Our History

Holy Family School was founded originally to serve the Catholic community of the Parish of Holy Family in Porirua East. The school belongs to the Catholic Archdiocese of Wellington. It was founded by the Brigidine Sisters. Most of the community who send their children to the school are also parishioners of the Holy Family Parish.

The school is situated at 169 Mungavin Avenue, adjacent to the Holy Family Parish Church. The maximum roll of the school is 305 set by the school’s Integration Agreement 8 September 1981. The children attending the school are drawn from all of the Porirua East area, extending from Ascot Park in the north to Ranui Heights in the south. They represent a number of different cultures, with the predominant groups being 65% Samoa, 12% Maori, 11% Tokelau, 5% Cook Island, 2.5% Tonga, 2% Kiribati, 1% Burmese, 0.5% Tuvalu, 0.5% NZ/Pakeha, 0.5% Indian. There is a small number of recent refugees from Columbia who have recently enrolled.

The socio-economic breakdown of the community is of significance. This is typically in the mid-lower wage-earning category, with some level of unemployment. There is a high degree of reliance on State income assistance in one form or another, with many families also looking to the State for rental accommodation.

There is a strong sense of community within the school and every encouragement is given to parent participation within the various aspects of the programmes of the school. There exists a valued tradition of leadership and quality education delivery by all staff. This is seen as essential to bringing about the expectations of the community for the education of their children.

The school continues to recognize the cultural diversity of New Zealand, and, in particular the importance of Maori as the foundation community of New Zealand.