A Message from our Principal

We are pretty humble at Trinity – as we should be. Pope Francis, too, was humble in his endeavours, and this particular trait and philosophy is one of the memories that has been shared globally over the past couple of weeks since his death. We have seen photos and articles again from the early years of his papacy, taking the bus and eating his home-made sandwiches for lunch rather than enjoying the various ‘luxuries’ that his position made available to him.

One of my ‘self-improvement goals’ is to work on my competitiveness – I like to win, and when this happens, humility is the last thing on my mind! Our staff and students here keep me real though and I am often reminded through their actions that expecting excellence in all aspects of school life and getting it, doesn’t then need to become a media or PR show. However, I do believe in sharing with you some of the things that I am very proud of at Trinity – otherwise how will you know all the great things happening here at school.

Last evening, I accompanied a group of students to St Patrick’s Basilica to present the first of the ‘Pilgrims of Hope’ series, talking about emerging servant leadership and the social justice actions that happen at Trinity. This session has reminded me of the great things our students do humbly and quietly to make Dunedin a better place for those who need a helping hand. A group of our Year 7s spoke about their leadership at St Peter Chanel last year when they were in the Young Vinnies Group. Our own Trinity Junior Young Vinnies also presented information about their work last year when they were mentored by our senior Young Vinnies. Our year 12 and 13 students go to Mercy Parish every Wednesday afternoon to help the St Francis of Assisi Trust members to cook meals for distribution to those who need some extra help. One year recently they helped to provide over 1000 cooked meals for the community. Our senior students then presented information about their roles as Edmund Rice Camp Leaders throughout the year. These camps have current and former students on the up to five camps organised every year by Amelia Bresanello. These are all real actions of service and justice – our Trinity values being truly lived in every day life.

It was good to see our 2024 academic results rating highly among Otago and Southland schools in the ODT on Saturday. Out of 39 schools, being 3rd for UE results and 5th for NCEA L3 was very pleasing. Again this was ‘a win’ that was humbly received by our staff and, again, excellence expected and gained without a fuss. Congratulations to everyone who worked hard to make this happen.

And so, humility is so obviously one of our quiet values too. Pope Francis modelled this well and it sat strongly alongside his lived values of Respect, Service, Justice and Truth. Let us pray that these values are at the forefront of the Cardinals’ deliberations as they choose a new head of the Catholic Church.

Ngā mihi nui

Kate Nicholson

Principal

Pilgrims of Hope Series

As a perfect example of service in action, last night, Trinity students spoke at St Patrick's Basilica about the work they do as part of Young Vinnies, and as leaders on Eddie Rice Camps throughout the year. They were wonderful advocates for our college and we look forward to what they will continue to do in the future alongside their classmates. The photos attached celebrate our wonderful students in action.