PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE

Welcome to Term 4 Week 10

The year is nearly over!

This is an excerpt from Presentation Day.

I want to extend my appreciation to our families who have come today to celebrate our students' achievements. I believe that one of the true strengths of Holy Trinity School is the support and commitment our families show not only to their own child, but also to their children’s friends and classmates and the wider student group.

Likewise, I know our staff show care and concern not only for the children in their class but for all students. I know our teachers experience joy in seeing their current and former students achieve and today we celebrate our students' successes and efforts. Not everyone will receive an award today but please know that we value each one of you and the efforts you have made towards your learning this year. Thank you to our staff for continuing to work together to make the learning experience for our students positive and engaging.

Now to the students - with the hard work of your teachers and the support of your families we have had many achievements this year.  Some highlights for me include:

Our reading results in Years 2 to 6 are based on the solid foundations that are formed in Kinder and Year 1, we have had every year group achieve the target of over 80% of students at reading benchmark. Our NAPLAN results across Year 3, 5, 7 and 9 also continue to be strong. This is supported by the borrowing rates from the library. Mrs Fraser let me know that 2023 has been the biggest borrowing year. Her approach to listening to student voice, and purchasing your requests has seen a growth in the borrowing rates. Reading is a skill but also can bring great joy. Continue and strive to read…it will make a difference in your life. It opens up the world without leaving where you are.

We have had a year of sport with minimal cancellations!  We have had some amazing individual achievements which will be recognised today but I want to just mention the participation rate eg:  Primary gala day, secondary basketball, and number of secondary students at dio level for the size of our school. Our Ag team also continued to impress with outstanding results at EKKA and other local events. Being involved is rewarding and we have a good number of Year 7s who have joined the team and will be led our Year 9 students in Year 10 next year in the strong ethos of this team.

And the real highlight for me was obviously us becoming a singing school… unfortunately I missed the dress rehearsal for the Infants Christmas Concert but so many staff came to me and told me how wonderful it was that everyone from Year 3 to Year 9  joined in with the singing and lifting the K-2 performance. The secondary band “Trinity Infinity” has also been amazing performing at several venues around town. We also had Matilda the Musical which was outstanding in all respects. Thank you to all who were willing to give it a go and I hope you reaped the benefits of teamwork, creativity and the buzz you get from making people happy through story and song. I am looking forward to our Thanksgiving Mass on Thursday where we can celebrate the end of the year in song.

These highlights do not diminish the work all our students do every day in the classrooms. Learning new things, mastering new skills, working independently and collaboratively. So thank you to you – our students. You are the reason we are here. Each day I try to lead our school to be a place of kindness, love, respect and learning. Through this, we develop strong relationships which are the most important things in life. As I say often, each day around 600 humans come to Holy Trinity, on the whole, we all get along pretty well and have a school where our students lead this ethos with your care for one another, your friendships and your desire to give your best in all pursuits. So now let us celebrate our successes.

I would also like to acknowledge the work of Mrs Lee Grady, Mrs Stephanie Marshall,  and Mrs Kristy Phillips who are moving on. Three talented and dedicated educators who have made a difference in our school. I wish you all the best for your new endeavours. Also best wishes to Bridie Giles who has been our Youth Minister this year who will not be returning in 2024 as she moves into some study and work closer to home. Mrs Cath Doyle is taking a year of leave for 2024 but will return in 2025. 

Congratulations to our new school leaders for 2024

Primary SRC

Pippa Butcher, Sophie Foley, Emma McLennan, Eva Xavier, Fletcher Andrews, Angus Hamilton, Hugh Hamilton, Jack Sweeney

Primary Captains: Fletcher and Sophie

Secondary SRC

Hannah Bourke, Jessica Hill, Eliza McNamara, Elkie Sargeant, Griffin Sanderson, George Taylor, Thomas Taylor, Colby Walker.

School Captains: Griffin and Jessica

I would like to wish all our students, staff and families a very safe, happy and holy Christmas and an enjoyable start to the new year. 

Take care and thank you!

Jilly