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 shared a beautiful Beginning of the Year Mass and Commissioning of our 2024 School Leaders last week with Fr Mathew, from St Mary’s Parish leading us in celebration.

Fr Mathew shared with the students how important it is as a leader to work for justice and to serve. He spoke about how leaders are called and because we are called, then we must respond as God’s people. Choosing to do good means we are a person of integrity, giving light to all those around us. Serving and reaching out in our leadership and responsibility roles means we are growing our spiritual awareness and as people of God, we reach out with our ‘hearts’!. Fr Mathew encouraged our students, our staff and our whānau to have a life centred on God and to be disciples of God’s love. When we do this as leaders, we can grow to be a mature person in wisdom and stature!

Congratulations to all of our 2024 student leaders – we are proud of you! We look forward to working with you this year as together we learn ka ako, love ka aroha and serve ka manaaki in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

2024 School Leaders …

Whānau Leaders:
MacKillop Whānau – Zoey Schwalger, Mila N., Jan Silver Manalo
Aubert Whānau – Emmanuella Ofori-Anyinam, Luisa Stephens, Danny Chau
Pompallier Whānau – Aiva Vaasili, Kalila Borja-Sarmiento, Valentino Michael
Patrick Dunn Whānau – Lupea Kaloni, Cooper Pihema, Hadley Turner

Special Character Leaders:
Janine Amposta, Liliana Chang, Aiden Sunil, Alexei James, Ella Yu, Quideon Jaro

Cultural Leaders:
Celyn Rogayan, Anayah Fernandes, Korah Walker, Eli Hennessy, Jivaree Mackay, Cruze-John Foster

Sports Leaders:
Langi Aeisi, Amadea Azuro, Derick Daisel, Elijah Bautista, Immanuel Nau, Ngaluafe Soakai, Nathaniel Joypaul, Aidan Singh, Nichodemas Hunt

Hauora Travelwise Leaders:
Izzy Porter, Eli Rojano, James Soo Choon, Mateo Tiongco, Kai Costello, Maria Mangalassery, Madison Cher de Leon, Lavin Fox

Hauora Peer Mediator Leaders:
Alexei James, Hadley Turner, Aiva Vaasili, Aiden Sunil, Emmanuella Ofori-Anyinam, Valentino Michael, Izzy Porter, Janine Amposta, Kalila Borja-Sarmiento, Anayah Fernandes, Jivaree Mackay, Lupea Kaloni, Luisa Stephens, Mila N., Cruze-John Foster, Liliana Chang, Jan Silver Manalo, Saxon Cooper, Joseph Seemon, Johan Solanga, Carl Leonidas George Kent

Librarians:
Saxon Cooper, Ella-Mae Leibbrandt, Paul Moscoso, Jivaree Mackay, Cybastian Silla, Lupea Kaloni, Joseph Seemon, Valentino Michael, Aiden Sunil, Mila N., Madison Cher de Leon and Eva Abin

Flag Monitors:
Saxon Cooper, Izzy Porter, Mateo Tiongco

Each day, we pray for God’s Blessings upon these young people who have given so willingly to serve our school community …

God of Love,
We ask that you bless these student leaders as they begin their journey for this year.  May they be guided by your wisdom and patience.  May they lean on you in times of decision making and service.  May they be wrapped in the korowai, cloak of God’s aroha and grace. May they live out the call to learn ka ako, to love ka aroha and to serve ka manaaki in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Waitangi Hikoi

Recently, our staff along with School Board members travelled north to Waitangi to spend time at the Treaty Grounds! Our purpose was to experience an authentic “touchstone’ for the learning of our story; our founding story and our catholic story … “Waitangi” – the birthplace of our nation! We also wanted to grow our understanding and knowledge of our school’s obligation to honour and give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles.

One of our Board members (Lenis Martin) has shared a wonderful reflection of our day of learning together …

From the heart …
“This is your conscience speaking telling you you’ve made the right choice to be here today!”
Words said by our wonderful tour guide as she spoke to us through our small earpiece.

Even though earlier, I had felt eager to hit the snooze button
I flew out of bed got my children ready and set off for the school

The excitement of not driving for the next 4 hours shortly became a dream come true,
As we played Bingo and quizzes to which I was surprised I knew some answers
and a quick stop over in Whangarei made for a memorable start to our Waitangi trip.

As our bus pulled into the car park and we all piled out
To make the small walk towards the main entrance…
It was photo op time (We made it)

We had officially made it to the Treaty Grounds.
A place I had heard a lot about and only seen on TV many times.
Shortly after we met our wonderful tour guide who I must say was amazing,
Her knowledge, her humour, her patience
But most of all her pace in walking, was over and above my expectations.

We heard about the History of  Ngatokimatawhaorua, which is the waka that sits near Hobson Beach.
before we made the small cliff climb towards the upper Treaty Grounds.

Once at the top all I can say is “breathtaking!”
Absolutely incredible!
The flagpole in the distance and the ocean views.

The Treaty House allowed for us to wander through,
this was the home for the British Government while in NZ
1 o’clock we were booked in to Te Whare Runanga,
we received a karanga on to the marae, once inside we were able to enjoy the beautiful Kapa Haka performance.
Long and behold it was photo op time again.

Free time saw us all break away for lunch and a visit to Te Rau Aroha Museum
As I stood with my children in the room with all the soldiers’ names on the walls
who sacrificed themselves to serve their country,
I shortly became overwhelmed with emotions.
I was then able to locate my great grandfather’s name.”
A reminder to myself to be proud of who I am and where I come from swept over me.
A memory I will treasure forever with my children.
And you guessed it photo op time.

Before heading to the bus
I shortly found myself negotiating with my 7 year old
as to why I thought purchasing a $50 small soft toy wasn’t a great idea.

We won’t mention the bus ride home as I know this was a very touchy subject for some…
I was just happy to not be the one driving, 

Overall an amazing day and I’m truly grateful for the opportunity I had to take my children to see and experience The Treaty Grounds.

Thank you Lenis! It certainly was a day full of learning, of emotions, of fun and togetherness/kotahitanga and of recommitment to the principles and practices of Te Tiriti as people of Aotearoa New Zealand.

DRS Report

Year 5/6 Retreat Day – Student Reflections

At the Retreat, we learnt about leadership and our school whānau patron saints.  Cynthia, our facilitator, read us the Gospel story of the ‘Good Samaritan’.  I learnt about how we can inspire others and how we can be good leaders.  We also learnt more things about our patron, Bishop Pompallier.  He wrote the himene/hymn ‘Mo Maria’ that we often sing here at school.  I learnt about leadership skills, service to others, how to respect others and deal with conflict.  We can pray, have wisdom and always have a positive attitude.  I enjoyed the Retreat because it was fun to learn about our patrons and about leadership. By Aiva Vaasili

Our Retreat was full of teamwork, responsibility, faith and more.  From this Retreat, I am certain that I can become better as a person and learner from the information that I now know.  Why?  We got to learn that to be a good leader you need to have a great, inclusive attitude, the confidence of a tiger, take risks and take your responsibilities seriously.  From this, it can help me to become better as a leader.  I really enjoyed the day because of the wonderful lady, Cynthia, who was our instructor with the biggest heart full of love.  It was also a peaceful, sacred space full of wisdom which, overall, helped me reflect. By Jan Manalo

I learnt about leadership and that we can show leadership everywhere in our homes and schools.  The paper I got from Cynthia was about what I know about leadership and why leadership is important.  I also learned about my whānau patron saints and that a special thing about Venerable Suzanne Aubert is that she learnt to communicate with the Māori people and gave medicine to the people in need.  I felt amazing after that! By Liam Clarito

Parish Bulletins

St Anne’s Parish, Manurewa Bulletin #6 – Sunday 3rd March 2024         St Mary’s Parish, Papakura Bulletin 3rd March 2024

Mahi Tahi Student/Parent /Teacher Conferences

Thank you so much whānau for the wonderful korero with kaitiaki at the Mahi Tahi Conferences on Wednesday afternoon.
It was heartwarming to walk through the Learning Communities and to see everyone engaged in conversations – families, children and teachers. It was great to see students showing parents their displayed work and others who were playing games together.
Thank you for viewing the whānau oral language videos created by our students. It was really good to hear your feedback from watching these – this feedback helps us to take next steps in creating further home/school learning videos! And good to see our families taking home some school information – a great night of sharing and a positive time of partnership.
If you were not able to make it to the Mahi Tahi Conference times, we will be endeavouring to catch up with all our whānau in the next few weeks.
There was a lovely community ‘feel’ to the afternoon with families enjoying the outside activities, sitting and chatting to one another, enjoying the social time and enjoying the BBQ! And Well Done to those who braved the waterslide!
A VERY BIG and special THANK YOU to our PTFA team and their supporters who continue to extend manaakitanga/hospitality to our school families.  And although it was not a fundraising event for school, together with the sausage sizzle and sale of uniforms, the PTFA made a profit of $900 – ka mau te wehi/that’s amazing!

Meet our School Social Worker!

Dear Parents and Community Members,

I am Allwin Shaji, the Social Worker in School (SWiS) at Holy Trinity Catholic Primary School, dedicated to ensuring the well-being and success of our students.

My role is to provide personalized one on one support to students, group programmes and resources to help them overcome challenges and thrive academically, socially, and emotionally.

I also serve as a liaison between our school and the community, connecting families with valuable resources and services to further support their well-being.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any concerns or questions.

Together, let’s create a supportive environment where every student can succeed!

Warm regards,

Allwin Shaji
Social Worker in Schools

Learning Community News

Learning Community Awa

In Literacy, we are learning to retell stories through Korero Paki. Learners are working towards writing a narrative story of Noah’s Ark focussing on when, what was the problem and solution in the story.

In Health and PE, over the last two weeks, LC Awa has been learning about conflict, how to create a safe environment and how we can empower others by saying sorry. Our conflict learning began by identifying conflict we see out in the playground during morning tea and lunchtime. This led to learners linking our conflict learning to our school Gospel values, especially resilience/ngāwari and compassion/arohanui where we learned how we can empower ourselves and others by saying sorry when we are hurt  or have hurt someone and how we can create a safe environment in our learning community. 

In Social Science we are learning about cultural stories from the past and how these stories help shape us today. At present we are exploring stories shared by our kaitiaki from their own cultures. One of the stories was of an Indian holy man who helped a little girl light diyas using water during Diwali. We talked about how we can make good choices to help others in need. One of our kaitiaki shared how in Filipino culture it is important for young people to show respect to the elders. We will be looking at different cultural stories, hence please send your cultural story or a story that has been passed down in your family, to school. It could be any story that is significant to your family or your migration story.

Learning Community Whenua

In RE,  Learning Community Whenua is learning to share stories about our school patron saints; Bishop Pompallier, Bishop Patrick Dunn, St Mary of the Cross MacKillop, and Venerable Suzanne Aubert and about how they inspire us to learn, love and to serve others.

In literacy, we are learning how stories are shared in different ways. With our goal to inspire others to share their Korero Pūrākau in a variety of ways, one of the reading groups shared their  story reading in the form of a readers’ theatre. 

As part of our Social Science learning for this term, each learner will explain how sharing stories from the past shapes who we are today. Kindly share a story that has been passed down in your family with your child for them to share with the rest of the children in Learning Community Whenua.

As part of our Physical Education learning this term, we had the privilege of having Counties Manukau Sports coaches at HTCPS to teach the learners some foundational movement skills which included running and balancing on different parts of their body. The children were all so neatly attired in their PE and sport gear and participated 100% in all the activities.

Learning Community Maunga

In LC Maunga, students have learnt different ways to share their stories in Social Science. They have amazing stories they are learning from their whānau to share with us. Our tamariki came up with really good ideas to share their stories. Our curious learners are choosing creative ways to share their stories as a part of our concept learning and supporting each other by valuing their stories. 

We are lucky as we have received an opportunity to attend fundamental movement skill sessions at Bruce Pulman Recreation Centre. Fundamental Movement Skills are designed to identify the needs and interests of children, and engage them in a variety of movement experiences and contexts, with the emphasis on fun and learning through play and games. Every Wednesday our learners are practicing these skills with the support of experts that helps to develop their motor skills and static balancing.  This is an outside school opportunity where students have learnt an importance of being in secure and supportive environment that empowers  their participation, enjoyment and learning of movement skills to produce positive outcomes.

A BIG THANK YOU to our whānau for their support during these sessions!

Learning Community Moana

As part of developing and deepening our faith, LC Moana students took part in a Retreat Day at St Francis Retreat Centre.

The Retreat was a great way to start the year for our senior students to develop kotahitanga/unity and have some time to reflect on their leadership journey.  It was a day for spiritual growth with memorable learning experiences connected to our school whānau patrons.  Students were asked to reflect on what their perspective was on leadership, why leadership is important and what are the qualities or characteristics of a leader.  Thank you to Mrs Cynthia Piper, a lecturer from the Catholic Theological College, for facilitating this Retreat day for us.

Hauora/WellBeing News

Awhi Team – Peer Mediators

On Monday 19 February, the Awhi Team had their training day. The peer mediators learned a lot of skills to help them help our learners deal with minor conflicts in the playground, in positive ways. We talked about types of conflict, when they can help and when they need the duty teacher’s help, active listening, the peer mediation process, and more. The Awhi Team found the day to be super helpful and fun. There are now four Awhi Team members out in the playground at break times, ready and keen to help their schoolmates.

Every year each Learning Community will be covering kaupapa (lessons) to help everyone understand the peer mediation process and how to solve conflict in positive ways. In LC Moana, we have been learning about what conflict is, how conflict can be destructive or beneficial, and what is the difference between major and minor conflict.

Travelwise Programme

Travelwise is an innovative programme to make school travel safer, healthier and more fun.

We have several wonderful learners who have volunteered to be our Travelwise leaders for 2024. This week, whilst driving to and within our school roads, you will have seen these learners with signs and wearing hi-vis jackets. The intention is to promote safe practices for our HTCPS whānau. This means reducing congestion, following safe traveling distances from another vehicle, and encouraging and increasing the use of active travel modes (like biking, and walking) to school.

Mavis Chung
School Travelwise C0-ordinator

Duffy Books in Schools Programme

Kia ora whānau
Every term your child gets the opportunity to choose free books for them to take home. These books ensure every child is able to read at home, which has been clearly proven to improve a child’s reading ability. Thank you to the School Board for supporting this great programme in our school.
The Duffy books are handed out by the Learning Community kaitiaki (teachers). If your child misses out on receiving their Duffy books, please make sure your child has asked their kaitiaki about their books. If that does not solve the problem, contact the kaitiaki of your child’s learning community in the first instance and if needed, then make contact with myself and we will work to replace the books as soon as possible.
Nga mihi,
Ms Kirstie Gill
Duffy Books Coordinator

PTFA News

Thank you to all those who could join the PTFA meeting on Tuesday evening. Here’s some highlights and events coming up …

  • Wheel-a-thon booked for Friday 5th April 4:30pm – 6:30pm on the school field and court area! If you are keen to help on the evening, please let us know.
  • Parenting Place presentation Thursday 21st March in Taamaua/school hall 6:30pm – 7:30pm. The topic is “Our Children and Technology” – supporting our children through a digital world! A gold coin donation for attendance with children/families welcome.

We hope your Term 1 is going well. Our next PTFA Meeting is Tuesday 19th March 7:00pm in the school staffroom.

If you are able to assist in any way, please contact Michelle Porter: Co-chairperson; Holy Trinity Catholic Primary School PTFA or email: PTFA@holytrinity.school.nz.

Ngā mihi nui,
HTCPS PTFA

Upcoming School Events

School Gathering Liturgy and Assembly – led by Mrs Kaur/LC Maunga
Monday 4th March @ 8:50am in Taamaua/school hall

North Counties Inter-school Cricket Year 5/6 teams
Tuesday 5th March @ Bruce Pulman Park 

“Ready Steady Go” Fundamental Skills programme for Year 1-2 students
Wednesday 6th March @ 9:20am – 12:30pm @ school

Fundamental /Movement Skills/Gym lessons for LC Ngahere/Year 3
Wednesday 6th March @ 10am-11am Bruce Pulman Park Recreation Centre

Fundamental /Movement Skills/Gym lessons for LC Maunga/Year 4
Wednesday 6th March @ 11am-12:00 Bruce Pulman Park Recreation Centre

School Whānau Time
Friday 8th March @ 9:30am – 10:30am at school 

School Gathering Liturgy and Assembly – led by Ms Gill/LC Moana
Monday 11th March @ 8:50am in Taamaua/school hall

“Ready Steady Go” Fundamental Skills programme for Year 1-2 students
Wednesday 13th March @ 9:20am – 12:30pm @ school

Fundamental /Movement Skills/Gym lessons for LC Ngahere/Year 3
Wednesday 13th March @ 10am-11am Bruce Pulman Park Recreation Centre

Fundamental /Movement Skills/Gym lessons for LC Maunga/Year 4
Wednesday 13th March @ 11am-12:00 Bruce Pulman Park Recreation Centre

North Counties Inter-school Tag Year 5/6 teams
Wednesday 13th March @ Bruce Pulman Park 

School Whānau Time
Friday 15th March @ 9:30am – 10:30am at school 

School Gathering Liturgy and Assembly – led by Mrs Davies/LC Maunga and Mrs Cortez/LC Whenua
Monday 18th March @ 8:50am in Taamaua/school hall

PTFA Monthly Meeting
Tuesday 19th March @ 7:00pm am in school staffroom

“Ready Steady Go” Fundamental Skills programme for Year 1-2 students
Wednesday 20th March @ 9:20am – 12:30pm @ school

Eye on Nature Programme for Year 5/6
Wednesday 20th March @ Auckland Botanical Gardens

Fundamental /Movement Skills/Gym lessons for LC Ngahere/Year 3
Thursday 21st March @ 10am-11am Bruce Pulman Park Recreation Centre

Fundamental /Movement Skills/Gym lessons for LC Maunga/Year 4
Thursday 21st March @ 11am-12:00 Bruce Pulman Park Recreation Centre

Kāhui Ako Student Leadership Day for Year 6 school leaders
Thursday 21st March @ 10am – 2:00pm De La Salle College

Parenting Place Presentation – “Our Children and Technology”
Thursday 21st March @ 6:30pm – 7:30pm in Taamaua/school hall 

School Whānau Time
Friday 22nd March @ 9:30am – 10:30am at school 

School Board Monthly Meeting
Monday 25th March @ 7:00pm in school staffroom

Easter Break
Friday 29th March – Tuesday 2nd April 

PTFA Wheel-a-thon Fundraiser
Friday 5th April @ 4:30pm – 6:30pm on the school site 

Term 1 Concludes
Friday 12th April

Parenting Place Information

We’re in the process of contacting as many schools as possible, however, we don’t want you to miss out on any Parenting Place goodness.

Helpful resources and programmes that you can use:

Beginning a new school year, especially if it is for the first time, is exciting but it does come with some big questions too. To make sure everyone is as confident and prepared as they can be, here are some practical ideas for guiding kids back to school.

https://parentingplace.nz/resources/back-to-school-survival-guide

For some kids, heading back to school is met with eager excitement. For others, it’s the source of much anticipation and dread.

https://parentingplace.nz/resources/how-to-talk-about-back-to-school-anxiety

 You want your children to take this moment in their stride and meet school confidently and well. But there are a few things parents (and kids!) tend to get anxious about.

https://parentingplace.nz/resources/tricky-transitions-returning-to-school-after-the-holidays

Our toolbox courses are starting back up this term.

If parents are interested in taking part in our six-week course they can get more information and sign up here!

https://parentingplace.nz/courses

Term 1 Dates

PARENTING PLACE ONLINE – WED 28 FEB – 12PM

PARENTING PLACE ONLINE – WED 6 MAR – 7PM

Term 2 Dates

PARENTING PLACE ONLINE – MON 13 MAY – 7PM

PARENTING PLACE ONLINE – WED 15 MAY – 7PM

PARENTING PLACE ONLINE – MON 20 MAY – 7PM

Upcoming Community Events

St Anne’s Parish, Manurewa Fundraiser!

An Irish night of celebration! Come join us for a night full of music, river dancing and delicious food!

St Patrick’s Fundraiser on Saturday 9th March 2024 at 7pm in the St Anne’s Parish Hall.
100% of the ticket sales go to the Rebuild Fund and all costs have been donated. Tickets can be purchased after all Masses (eftpos is available) or can be bought online

Girls Got Game Summer Jam – Papakura /Free Basketball Event

Wonderful Community Event

This Papakura Community event is happening on Saturday 23 March from 10 am to 2 pm

Schools Hockey Festival

Southern Districts Hockey Club is hosting a one day hockey festival for all primary schools in the South Auckland area.  It will take place on Saturday 23 March and depending on interest will have a Year 3-4,Year 5-6 grade and Year 7 & 8 grade.  It is targeted at all levels of hockey players and seen as a way to introduce more kids to our great sport.  The festival will be held at Kolmar Sports Centre in Papatoetoe and consist of 6 a-side games starting at 9am and running through to 1(ish) depending on how many teams we get entered.  There is no cost to enter teams and there will be fun stuff wrapped around the day like sausage sizzle, meeting the Vantage NZ Black Sticks (international hockey reps) as well as Auckland players.  If needed, the club can source and provide gear for schools to use.
If you are interested in entering 1, 2 or 10 teams please contact us on youth@sdhc.co.nz
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