Tēnā koe, Talofa Lava, Mālō e lelei, Sanibonani, parents, caregivers, whānau and students

Welcome to Term 4. I hope this message finds you and your families well. We are excited to have our students back at school to finish our school year strong.

We are also so excited about the possibilities that this new term holds, and we look forward to continuing to partner with you in your child's wellbeing and educational journey. This is especially a term of transition and celebration as we prepare our Year 10 students to move onto secondary school, and to meet our new Year 7 students during their enrolment experience.

Next week our Year 10 students have their camp at Finlay Park in Matamata for 4 days. This learning experience is full of rich outdoor activities, long days of challenges, and quality time for our students, staff and parents. I am looking forward to spending the day down there on Thursday with our students. Thank you to Mrs Ross and Mrs Rowe for organising this camp.

Following our Year 10 camp week, we have our Year 9 and 10 exam experience. We trust that our students are working independently at home to prepare for these exams to support the preparation they are getting at school.

Next Friday we have a group of teachers coming to visit our school from Michigan State University in the USA. Our school was recommended to host this group as our school improvement since covid has been on a constant trajectory of progress through developing a culture of wellbeing and student engagement. We are looking forward to welcoming these visitors to our Junior High School to share our 4 year programme.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. Let's make this last school term a wonderful and enriching experience for our tamariki.

Thank you for your support, and for those of you taking some time out, please enjoy your long weekend te whānau. Take care.

Cushla Shepherd

Principal/Tumuaki, Albany Junior High School