Greetings, Kia ora, Kia orana, Talofa, Mālō e lelei, Namaste, Ni Hao, Bula, Hola, Kumusta
Dear Families
These past two weeks have been a very significant time in New Zealand as we have seen an outpouring of sadness and grief for the terrible and tragic events in Christchurch. We have also seen and are a part of, the outpouring of love, compassion, care, generosity, goodwill, kindness and friendship shown by so many in our communities towards each other especially those in the minorities. From this tragic time, let us go forward knowing that our hope is in God and together we … “do not give way but remain faithful in the Lord.” (St Paul)
The prayer of St Francis of Assisi is especially beautiful and poignant to pray at this time, as we work together to bring peace to our homes, to our schools, to our parishes, to our wider community through our own words, actions and interactions – striving to be people of peace/rangimarie …
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love, where there is injury, pardon. Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope, where there is darkness light. And where there is sadness, joy …
Community Consultation Gathering
As part of the development of our school’s strategic plan, a focus for this year is to gather community voice around your aspirations for our school and your children’s education as well as your thoughts and ideas as we move forward from our establishment phase.
Our first step is to invite you, our families, to a community consultation gathering to be held this coming Monday 1st April at 7:00pm in Taamaua/School Hall. We will be sharing the our school’s vision, current strategic plan goals and asking parents for their input on our future direction as a vibrant catholic school community.
We will also discuss the upcoming Board of Trustees Elections in June.
Please do make time to attend this community consultation as every voice is valuable!
DRS Report
St Patrick’s Mufti Caritas Fundraiser
We thank you whānau, for your support in our St Patrick’s Mufti Day for Caritas New Zealand. Altogether we raised $216.60. This will go towards Caritas in their outreach for community development both here in New Zealand and abroad.
Whole School Stations of the Cross
On Friday 12 April our school will be gathering together in prayer to walk the road that Jesus took on his journey to the cross. We are inviting our whānau to come along and be a part of our Stations of the Cross Liturgy held in Taamaua (hall) at 1:30pm. This is a lovely way of ending our term as we prepare for the coming of our Risen Lord in Easter. We hope to see you there!
Reconciliation for Senior Students
On Thursday 4 April, some of our senior students will be having Reconciliation with Father Peter Murphy and Father Brian Prendeville at 11am in Taamaua. The Sacrament of Reconciliation helps us to recognise the bad choices that we make and is a way for us to ask God for his forgiveness. Our God is a God of love and a God of forgiveness, so no matter what we do, he longs to offer us forgiveness.
End of Term Mass
We will be celebrating our End of Term Mass on Thursday 11 April in Taamaua at 9am with Father Brian Prendeville of St Anne’s Manurewa. We invite you to join us to be a part of celebrating another term of learning and to witness the commissioning of our senior students Whānau Leaders.
BOARD OF TRUSTEES ELECTIONS
This year all schools in New Zealand are scheduled to have Board of Trustees elections, which are being planned for 7 June. While Holy Trinity Catholic Primary School had Board of Trustee elections in 2017, that was because we were a new school and needed to elect the Foundation Board. This year, we join the 3 year cycle for the elections of Board members, like all other schools across N.Z.School Fun Run Friday 5th April
Our PTFA are busy organising this major fundraising event for our school – A SCHOOL FUN RUN to be held on Friday 5th April 2019 here at school, commencing at 4:30pm … next week! They are working alongside a school fundraising company who are assisting with the organisation of on-line sponsorship to make it easier for everyone to be involved in this fantastic fundraising venture.
The children will have brought home an information letter and also a pamphlet that outlines how to join up to be part of the Fun Run. We are asking families to seek on-line sponsorship from family, friends, co-workers etc to help make it a very successful project.
All proceeds will go towards the development of our school’s adventure playground and we will use our new school field as the “fun run track”!
Children will be able to choose their reward prize dependent on the total amount of money they fundraise. The pamphlet has a great list of reward prizes to choose from. Please refer to the letter and pamphlet that has come home for further information.
This is a big event for our PTFA and they would really love the help of other parents to support on the day. Please contact the school office ph: 09 296 9039 or email office@holytrinity.school.nz if you are able to help in any way – it would be very much appreciated!
Looking forward to a really fun community event AND THANK YOU for the support!
PTFA News
Congratulations to Mrs Juliet Nawisielski – Chairperson PTFA, Mrs Fiona Rudsits, Treasurer PTFA and Mrs Yvonne Pollington, Secretary PTFA who have been elected to these roles for the 2019 year. We are very grateful to these wonderful folk who so generously give their time, skills and experience to the PTFA. Thank you for accepting this mantle of leadership! It was also lovely to see some new faces at the recent PTFA AGM and to hear their enthusiasm for organising and running activities and events that can involve the school community which in turn, benefits our children.
THANK YOU for all that you do and GOOD LUCK for the School Fun Run this Friday!
Reporting to Parents/Whānau
From Monday 8th April, we will be publishing students’ learning pages for R.E., Concept “Tūrangawaewae” and a General Comment which is a record of their learning from Term 1. We will do this through our Linc-Ed communication system. Please take the time to discuss the learning comments with your child so you can share in and praise their learning successes. You are able to “like” the learning comments by clicking on the relevant icon. Further reporting will occur in Term 2.
Please make sure you are able to access the Linc-Ed parent portal or call into Reception and we will assist you to do this.
Policy and Procedures
It is always good practice to inform parents and community of the appropriate channel to share concerns or worries. Schools are required to have a Complaints Policy in place. The purpose is to provide clear guidelines for the school community in raising and resolving concerns and complaints.
These procedures enable us to:
- maintain the best learning environment for our students
- resolve matters of concern early, if possible
- respond to feedback and concerns constructively
- deal with complaints fairly, effectively, and promptly
- take into account individual circumstances
- maintain confidentiality
- preserve school/community relationships and communication
- monitor and record complaints and concerns about student safety.
Most complaints can be resolved informally by discussions with the people concerned:
1. Discuss the issue with the right person
2. Work towards a resolution.
If you are concerned about your child:
1. Meet with the Learning Community teacher/kaitiaki
2. If no resolution, meet with the Senior Leader/manutaki
3. If still unresolved, request a meeting with the Principal
4. If the concern remains unresolved, a formal complaint can be made
Our school policies and procedures are held online with SchoolDocs.
Emergency Drills
This week we practised a Lockdown Drill. Learning Communities heard the call come over the loudspeakers and sprang into action. In a lockdown, we need to get out of sight as quickly as possible. Doors are locked and lights are turned off. Learners are then asked to sit quietly and wait until released.
Our recent practice went very well, learners were quick, quiet and respectful of each other. Great work Holy Trinity!
Learning Community News
Learning Community Awa
This term, Awa learners have been fortunate enough to enjoy the coaching expertise of Counties Manukau Sports. They focused on the skill set of catching a small ball from varying heights and distances. The coaches ensured that when teaching these skills it was important to start at a level that can be achieved and then slowly increase the level of difficulty, so that the learner was stretched slightly each time, but did not lose self-confidence! The learners also noticed that working together as a team was vital to their success. Interpersonal relationships were built as learners set goals, problem solved and used different strategies to achieve goals set by the coaches. Through play, social skills such as learning to share, how to follow rules and how to negotiate were also areas of focus.
Learning Community Maunga
Concept Learning
Learning Community Maunga has been learning about their heritage and tūrangawaewae. To delve deeper into our family history, learners have created their family tree. Our concept learning this term has provided many opportunities for families to discuss their heritage and history. The next project is the Family Hero, we can’t wait to read the stories that come to school.
Vaccinations
All Year 7/8 students who returned a signed form had their first round of vaccinations this week. After a few tears and bravado, the needles went in. “That didn’t even hurt!” was the most common reaction to the vaccination. Well done to all our brave students.
Food Technology
This week we had a guest chef in Learning Community Maunga – Mrs Wijesuriya, Senuka’s mum. She came in to share her Sri Lankan Curry recipe with the learners. The aroma captivated the entire top floor – nearly everyone wanted seconds! We even made enough to share with the staff. Ask the LC Maunga students for the recipe! Thank you Mrs Wijesuriya for sharing your skills with us.
Sports News
Congratulations to our four Futsal teams who competed at the Year 7&8 Summer sports day. We had two teams in the A grade, and one each in the B and C grades. Our teams played hard, without subs, and competed well. They showed sportsmanship and resilience. We managed to place 2nd and 3rd in the A grade, 1st in B grade and 2nd in C grade.
Well done to all our players and a big thank you to Linkin’s mum, Cassie and Cruz’s grandfather for coming along to support the teams!
Reflection
As we enter into the second half of our Lenten Season, Pope Francis reminds us to … “fast from hurting words and say kind words, fast from sadness and be filled with gratitude, fast from anger and be filled with patience, fast from pessimism and be filled with hope, fast from worries and trust in God!”
Let us continue to pray for one another during these grace filled days of Lent.
With God’s Blessings
Peta Lindstrom
Principal
Upcoming School Events
School Assembly and Prayer – Mr Williams, Mrs Notley and LC Maunga
Monday 1st April 9:00am in Taamaua/Hall
Community Gathering – Consultation
Monday 1st April 7:00pm in Taamaua/School Hall
Reconciliation for senior students
Thursday 4th April 11:00am in Taamaua/Hall
PTFA School Fun Run
Friday 5th April 4:30pm at school – on the field
School Assembly and Prayer – Miss Lindstrom and students
Monday 8th April 9:00am in Taamaua/Hall
Term 1 Digital Reports on line through Linc-Ed
from Monday 8th April
School Mass for end of term
Thursday 11th April 9am with Fr Brian Prendeville, St Anne’s Parish, Manurewa
Stations of the Cross Liturgy
Friday 12th April 1:30pm in Taamaua/Hall
Term 1 concludes
Friday 12th April 2:50pm
Term 2 commences
Monday 29th April 8:50am
Saint Mary’s School GALA Day
Community Events & Notices
CATHOLIC EDUCATION SERVICES – Secretary
The Catholic Diocese of Auckland has a vacancy for a part-time Secretary (3 days per week) at Catholic Education Services.
THE KEY RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE POSITION ARE:
- Provide administrative and clerical support to the Manager, the RE Advisors, the Board, and the Vicar of Education
- Provide effective communication ensuring good relations are established and maintained with schools and other agencies.
REQUIREMENTS OF THIS POSITION:
- Empathy for the Catholic School system
- Competency in Microsoft Word
- A willingness to work as a team member
The position will commence on 1st May. For an application form and job description please contact:
Philip Mahoney, Manager, Catholic Education Services
Phone: (09) 360 3079, Email: philipm@cda.org.nz
Applications (by way of a CV, covering letter and completed application form) close on Friday 29th March, 2019.
‘WHAT NOW’ – Children’s TV programme
(8-10am Sunday on TVNZ 2). During 2019 we are broadcasting from around the country, show casing a different community each week. On Sunday 5th May our show will be coming live from Brookby and I would like to invite your families to be part of the live audience! Families (including adults) are all invited to come and experience live tv being made while being part of our awesome audience…& it’s FREE!! As space is limited, we work on a ‘first in best dressed’ approach.
You are most welcome to include this link in your notices for your families to register online to be part of the audience www.whatnow.tv/bonus/audience
We look forward to joining your community in 2019! Kind Regards Suzanne Irvine
Artz on Show
Offering a School Holiday Workshop in the Franklin area, however we have been running these Workshops for 16yrs throughout Auckland and the Waikato. The feedback is wonderful, especially how we create a warm, safe environment for children to taste a variety of Performing Arts Discipline
