A Message from our Principal

Kia ora tātou

It was an absolute privilege to attend the Top Scholar Awards at Parliament on Wednesday to see Megumi Toh, Year 13, presented with her award for being the top scoring student in the Japanese Scholarship Exam last year. Of course, Megumi managed this as a Year 12 student making this even more special. The awards ceremony was certainly dominated by the very large Auckland schools where scholarship classes can run as part of the timetable from an early age. In fact, of the 40 awards presented on Wednesday, only 7 were for schools south of the Waikato. With this in mind, I felt very proud of Trinity because, unlike the vast majority of schools in the South Island, I have attended the awards twice in the last five years.

A premise of Catholic schooling in New Zealand is holistic education. We educate and provide growth opportunities for the whole person – socially, culturally, sporting, academic, service, faith, leadership and more. We want our young people leaving Trinity to be ready for whatever the world throws at them, to contribute positively and actively to their community, and to have the skills and attributes to deal with the ups and downs of human life and relationships. While some schools still ‘hot-house’ and ‘stream’ students, we believe that a well-rounded education, learning the skills they will need to live successfully in the wider world means practising living and learning in a classroom with a range of learners.

An example of the leadership, service and contribution our students ‘grow’ at Trinity has been at the forefront of school life recently. Thank you to Jack Waterworth and his support crew who initiated and ran the excellent service event ‘Move for More’ on Monday to raise money for young people in New Zealand and Dunedin’s own Nano Nagle Trust which financially supports students to attend Catholic schools. Although I was unable to be there, the feedback has been very positive about the event and the organisation. Well done, Jack.

Isla Kamo, along with the other year 13 prefects and leaders, coordinated a Clubs Expo for all students to visit over the last week. I know there is always a lot happening at school outside of class time, but to see all the clubs on offer in the gym and the number of students from all year levels, who organise and run these clubs, was very impressive. Most are student initiated and driven, and they all provide an opportunity for holistic growth for our young people, or maybe simply checking out an interest or hobby to see where it might take them. Thank you, Isla.

I am looking forward to the Musical, ‘The Little Mermaid’, next week. As always, this has been a big undertaking supported by a large number of staff, parent and community volunteers – thank you. Again, the skills and personal qualities developed through performance such as this, cannot be underestimated.

Winter sports season is upon us and I look forward to watching as many codes as possible over the winter months. Please encourage and expect your children to commit, play with a positive, values-based attitude, and represent our college with pride. Our Trinity sport is going from strength to strength – let’s make 2026 a great one.

Pope Francis frequently spoke about holistic education, emphasizing that Catholic schools must develop the whole person—mind, heart, and hands. Our own NZ Catholic Education Office reminds us that school is an environment for learning how to live. I think we are doing a pretty good job!

Have a wonderful weekend and make sure you have bought your Musical tickets!

Kā mihi

Kate Nicholson, Principal