Dear Families

On Saturday we celebrate the Feast of St Mary of the Cross, our first Australian saint. In 1866, as a young teacher in South Australia, Mary and her mentor, Fr Julian Tenison Woods, set in train their pioneering vision: to bring God’s love, learning and healing to children and places where it was lacking. She was a prodigious hard worker who put the needs of others before herself. Her commitment to the schooling of children from poor and rural communities established a model of Catholic education that continues to today. “Remember we are but travellers here” - Mary MacKillop (1873) Mary’s tomb bears these simple words. We read them, and we are reminded that we pass this way but once. Will the world be happier for our having passed through it?

Update on Recent Media Coverage

Many of you may have seen recent media coverage regarding Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) and planning for the 2027 school year. Yesterday, I emailed all families to provide some context around the current planning process and what it means for Holy Trinity. If you haven't yet had an opportunity to read that communication, I encourage you to do so.

As outlined in my email, Holy Trinity remains a strong and vibrant school community. While planning for 2027 is currently underway across all MACS schools, there are still many details being worked through. As always, I am committed to communicating openly and honestly with our community and will continue to keep you informed as further information becomes available. Thank you for your continued trust and support.

Grandparents & Special Persons Day

It was a pleasure to welcome our Grandparents and Special Persons to school last Monday afternoon. The surrounding streets were filled with cars as eager grandparents made their way through the school gates to visit their loved ones and enjoy an afternoon together.

Roaming from space to space it was a joy to see the grandparents engage with their grandchildren and their creativity shine through in the designs of the flowerpots. The school was a hive of activity with the sound of laughter filling the corridors. As we farewelled the grandparents in the afternoon their smiles said it all - they look forward to doing it all again next year!

Planning for 2027

Although we're only halfway through the year, planning for the 2027 school year is already well underway. This includes finalising our Prep 2027 enrolments, conducting staff annual review meetings, and beginning the process of planning class structures and staffing for next year.

To assist us with this planning, we kindly ask families to let us know as soon as possible if your child will not be returning to Holy Trinity in 2027 (excluding our Year 6 students). Having this information early is invaluable in helping us make informed decisions about class groupings and staffing allocations.

If your child will not be returning next year, please email principal@htws.catholic.edu.au at your earliest convenience.

Thank you for your support and assistance with our planning for 2027.

Term 3 Student Free Day

A reminder to families that Monday 17 August is our Student Free Day for Term 3. There will be no classes for students on this day as all staff will be engaged in professional learning activities. We hope all families enjoy the long weekend.

Prep 100 days of school celebration

Can you believe our Prep 2026 students have already completed 100 Days of School? It is amazing how much they have grown and how much they have learnt! This event is a highlight on the Prep calendar and a significant milestone in their journey of learning. Little do they know that they have approx 1300 days to go until they graduate from primary school - that’s a lot of packed lunches!

Art Show - five weeks to go!

There is a sense of anticipation and excitement from both our staff and students with our Art Show just five weeks away. The student masterpieces are almost complete! The display boards have been booked in readiness to transform our Great Space and our Meeting Space into an Art Gallery. The viewing sessions as follows:

Tuesday 8th September

Session 1 (Official Opening) - 5.30pm - 6.15pm

Session 2 (Official Opening) - 6.15pm - 7.00pm

Wednesday 9th September

Morning session: 8.15am - 8.45am

Afternoon session: 3.30pm - 4.00pm

Thursday 10th September

Morning session: 8.15am - 8.45am

Languages Program Review – We Value Your Feedback

As part of our annual review of all specialist programs at Holy Trinity, we are seeking parent and carer feedback on our compulsory Languages program. Your input is an important part of this review and will help inform the future direction of Languages learning at Holy Trinity.

Please take a few moments to complete the short survey by clicking this link. We invite you to indicate your preferred option:

Italian (currently taught)
AUSLAN (Australian Sign Language)
A hybrid program incorporating both Italian and AUSLAN
Another suggestion (please specify)

Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts. We value your feedback and appreciate your support as we continue to provide engaging and meaningful learning opportunities for our students.

PA Trivia Night

Our Holy Trinity & St Mary’s Trivia Night is fast approaching, it’s just over 3 weeks away, so be sure to organise your table of 10 quickly. If you don’t have a group of 10, no worries at all! You can buy individual tickets, and we’ll ensure you have a spot at our walk-up and sit tables. This is a wonderful opportunity to meet new people and enjoy the event. See further in the newsletter for more details and booking information.

Victorian Catholic Education Authority

Please see attached a letter from the Victorian Catholic Education Authority outlining the work that is currently underway to secure a funding commitment for capital investment in Victorian Catholic schools. This would support ongoing improvements to our schools and provision of new schools.

Joke of the Week

A little girl, dressed in her Sunday best, was running as fast as she could, trying not to be late for Bible class. As she ran, she prayed, "Dear Lord, please don't let me be late! Dear Lord,

please don't let me be late!"

As she was running and praying, she tripped on a curb and fell, getting her clothes dirty and tearing her dress. She got up, brushed herself off, and started running again. Again, she prayed, "Dear Lord, please don't let me be late!...But don't shove me either!"

Final Thoughts

With the Feast of St Mary of the Cross next week, I thought I’d share with you a reflection on Mary’s spirituality. It comes from The Little Brown Book: Mary MacKillop’s spirituality in our everyday lives by Sue and Leo Kane; and the title of this reflection is: “What sort of footprint am I making?”

“Remember we are but travellers here” - Mary MacKillop (1873)

Mary’s tomb bears these simple words. We read them, and we are reminded that we pass this way but once.

Let us do so with a soft and gentle footprint, easing the journey for our fellow travellers where we can, and being mindful of our impact on the planet.

If only we could learn, in Daniel O’Leary’s words, to ‘travel light’, making Mary’s spirit of poverty and simplicity our own.

Can we, with her encouragement, foster ‘a true spirit of poverty in our hearts’ (1875)?

And perhaps, as the bumper sticker suggests, we could try to “practise random acts of kindness and senseless acts of beauty” along the way.

HT Facebook Page & Instagram

Remember to follow HT on Facebook & Instagram so that you can see our students learning and be kept up to date with community announcements as they are shared.

https://www.facebook.com/HolyTrinityPS/

https://www.instagram.com/holytrinityprimaryschool/

Kind regards,

Steve Evans

Principal

Mini Vinnies