and catching which was a highlight!

Learning Community Moana

In LC Moana, we are creating time capsules to hold the letters that we have written to ‘ourselves in the future’. We have been using the KWHLAQ and Design Thinking Process to help us think about how to create a time capsule that will protect our letter for at least two years and will suit the environment it will end up in.  Here is an example of what we have been doing …

KWHLAQ/Design Thinking Process – Time Capsule

K – What do I know about time capsules?
-Time capsules are used to preserve various artefacts from the past
– Time capsules can be used to preserve a story

W – What do I want to know/do?
I want to create a time capsule to preserve my letter for at least two years.

H – How will I find out/ complete the task?
I will use The Design Thinking Process to create and evaluate my time capsule.

Empathise – Who is my audience?
My audience is my future self and the LC Moana Kaitiaki

Define – What is the purpose of this project?
The purpose of this project is to create a container where I can store my letter and various other artefacts from 2024. I will be using recycled materials in order to reduce the amount of waste I produce.

Ideate – Create some potential designs for my  time capsule.
We have also been writing songs to preserve faith stories and inspire others to empower mission.

Here is Korah’s song on the Old Testament …

Chorus:
Believe He’s there because He’ll comfort and guide you,
Don’t forget not to sin, therefore He’ll forgive you
Your sins now and forever love you.

First Verse:
Shout out to God with loud songs of joy, For the Lord is here for all
His people who believe in Him and see His role in their life,
without his love
in their everyday lives are in strife.

Second Verse:
So gather together as one in His name, don’t forget what He said,
To proclaim your love and faith,
There is no shame for God rules over all nations,
Come together, feel the sensation,
His love yields the earth and the bonds draw us near

Third Verse:
The shields of the earth belong to God, for your soul shall rejoice to God,
Your body obeys his commandment and others may too,
as the commandments obeyed will diminish all fear.
Trust in His love, proclaim your faith and love.
To God our Father, creator above.

Sports News

St Anne’s Shield Sports Day

Last week, we had some of our Year 4-6 students participating in the St Anne’s Shield Sports tournament held at Bruce Pulman Park. Our tamariki did a fantastic job demonstrating positive sportsmanship and resilience in the different sports they were a part of. Special thanks goes out to Ms Laura Ahern and Miss Angela Aiesi who worked alongside St Mary’s School, Papakura to co-host the football tournament for the day. We also acknowledge our kaitiaki who went along to support our tamariki on the day; thanks Ms Gill and Mrs Chung!

And to our awesome parents who turned up to either coach or offer their talents for refereeing of games on the day – you are appreciated! Thank you to Mr Nigel Erick for coaching the tag, to Mr Marc Tamani for coaching and refereeing the football games, to Mr Paul Wilson who refereed the football games on the day and to our netball parents who coached and umpired the netball games; Ms Claire Vaasili, Ms Denise Niuia and Ms LJ Walker. Our tamariki could not have participated without your support.

Celebrating Language Weeks

Indian Language Week

To acknowledge our cultures and share some of the Indian and Sri Lankan languages, we will be celebrating Indian and Sri Lanka Language Week from 9th – 13th September. We invite our school community to be part of this celebration in a simple way by saying the Sign of the Cross in Malayalam, Punjabi and Singhalese and of course through some music and dance.

Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori 16-21 September

Ake Ake Ake – A FOREVER LANGUAGE

The theme for Te Wiki 2024 is ‘Ake Ake Ake – A Forever Language’. It represents the resilience, adaptability and endurance of our language. It also reflects the commitment New Zealanders have to embracing and learning te reo Māori long into the future. 

As part of the learning experiences planned for Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori, each learning community will create a resource to share their Wai Ako learning with another Learning Community to help grow our te reo māori knowledge. There will be an inter-whānau haka competition to support the learning of the Papakura Schools Haka this year and to open Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori. Other activities will include learning a māori waiata and a whole-school karakia to begin and end our day.

Also, whānau, keep a lookout for a competition inviting you to record your whānau saying your favourite māori word or everyday phrase that you use or plan to use at home and work, or design a WOW poster featuring your kupu or everyday phrase in te reo māori to display in Taamaua. Here are some examples: morena, harikoa (happy), he pātai tāku? (I have a question?), kia kaha, or he aha? (What?).

Hauora News

The Awhi Team have been busy helping out with this week’s Can Drive. They have also been preparing for Social Justice Week which is next week. The Awhi Team will be helping run some lunchtime sessions for our tamariki to help them learn about the theme of Social Justice Week, which is “Choose forgiveness, know peace/ Kōwhiria te murunga hara, kia mōhio ki te rangimārie”.

HTCPS Netball Club Prize-giving

Congratulations to all of our players, coaches, managers and administration team on another very successful season of Saturday Netball competition!

Holy Trinity Rangers Team Members: Jazlyn Sokhal, Xander Farley, Everly Taualai, Georgina Gomintong, Zara Sarath and Makalita Kaloni
Coach and Manager: Praveena Bose and Jasbinder Saul

Shooting Trinity Team Members: Isaiah Raega, Katherine Farley, Sam Balbona, Holy Vaasili, Lilith Farley, Edith Aita and Emily Martin
Coach and Manager: Chermayne Raega and Rachel Farley

The Trinity’s Team Members: Khloe Kippen, Venbaa Uthamaputhiran, Charlotte Ruegg, Christen Altamirano, Te Awhina Fuiava, Zheian Rosal, Sophia Beza and Sophia Bradley
Coach and Manager: Kayla Kippen, Larce Kippen and Vineetha Uthamaputhiran

Holy Trinity Warriors Team Members: Lupea Kaloni, Emanuella Ofori-Anyinam, Aiva Vaasili, Mele Kaloni, Madison De Leon, Zia Sarath, Korah Walker, Ella Leibbrandt and Zoey Schwalger
Coach and Manager: Ina Tuivaiti, Claire Vaasili
Umpire: Leah-Jane Smith

THANK YOU to Larce Kippe and Claire Vaasili who stepped into the administration and management role for HTCPS Netball Club. We are so grateful and appreciative of your time, organisation and management of the season ensuring that all the players, their coaches and managers and families were cared for and organised for the season.  Our thanks to Leah-Jane Smith for taking on the umpiring duties and making sure HTCPS met all of the regulations. Thanks for the way you worked so closely with school to make it a happy, positive season for all! Thank you coaches and managers for helping your young teams grow in skills and team work. Thank you for the way you took on the role and made the most of ‘learning on the job!’.  And THANK YOU whānau for supporting our young players, encouraging them in their team sport and cheering on from the sidelines – it was fantastic to see the growth in skills and confidence for each player as the season progressed. We will see you all again in 2025!

2025 School Term Dates

The School Board has approved the school term dates for 2025 as:

Term One    10 weeks     Monday 3rd February – Friday 11th April

Term Two     9 weeks      Monday 28th April  – Friday 27th June 

Term Three   10 weeks    Monday 14th July – Friday 19th September 

Term Four     10 weeks    Monday 6th October – Tuesday 16th December 

2025 PUBLIC HOLIDAYS:

Term 1 – Thursday 6th February – Waitangi Day

Easter Holidays: Good Friday 18th April, Easter Monday 21st April, Easter Tuesday 22nd April

Anzac Day Friday 25th April

Term 2 – Monday 2rd June – King’s Birthday

Term 2 – Friday 20th June – Matariki

Term 4 – Monday 27th October – Labour Day

Christmas/Summer holidays begin from Wednesday 17th December 2025

St Ignatius of Loyola Catholic College Enrolment Information Evening

Our 2024 Year 5 families who are interested in enrolling for St Ignatius of Loyola Catholic College in 2026 are invited to attend an Enrolment Information Hui to be held Wednesday 11th September 6:00pm in Taamaua/school hall at Holy Trinity Catholic Primary School.

It is very important that you attend this meeting so that you hear the correct information and procedure for 2026 enrolments at the College. Hard copies of the invitation from St Ignatius of Loyola Catholic College were sent home with Year 5 students last week.

Please note this meeting is just for families with children in Year 5 this year, 2024.

Reminders!

Staff/Teacher Only Day in Term 4

Upcoming School Events

School Whānau Time 9:00am – 9:45am
Monday 9th September in Learning Communities

Social Justice Week
From Monday 9th September @ school

Enrolment Information Hui for Year 5 families – St Ignatius of Loyola Catholic College, Drury
Wednesday 11th September @ 6:00pm in Taamaua/school hall at Holy Trinity Catholic Primary School

Non-Uniform (Mufti) Day at School
Friday 13th September 

Gathering School Liturgy & Assembly led by Mrs Fernandes, Mrs Buzmion, Mrs Anitelea and students
Monday 16th September @ 8:50am in Taamaua/school hall

Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori  Week
From Monday 16th September @ school

Education Review Office Evaluation Partner at school
Tuesday 17th September 

Fr Mathew visiting Learning Communities
Wednesday 18th September @ 10:00am – 11;30am

Mahi Tahi Parent/Teacher/Student OPEN Conferences for some students
Wednesday 18th September 3:30pm – 5:30pm 

Craftlab Outdoor Education programme for LC Whenua Year 1&2 students
Thursday 19th September @ school

Craftlab Outdoor Education programme for LC Awa and LC Kohanga Year 0&1 students
Friday 20th September @ school

PTFA Pizza Lunch Day
Friday 20th September @ school

Combined School and Parish Mass
Sunday 22nd September @ 10:30am St Mary’s Parish Church Papakura

School Whānau Time 9:00am – 9:45am
Monday 23rd September in Learning Communities

Monthly PTFA Meeting
Tuesday 24th September @ 7:00pm in the staffroom 

Monthly School Board Meeting
Wednesday 25th September @ 7:00pm in the staffroom 

PTFA Wave Rave at Massey Park Pools
Friday 27th September @ Massey Park Pools, Papakura from 6:00pm 

Term 3 Concludes at 2:50pm 
Friday 27th September

Term 4 Commences at 8:50am
Monday 14th October