Christ the King Catholic School - Christchurch

Welcome back, students, parents, and caregivers, from all the staff at Christ the King School. We hope you enjoyed a wonderful holiday break with friends and family. A warm welcome also to any new students and families joining our school community in 2026.

Check out “What’s On This Week at CTK!” to help you get ready for another great week at Christ the King School.

A friendly reminder to stay up to date by regularly checking our School Calendar and the HERO Events App.

Have a fantastic week ahead, everyone!

Important Dates - Term 1

Please note that events planned in Term 1 may change from time to time.

At Christ the King, we try to establish fixed dates for events each term. However, there are occasions when these dates may need to be adjusted or additional dates added to make the most of the learning opportunities beneficial to our school and students, or due to unforeseen circumstances and cancellations.

Click the link to see what’s happening at CTK in Term 1, 2026.

Important Dates - Term 1 Please note that events planned in Term 1 may change from time to time.

Welcome back, students, parents, and caregivers, from all the staff at Christ the King School. We hope you enjoyed a wonderful holiday break with friends and family. A warm welcome also to any new students and families joining our school community in 2026.

A reminder that Term 1, 2026 begins on Monday 2nd February. There are a few notices to share, with the most important being an attempt to help mitigate the roadworks on Greers Road throughout Term 1.

I will share our Greers Road Roadworks: CTK Carpark Plan in the next HERO post.

Please read this information carefully.

Monday is expected to be 27 degrees (of course it is — school is back!), so please ensure your child has their correct summer uniform and a sunhat.

We look forward to seeing everyone’s smiling faces on Monday (parents possibly smiling the most!).

Have a lovely weekend.

Tom Wallis, Principal, and all the Staff at Christ the King School

Welcome to the final Christ the King Newsletter for 2025.

As this is our last newsletter for the year, we would like to wish all our students and families a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year, filled with time spent with friends and family.

Take Care, and God Bless

CTK Final Newsletter From the Principal's Deck Chair

🦸‍♀️🦸‍♂️ A Super Way to Finish the Year! 🎉⚽️

A huge thank you to Kelly Sports for hosting such a fun and engaging ‘Super Hero’ sports morning for our CTK Junior School! 💥👏

The games, activities, and energy on display made for a joyful, inclusive, and action-packed morning, with every child able to join in and have a go 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️🙌

Seeing our juniors dressed as superheroes 🦸‍♀️🦸‍♂️ and in their favourite sports gear 🏀⚽️ was a wonderful reminder of the excitement, imagination, and community spirit that makes Christ the King such a special place 💛

It was truly a fantastic way to finish the year together — full of laughter 😄, movement 💫, and smiles all round. Thank you to Kelly Sports and to our staff for making this such a memorable end to 2025 for our youngest learners 🌟

What a super way to wrap up the year! 🎄✨

🌟 End of Year Family Mass and Prizegiving 2025 🌟

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us for our End of Year Family Mass and Prizegiving 🙏🎓

This special evening marked our only whole-school Family Mass of 2025 and provided a beautiful opportunity for our community to come together as we farewelled our Year 8 Leavers and celebrated the end of a wonderful school year.

What an incredible night celebrating the talents, dedication, and achievements of our students across so many areas 🌟
From public speaking 🎤 to sport 🏉, the arts 🎨, and academic excellence 📚 — it has been inspiring to see how much our students have grown throughout the year.

A heartfelt thank you to Monsignor Rick, Mr Hopkins, Miss Smith, Miss Sherry, and our special guests Phil and Saori Power for their contributions in making the evening so meaningful and memorable.

🎶 A special mention to John and Marisa van den Brink, Angel Moore, Lucky Fernando, and Ryan McInnes for playing and singing at our Mass. We were incredibly fortunate to have them all present on the night — your music added something truly special to our celebration. 🙏✨

🙏 A special thank you to our wonderful Altar Servers, who served with reverence, confidence, and pride throughout the Mass. Your commitment and service added greatly to the beauty and meaning of the celebration.

We especially congratulate our Year 8 Leavers, who received their St Christopher Medals 🏅 — a lasting symbol of courage, protection, and hope as they step into the next chapter of their journey.

🏆 Award Recipients 2025 🏆

🎤 Public Speaking Awards

• Cowan Trophy (Best Year 4–6 Speech): Martha Teen
• Casey Cup (Best Year 7–8 Speech): Noah Fronda

🏅 Sports Awards

• MVP Trophy (Boys): Dominic Paris
• Christ the King School Cup (Boys): Mitchell Prutton
• Ioane Tugia Cup (Girls): Charlotte Methven
• Sporting Excellence Shield (Girls): Charlotte Dunne

🎨 Fowke Family Trophy – Outstanding Contribution to the Arts
• Michelle Netto

📚 Academic Awards

• Overall Academic Achievement: Dominic Moore
• Colleen Power Award for Academic Endeavour: Evelyn Warr

💛 Special Awards

• Father Cahill Cup (Kindness & Consideration of Others): Sienna Harris
• Sacred Heart Cup (Special Character of Christ the King): Michelle Netto

👏 Congratulations to all of our award recipients!
We are incredibly proud of you all and grateful to be part of such a supportive, faith-filled community 💙✨

Finally, a sincere thank you to Mr Entwistle for organising this special Mass for our Year 8 Leavers. The End of Year Mass is always a significant logistical undertaking, and he did a wonderful job planning, preparing, and ensuring the evening was a successful and memorable moment for our students and families.

Just when you thought it was over… 👀✨

Yesterday, it might have been easy for our Year 8s to rest up ahead of their End of Year Leavers’ Mass ⛪️🎓 — but instead, they had one very special job to do 💛📚

Our senior students had been busy writing ✍️ and publishing 📖 their own stories to share with the Junior School, and yesterday afternoon they took the time to read and share them with our younger learners 🧒👧💬

It was so lovely to see our seniors and juniors interacting 🤝, connecting 💞, and sharing such a special moment together 🌟 Our Year 8s absolutely loved it — and so did our juniors! 😄🙌

How blessed are we to witness these moments of leadership 💪, service ❤️, and community 🏫✨ at Christ the King. 🙏💙

Reminder: School finishes at 12:30pm tomorrow

A reminder that tomorrow, Thursday 18th December, school will finish at 12:30pm. Please ensure students are collected promptly.

Tonight we celebrated a lovely Year 8 Leavers’ Mass as we farewelled our Year 8s. A big thank you to our Year 4–8 students and their families for attending and showing your support.

Half a day of school left for 2025!

God Bless.

🎓✨ Year 8 Leavers' Dinner 🎉

On Monday, 15th December, our Year 8 students celebrated their 2025 Leavers' Dinner at the Commodore Hotel — a wonderful initiative introduced by the Parent Council. Their generous support ensured the cost of the evening was fully covered for our students, allowing them to enjoy this special event stress-free.

For parents and caregivers, the evening provided a lovely opportunity to mix and mingle 🤝, reflect on their time at Christ the King 🏫, and celebrate this important milestone together.

The night was made even more memorable with a photo booth 📸🎭, which the Year 8 students certainly made the most of — capturing countless fun and unforgettable moments with their friends.

We were excited to welcome two inspiring guest speakers:

• Nathaniel Sia, winner of the Sacred Heart Cup in 2024, who shared his experiences from his first year at secondary school 🎤
• Hannah Glen, a former Villa Maria College student and a member of the Mainland Tactix in the ANZ Netball Premiership 👏

A heartfelt thank you to the Parent Council 🙏 for organising such a memorable evening and to all who contributed to its success.

Moments like these leave a lasting impression on our Year 8 students and their families 💖.

🎄🎵 Monster Music Christmas Special 🎵🎄

Yesterday, our students were treated to an amazing Monster Music Christmas Special concert here at Christ the King. A huge thank you to the Monster Music team for putting on such a joyful and engaging performance — it was wonderful to see our students so inspired and entertained. 🌟🎤🎶

With over 1,200 primary-aged students enrolled each week, Monster Music focuses on teaching music in a modern and fun way 🤩🎵. In addition to private and group lessons, Monster Music provides performance opportunities 🎤, band tuition 🎷, and regular concerts 🎶 for enrolled students, helping young musicians grow in confidence and skill.

Thank you again to Monster Music for sharing your passion and talent with our school community — a perfect way to celebrate the season! 🎄✨🎶

🎓✨ Year 3 Graduation Ceremony ✨🎓

On Monday 15th December, our Year 3 students took part in the annual Graduation Ceremony, marking their transition into the Middle School in 2026. 🌱➡️📚 It was a beautiful occasion and a lovely opportunity for parents and caregivers to come together and celebrate this important milestone. 💛

During the ceremony, our Year 3 students received their special ‘sticker’ certificates 🎖️ and passed on the leadership candle 🕯️ to the current Year 2 students — a meaningful symbol of growth, responsibility, and the journey ahead.

Following the ceremony, we enjoyed a delightful shared morning tea ☕🍰. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who contributed a plate of delicious finger food — your generosity was truly appreciated. 🙏

On behalf of the Junior School staff, we extend our very best wishes to all parents, caregivers, and our Year 3 students for a wonderful and successful 2026. 🌟📘