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Dear Parents and Carers,
This week I write the newsletter from sunny Cairns. It is a privilege to attend the Australian Catholic Education Conference and I have had the opportunity to listen to amazing key note speakers and workshop presentations. The 24 stunning stained glass windows above represent the story of creation from the Book of Gensis are proudly on display in the Cathedral in Cairns. They are magnificent in person and if you are travelling to Cairns they are worth a visit.
Awards
Congratulations to our Year 5, 6 and Music award recipients for Term 3. It is always a pleasure to hear about the amazing efforts of our learners and their achievements.




Leaving Holy Trinity in 2026?
Whilst the conference has been a great learning experience I look forward to returning to school on Monday.
Take care,
Prue
Dear HT Community,
What an absolute fabulous few weeks we have had in the build up to Book Week 2025… Congratulations to the fabulous authors and illustrators who took out the “Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner” prizes for 2025 – such an achievement.
Week 3 :
Friday 8th August - Katrina Nannestad
We were blessed to have Katrina Nannestad, an incredibly popular and well-loved author at Holy Trinity. Katrina has written 44 books, and Holy Trinity has 25 of these in our library.
The first session was with Years 3 and 4. Katrina chatted with the students about her first book ‘Bungaloo Creek’ and then how it took 8 years of rejections before her publisher accepted another book. She told the children that writing is a skill that need to be practised and perfected. Katrina likes to put three ideas/ things together to inspire a story.
Katrina got Alex to dress up as a character from her series ‘The Travelling Bookshop’ and Mila to dress up as the principal out of the series ‘Olive of Groves’. It was a great session.
The second session was with the Year 5 and 6 classes and was based on her historical fiction novels from ‘We are Wolves’ to ‘All things beautiful’. Katrina takes three months to research these books and then is ready to write, Katrina likes to become the main character in the book as she writes. She read snippets from her books and provided a great power point presentation.
Thanks to Voilet B, Juliet F, Eva M, Dan T and Steve L for welcoming and farewelling Katrina from our school – you were all perfect.













Week 5:
Monday 18th August - Perform Education Production
Georgia and Adam from Perform Education put on two incredible 60-minute shows. ELC to Year 2 and then Year 3 to Year 6. The children were fantastic and really enjoyed the singing, dancing and acting. The production ‘Treasure Hunt’ was based around the forest and sea losing their voices and both trying to outdo the other. Book Week books were threaded through the story using songs and acting. Messages of walking together, caring for the environment and the fact that we all come from somewhere else were covered. We all had a great afternoon and student involvement was excellent.













Wednesday 20th August – The Holy Trinity Book Week Parade, Awards Ceremony and Staff Production….
By 8.30am the car park was full, parents were ready to go, and the blacktop was filled with every outfit imaginable- from Mary Poppins, to an elephant carer, quite a few princess characters, soccer players and star wars characters. We had Ruby Red Shoes, The Crayons, a green sheep, Minecraft friends, the book Greaf, a lone soldier with a bunch of flowers, Wednesday Adams, the Whimpy Kid, the Soul Surfer, Itty Bitty Kitten, a very camouflaged soldier, Mr Men x 4, The Bin Chicken, a Red Balloon, a huge cake and a box of popcorn, a silver lining cloud, Paddington, a human book to read … the list goes on but it was the best ever. Thank you, beautiful families, for the huge amount of work you did to make the day so fabulous for your children and HT – we see you xxx. Also, a big shout out to DJ McCann for keeping us all dancing.
After much singing, dancing and laughing we said farewell to our parents and guests and headed into the hall for the serious side of the day – announcing the ‘Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner’ books and honour books for 2025 - it wasn’t that serious and there were lots of laughs. After the formalities we got some children up on the stage to tell us all about their outfits. Photos taken and a bit of dancing done.
To conclude the celebrations the staff then put on their annual Book Week Play ‘Goldilocks and the Three Little Bears’ (with quite a few twists and even turns). It was hysterical and often off script, but the children laughed and laughed. The director cringed but it all worked out - Mr Roweth was Goldilocks, and the Three Bears were from another school :), the Rappers were brilliant and the hall chase was crazy. Thanks to Mrs. White for the accompanying slide show and soundtrack.




















Next week I will include photos of the Book Week Parade ‘Best Dressed’ and the fabulous Fairy House entries and winners (which will be judged tomorrow, at lunch)
God Bless Good Readers, Great Parents and Gorgeous Children xx
Kate Mertz x
The power of a provocation
At times you will see the word 'provocation' used in a Toddle post or even on an excursion note. Chances are you may glance over the word and continue reading. But for some, you may pause and wonder, "what is the teacher talking about when they use the word 'provocation'?"
Some see a provocation as a hook, or something that captures a child's attention or engagement. Although this is not incorrect, a powerful provocation is much more than capturing engagement. It is an intentional decision, thoughtfully constructed to create cognitive dissonance, that gently pushes our young learners into the Learning Pit (of inquiry). Children are authentically invited into considering, forming, and sharing their experiences and beliefs - which are an essential component of the process of inquiry learning.
For our ELC children, we are excited by the possibilities that our upcoming provocation - a visit to the Australian National Botanic Gardens - will uncover for our children and the possibilities that it will create for our inquiry into living things and what they need to flourish.
Stay tuned to see how this provocation sparks our children's interests, affirms their experiences, and challenges them to think in new ways.
The Learning Pit - James Nottingham
Hats, Hats, Hats
Our SunSmart policy states that all children and staff are required to wear hats when outside from August to May each year. Please ensure your child has a clearly labelled hat each day and support them in applying sunscreen when they arrive in the morning
Damien Montesin
Email: damien.montesin@cg.catholic.edu.au
Father’s Day Prayer Celebration – Friday 5 September 2025
Kindergarten will be hosting a Father's Day Prayer Celebration on Friday 5 September at 2:00pm in the Holy Trinity Church for our whole school community.
We warmly invite all fathers and special men in our Holy Trinity community to attend the Prayer Celebration followed by Afternoon Tea in the Kitchen Garden.
We will be creating a special photo slideshow to share at this Prayer Celebration. We ask each family to please send in a family photo of their child/children with their faither / grandfather / father figure to: Catherine.Joy@cg.catholic.edu.au
To ensure your photograph is included, please send via email it by Friday 29 August 2025.
The Great Book Swap, in support of the Indigenous Literacy Foundation.
We ask all students to donate a book from their home library for The Great Book Swap. From today, students can bring in their book to donate!
On Wednesday 3 September 2025 we invite students to bring a gold coin (or note!) to school to spend at the Book Swap. Everyone will walk away with a ‘new’ book to read.
The Great Book Swap is a fantastic way to celebrate reading locally, learn more about Indigenous Languages and culture, while raising funds for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation.
This event provides an opportunity to discuss with your children the literacy (and education gap) that exists for first nation Australians and why programs such as the Indigenous Literacy Foundation are essential.
CLICK HERE TO DONATE NOW
Damien Montesin
Email: damien.montesin@cg.catholic.edu.au
Cyber Safety Resources for Families
Staying safe online is an important part of growing up in today’s digital world. To support families, we’ve included a set of helpful cyber safety resources with this newsletter. Inside, you’ll find practical advice for parents and children, app reviews, tips for navigating social media and online gaming, and step-by-step guidance on setting up parental controls.
These resources are designed to help families have open conversations about online safety and make confident choices when using technology at home. We encourage you to take some time to explore them together.
Term 3 |
Week 6 | |
Friday 29th August | Year 3 and Italian Awards |
Friday 29th August | 4G Class Assembly |
Week 7 | |
Wednesday 3rd September | ILF Great Book Swap |
Friday 5th September | Year 2 Awards |
Friday 5th September | Fathers Day Prayer Celebration and afternoon tea - 2pm |
Week 8 | |
Monday 8th September | Learning Journeys 8.30am or 3.10pm |
Wednesday 10th September |
Learning Journeys 8.30am or 3.10pm PYP Exhibition (Year 6) Information Evening 5.00pm Community Council Meeting 6.30pm |
Friday 12th September | Year 1 and Library Awards |
Friday 12th September | First Eucharist Retreat |
Week 9 | |
Tuesday 16th September | ACT Athletics Carnival |
Friday 19th September | Kinder Awards |
Friday 19th September | 1W Class Assembly |
Week 10 | |
Friday 26th September | Pupil Free Day (K to Year 6) |
Congratulations to students and staff celebrating their birthday this week: Eshaan P, Bridget H, Ella N, Henry Z, Esme C, Samuel G and Ms Shaw. Wishing you all a wonderful special birthday!