Kia ora koutou

Here we are about to enter into the third term of 2015. The third term! We hope you all had a very refreshing, recreational and fun holiday. I am very sorry I was unable to be at the end of term 2 learning celebration. I was at the New Zealand Principals' Conference which is always held in the last week of term 2. Congratulations to our awesome Amesbury Awesomeness Award winners - Jamie, Ben, Milano and Khan.

Two Amesbury Awesomeness Awards are given each term to students who have stood out to all the teachers in a hub as making significant progress in a range of areas or who consistently show the High Five values/principles etc. They are students who are noticed by all teachers for their "awesomeness". Because only two Awards are given each term, it is quite an honour to receive one. However, I want to point out that though we honour just a couple of students each term in this way, it does not mean that all students are not awesome - they are. I look out my office window every day and I see really awesome children everywhere! However, at different times, some stand out a little more than others for a range of reasons - so we honour them with an award.

At our first end of year prizegiving I did a little illustration showing one candle lighting another. I pointed out that when one already lit candle is used to light another, the light of the already lit candle is not reduced or made smaller. In fact, what is noticeable is that as we light the other, the flame gets bigger for a time. When we honour one student with an award, it does not in any way reduce the "light" of other students. In fact, when we honour others, because we are all a part of humanity, it increases all our light. People like Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King and Mother Teresa made the light of the whole of humanity glow more brightly. As members of the human race, we glow more brightly because of their good deeds. Equally, at Amesbury School, we are all impacted by the great effort and goodness of others. We should truly celebrate the achievement of others, because their awesomeness makes us ALL glow more brightly. Big kudos to Khan, Jamie, Milano and Ben.