Principal's Message

Our leavers are like family after spending seven years with us, and they take a little piece of Kavanagh away with them every time. However, as our year 13 graduates crossed the stage last night and their plans for 2023 were read out, there was a sense of satisfaction that we have done our job well. Congratulations to our three duxes this year – Olive Scurr, Sarah Al-Balushi and Hannah Botting – who were impossible to separate according to their GPA. The world will be a better place with our graduates working and serving in it.

Thank you to the families who have travelled with us over many years and who we will farewell today after the Leavers’ Mass. Thank you for continuing to believe in us and for your individual and collective contributions to our college.

We had a wonderful final full school assembly on Tuesday at the end of Kavanagh Day and we announced our new Student Leadership Team for 2023. Congratulations to Cole Phillips and Jemma Mortimer (Head Students), Ella Reilly and Ted Kerr-Bell (Deputy Head Students) and to Ravija Alahakoon and Georgia Kennedy who will be part of this team as Special Character Prefects. The significance of being the first head students of Trinity Catholic College was certainly not lost on them! I look forward to what they will contribute to our college next year.

Part of our final school assembly is the new tradition of farewelling long serving staff members. This year, the students formally farewelled Mrs Liz Naylor and Mrs Sue Robinson who will both finish at the end of the year. Liz has been here since 2002 and Sue since 2003, and I have no doubt that there are many past students who also have very fond memories of these wonderful women.

Thank you for the many emails and phone calls of support last week as we found ourselves in an unanticipated media situation. As I have not been able to respond to all of you personally, please take this as a huge thank you for your understanding and ongoing support. Regardless of the issue at hand, it is yet another reminder that open and transparent communication is crucial when people are feeling hurt and upset and speaking firstly and directly to the person who can help resolve the concern is surely always the best plan rather than upsetting many other people along the way.

I will leave you with my version of a well-known whakatauki that I used at prizegiving last evening (and took licence to expand upon) –

He aha te mea nui o te ao? he tangata, he ākonga, he whānau . What is the most important thing in the world? it is the people, it is our learners, it is family.