Kia ora koutou,

It has been a great first week back at school. It was lovely seeing all of our tamariki back again, and we have been so impressed with the high compliance around Red level restrictions. Our ākonga (students) have been trying so hard with wearing masks, particularly in Pōhutukawa Hub where masks are mandatory. It can be hard to wear a mask right through the day, and tamariki and staff have worked really well with this. We would also like to say a huge thanks to parents and whānau. We appreciate that people would generally have preferred to come into school and catch up with teachers, and we have noticed that despite this, people have only come onsite if they have particularly needed to do so, and they have followed Red level protocols well when doing so - thank you for helping us keep our community safe and healthy.

Friday of last week was a particularly special day for Amesbury School, because it was the day we celebrated our school being open for 10 years. Despite the fact that we sadly needed to postpone our community celebration of the event, hubs still ran some smaller celebrations within their teams. Birthday cards and celebratory ‘10’s were created, party games were played, and badges were given out. We ended our celebration session with an ice block - gratefully received and enjoyed by adults and tamariki alike in the hot weather!

These ten years have flown by, and for people who have been with the school from the start in particular, such as Lesley, Gail, Demelza, Navy, Amaria, Lisa, Rachel (as a parent and then staff member), and myself, it has been a pleasure and a privilege to be part of this amazing journey so far. As a team we are extremely proud of the school, and it forms a very special part of our lives as teachers, leaders and community members. We still fully intend on celebrating this anniversary milestone with you all once we move out of Red level as a country. Our 10th Anniversary celebration, complete with bouncy castle and Mr Whippy, is simply on hold, not cancelled.

Part of this celebration will also be a chance to celebrate Lesley’s special part in this journey. We also needed to postpone our farewell for Lesley, which was to be part of the anniversary celebration. Lesley has been such a huge part of Amesbury’s journey so far, and her vision for what our school could and should be for all tamariki is what continues to drive and guide us. Hopefully we will have a chance to celebrate this with Lesley soon.

And so our eleventh year as a school has begun. We are all a little unsure about what the year has in store, but we are confident that whatever happens, we will work together as a community to ensure we are all cared for, connected, and safe. I am very proud that I have been appointed as principal of the school, and I am looking forward to continuing my time with the Amesbury community.

Ngā mihi nui,

Urs Cunningham