Greetings, Kia ora, Kia orana, Talofa, Mālō e lelei, Namaste, Ni Hao, Bula, Hola, Kumusta
Dear Families
As the first term draws to a close, as Chairperson, on behalf of the Board of Trustees, I would like to thank our principal, Peta Lindstrom and the staff, children, our school families, our Parish Priests and our wider school community for another wonderful beginning to a new school year. Together we make a great team and it is encouraging to hear many positive comments about Holy Trinity Catholic Primary School out in the community.
EASTER is almost upon us and the Easter story brings many challenges to our door relating to faith and the attitudes with which we face our lives. Over Easter, Christians celebrate the belief that Jesus died and rose from the dead. If we have faith in the resurrection of Christ, what does it mean for the way we live our lives? Life has its challenges for all of us-if we believe in the resurrection and are grounded in our FAITH, we can tackle those challenges and overcome them.
Holy Trinity Catholic Primary School is a place of faith, where we encounter the living God, who in Jesus Christ reveals his transforming love and truth, grow in knowledge and understanding of Christ’s teaching and be Christian witnesses to one another.
Our school vision of Learn Ka Ako, Love Ka Aroha, Serve Ka Manaaki, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit is integral to the success of our school and it is very much part of our daily school life- it is one of its great strengths.
Staffing
As a Board, we welcome the new staff members who have joined the Holy Trinity Catholic Primary School team this year- Mrs Mavis Chung, Mrs Susan Champion, Miss Alana Gaynor, Mr Quenten Brown and Mrs Mel Notley who are on the teaching staff and Mrs Hilda Pritchard (Nikolao), who is a member of the support staff. Mrs Viv Smith has returned and joins us as a part-time Office Administrator working Wed-Fri in the Reception Area. Finally, we are blessed to have a caretaker for 15 hours per week, Mr Allan Quarterman, who is doing a great job around the school.
Board of Trustees
As a Board of Trustees, we are accountable for student achievement, setting the vision for the school and ensuring the school complies with legal and policy requirements. While the Board is in a governance role, it is the principal who is responsible for the day to day management of the school and together we work in partnership to provide the very best Catholic education we can for all the children in our care.
One of our key goals in our Strategic Plan for this year is around community engagement, and “gathering voice” from our community. Now that we are moving out of the school’s establishment phase, we are looking forward and planning the school’s future direction. This involves reviewing our Strategic Plan, and in doing this we need the voice of our growing and thriving school community. We need to know about the aspirations you have for your children, how you see the school developing and what you would like to know more about regarding your children’s learning. This will help the Board with our future planning.
Thank you to the group of parents who attended the Consultation Meeting recently. While the group was small in number, there was some excellent ideas shared which will help the school look forward as we provide the best Catholic education we can for our children. There will be regular opportunities during the year for our whānau to have input into the further development of our school. We are very interested in your thoughts and ideas of how we might do this.
Student Achievement
A Ministry of Education requirement is that schools are required to report to the school’s community on the progress and achievement of students.
Our school’s results at the end of 2018 were very encouraging and the staff are to be congratulated on the time, thought and effort that they put in to the learning and teaching programmes for our children.
The following overall achievement data for the 2018 school year is in relation to the National Curriculum Levels as set by the Ministry of Education.
Reading Achievement
80% of students are achieving AT or ABOVE Curriculum Level Expectation
20% of students are achieving BELOW Curriculum Level Expectation
Writing Achievement
81% of students are achieving AT or ABOVE Curriculum Expectation
19% are achieving BELOW Curriculum Expectation
Mathematics Achievement
87% are achieving AT or ABOVE Curriculum Expectation
13% are achieving BELOW Curriculum Expectation
Through the analysis of achievement data, staff have identified students and groups of students who are not progressing as expected and need additional support, children with special needs and children who are gifted and talented in areas of the curriculum. Teachers continue to develop and implement teaching and learning strategies to address the needs of students and aspects of the curriculum that have been identified. We are also mindful that we have an increasing number of students for whom English is a second language and support is being provided to assist these students.
This achievement data forms part of the school’s annual reporting to the Ministry of Education.
Staff appreciate the on-going support from parents/whānau in the children’s learning and it is essential that school and home work together to ensure the best learning outcomes for all students.
Board of Trustees Elections
This year, all schools in New Zealand, are scheduled to have Board of Trustee Elections, which are planned for 7 June. Being on the Board of Trustees is a wonderful way to become involved in the life of your children’s school and their education. It is a commitment and a very rewarding one, where Board members have the opportunity to live out our school’s vision- “Learn, Love and Serve in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”.
Holy Trinity Catholic Primary School has a Board of Trustees consisting of 5 parent elected members, 4 members appointed by the Bishop of Auckland, 1 staff representative elected by the staff and the principal.
We have appointed our Returning Officer, Mrs Anne Marie Harvey. Early next term, you will start to get regular information leading up to the elections and about the process that is to be followed for nominations for the 5 parent elected positions from interested people from our school community.
Please give this special ministry your consideration- it may be something you would like to become involved in.
If you would like to know more about what it means to be a Board member, I am more than happy to talk with you.
PTFA- Parent Teacher and Friends Association
In the middle of last year, our PTFA was established, a small group of parents which is increasing in number. Since its establishment, the group has worked hard to begin fund raising and promoting the life of the school.
At the recent Annual General Meeting, the following office holders were elected: Mrs Juliet Nawisielski as Chairperson, Mrs Fiona Rudsits as Treasurer and Mrs Yvonne Pollington as Secretary. We thank them and the other parents who willingly put up their hands to be involved in the school in this way and the Board looks forward to the contribution you will be able to make to the life of the school.
The role of the PTFA is to:
- build working relationships among parents/whānau, staff and community in support of the school
- encourage parent/whānau and community involvement in school activities
- plan fund raising activities to enable the school to provide additional resources, such as playground equipment, which our government grant cannot stretch to provide
Property and Outdoor Environment
I am sure you will all agree that we are blessed to have such a wonderful teaching/learning facility. We are the envy of many schools.
You will see that there has been good progress made in the development of the school fields and finally they are in use, much to the delight of children and staff. As the roll grows we need to have these spaces for children to spread out and enjoy their play.
The Board of Trustees are in the process of accepting a quote for the construction of a long awaited adventure playground. We also need to get the approval from the Catholic Diocese of Auckland, the owners of the school property. Once this is done, the construction will begin.
The PTFA have already begun the fundraising to support the cost of the playground- THANK YOU team and all the helpers and supporters for a very successful Fun Run held at school last Friday 5 April- a great start to the playground fund!
Conclusion
On behalf of the Board of Trustees, thank you again to our parents, whānau and friends of the school, for your on-going support, as together we work in the best interests of our children’s education.
As we approach Holy Week and Easter, may we all be blessed by the Holy Trinity and may the love of God continue to strengthen us in all that we do.
Easter Blessings to you all
Philip Cortesi
Chairperson
Board of Trustees
Holy Trinity Catholic Primary School
