Wow! We have arrived in December. We hope you all are keeping well during this busy time as we approach our summer season and family time.

As we move through the new government transition in Aotearoa, we forge ahead with our school education priorities for 2024 - to continue to refresh and embed inclusivity and Te Tiriti o Waitangi in our Te Mātaiaho, NZ Curriculum. We are committed to embracing a Māori world view - which enables us all to learn about New Zealand's rich cultural heritage, locally and nationally. We are very proud of the way our tamariki and kaiako (teachers) are embracing Te Ao Māori, not only in their classrooms, but in different contexts within our school and in the community.

Next year we launch our Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L) programme across our school community. Through consultation with our students and parents this year, our 3 new key values for our school vision are Respect, Integrity and Courage. These will be reflected throughout our school culture and practice, with our overarching vision being formulated in the new year. During the start of term one, we will be communicating with our school whānau about our values, goals and vision through many platforms. Our school is steadfast in its commitment to school improvement for more quality and aspirational outcomes for our students.

A rich example of active engagement in our school will be showcased tomorrow for our inaugural Colour Run event. We are very excited that our new PTA has organised this event to bring our community together to celebrate the end of our school year. I am especially looking forward to leading the warm up with my Wonder Woman aerobics cape on! It will certainly be a fun morning.

Next year, we are partnering with Learning Schools (LS) from Auckland University. Learning Schools is designed for schools who are striving to improve valued student learning outcomes in complex or challenging situations i.e. student engagement post covid, and to find solutions in consultation with teachers, leaders, researchers, and expert educational facilitators.The LS team will be examining and evaluating our teaching and learning data and practice to refine, improve and innovate our pedagogy, and student progress and achievement for resourcing and sustainability. It is very exciting to have their guidance and expertise over the coming 12 months.

We look forward to finishing our school year next week with celebrations for our students to acknowledge their fantastic learning journey this year. Thank you whānau and have a super weekend.

Take care,

Cushla Shepherd, Principal/Tumuaki

Albany Junior High School

SCRATCHPAD School Holiday Programme