Roncalli students’ contributions to school recognised and rewarded by charitable trust

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Roncalli students Trey Cosgrave and Dorothy Wilson and Ogonowska Education Charitable Trust chair Gordon Noble-Campbell pictured on Friday morning.

Roncalli College/Supplied

Roncalli students Trey Cosgrave and Dorothy Wilson and Ogonowska Education Charitable Trust chair Gordon Noble-Campbell pictured on Friday morning.

The cultural, spiritual and personal contributions of two Roncalli College students to their school have been recognised and rewarded by a charitable trust.

Ogonowska Education Charitable Trust awarded Dorothy Wilson and Trey Cosgrave grants which will cover their tuition for the year and also give them $500 each for their tertiary education in 2024.

Roncalli principal Chris Comeau, who nominated the two students, said, Dorothy is “well-loved and supported” by the school community, and she is also a “standout student.”

He said, “Trey sees great value in education and the opportunities that it can create.”

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The trust’s chair, Gordon Noble-Campbell, said the grants “acknowledge the personal qualities and contribution to the cultural and spiritual life of the two students to their school”.

“The trust is able to help support students financially who are looking to further their education.

“It also provides us with the opportunity to tell the story of why the trust was created.”

Irena and Teresa Ogonowska.

supplied

Irena and Teresa Ogonowska.

Noble-Campbell said the trust honours and remembers his Polish mother, Teresa Ogonowska and her sister, Irena Ogonowska who were among a group of 733 Polish children offered refuge in New Zealand from a war-torn Europe in 1944 by then Prime Minister Peter Fraser.

In 1940 Irena and Teresa, together with their family, were forcibly deported to Siberia from their home in Ulanowszczyzna, a Polish military settlement in eastern Poland (near Baranowicze).

The Polish Childrens’ Camp near Pahīatua in the North Island was the first home in New Zealand for the two sisters.

The welcoming party of New Zealand soldiers at Pahiatua railway station. The children were taken to the camp in army trucks.

Supplied

The welcoming party of New Zealand soldiers at Pahiatua railway station. The children were taken to the camp in army trucks.

Both were later educated at Sacred Heart Girls’ College (a predecessor school to Roncalli College) in the late 1940s and early 1950s and both later chose the teaching profession.

“They were committed and passionate teachers all their lives, a commitment that was underpinned by their deep and life-long Catholic faith,” Noble-Campbell said.

Children at the Polish refugee camp at Pahiatua. Local children are leaning on the gate, and Polish children are standing on the ground. Photograph taken by John Dobree Pascoe in 1945.

Alexander Turnbull Library

Children at the Polish refugee camp at Pahiatua. Local children are leaning on the gate, and Polish children are standing on the ground. Photograph taken by John Dobree Pascoe in 1945.

“Both Irena and Teresa appreciated the importance of education in creating the opportunity for young people to be successful in their adult lives.”

He said the trust was generally focused on the area where the two sisters were educated and later in life, educated others, but there were no restrictions on who could apply for the grant.

Teresa Ogonowska pictured in 2005 with her family, Lachlan, left, Aleksander, Gordon Noble-Campbell and wife Jayne, and Thomas.

Rob Kitchin/Stuff

Teresa Ogonowska pictured in 2005 with her family, Lachlan, left, Aleksander, Gordon Noble-Campbell and wife Jayne, and Thomas.

The trust, run by Noble-Campbell, Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit Jenny Gordon and Halina Ogonowska-Coates, was created in 2021. The trust either approach schools and ask them to make nominations or select those who apply for it once a year.

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