Amesbury Digest - 12th December 2022

Tēnā koutou,

I know that it has been said a lot in recent times, but it certainly has been an absolute doozy of a year. As much as we don’t want to keep dwelling on this, I think it is really important to stop and acknowledge what we have been through and how well we have all done to not just survive the year but actually thrive in it.

We spent the first half of this year separated off at school. Parents and whānau were asked not to come into school, year 4-6 ākonga and all staff wore masks inside at all times, and we stayed apart as much as possible. We had significant upheaval through families and staff members suddenly being away for a week or more at a time due to household isolation or having Covid, and the numbers of students and staff at school fluctuated hugely from day to day. At one point, in Term 1, we had a week where eight teachers were away, and all other staff worked wonderfully and flexibly together and kept learning going for all students. Our kaiako made huge shifts at the start of this year and created a hybrid learning system where students could, as much as possible, keep their learning and school connections going at home. We learned to live stream and record sessions that could be watched at any time. We had ākonga who were away from school for weeks, or in some cases months at a time, and yet kept their learning and social connections going. Parents and whānau juggled family and work, and most parents spent at least some time again supporting their tamariki's learning at home. How amazing are we as a community to do all of this?

And yet, throughout all of this, we have all shown amazing resilience. Our student achievement data and wellbeing data from this year shows really positive shifts. Despite being disconnected for so long, and parents and whānau being asked to stay away from school in the early parts of the year, we have had fantastic response to calls for help on trips, camps, and events later in the year - when we have needed you, people have responded well. As a school we hosted the Kapa Haka festival in Term 3, where several thousand people came along and enjoyed the fabulous showcase. Parent and whānau support made this possible, and we were overwhelmed by the different ways in which families supported this. We have had parents supporting school with fundraising events, coaching netball and miniball, helping to sort pizza lunches each Thursday, helping with calendar art and admin tasks, and much much more. We have started several new school events that we hope to see happen on an annual basis, such as our poetry competition and our Amesbury Games event. We truly have not just survived this year, but thrived in it, and all of us - parents, whānau, ākonga, and staff - can all take credit for this.

And so, as we shuffle into the final few days of the school year, quite possibly feeling tremendously tired and perhaps a little lacking in our usual resilience, please take a moment to appreciate the amazing resilience and perseverance we have all shown in such a tough year. Consider the message we have sent to our fabulous tamariki so strongly in doing all of this - that when tough and unexpected things happen and we are not sure quite how to handle things, we can all work together and manage to come through all the stronger for it. If we can manage this, we can manage anything!

I orea te tuatara ka patu ki waho - a problem is solved by continuing to find solutions. Thanks to you all for a truly inspiring year.

Ngā mihi nui, 

Urs Cunningham