Newsletter - WE 18/09/20

Tēnā Koutou

This week I had the opportunity along with two other staff members to attend part of the Wellbeing in Education conference in Christchurch. This was, as I understand it, one of very few such events that have happened under Level 2 conditions with bubbles of 100 distributed throughout the town hall and the majority of presentations coming through to a big screen for each group. Although such an event has limitations and will always be a second best option to the norm, it was great to see it actually happen with a focus on what we could do rather than simply cancelling. With Covid on the horizon for some time to come, these are the attitudes and approaches that will see us thrive and adapt and I for one am of the opinion that we need to look for opportunities and feasible strategies to do, rather than excuses to not do at all.

One point of interest from the day for me was the use of coaching strategies within a wellbeing context and how these can be used to set tangible wellbeing goals for individuals to aspire to. Another key point was some excellent research around student's self-awareness of personal culture with the group showing the greatest deficit being Pakeha children. Mrs Mossman is there with the team for day two and I look forward to seeing what comes from that to inform our wellbeing plan.

Next week is of course the final week of term. It is great to be able to have a full term with all our students on site. Over the term break there will be the usual flurry of activity as our power upgrade is finalised and the new basketball court on the senior side is built in. The squash club are also busy with their renovations so if you are around the school, please take note of any hazard signs and areas that have been fenced off.

If you are booking holidays, it may help to note the start date for 2021 is Tuesday 2nd February for Year 1-8 and student leaders with all senior students returning on the 3rd. This later start date gives us a later finish in 2021 on the 16th December.

With the likely lifting of restrictions next week, our prizegiving is once again a possibility. Lock in Wednesday the 9th December for an 11am start!

A busy final week sees Year 7 and 8 head off to the Airforce Museum and Godley Heads to complete their WW2 topic and the geographers head off on an exciting South Island exploration.

Uniforms have improved this week so thank you for your support. It is great to see our students looking smart each day. Please call and chat to the office if you are still unsure what can and cannot be worn.

A reminder please that Year 12 and 13 students should not be going home on study leave unless they have specific permission from Mrs Mossman to do so. We are committed to providing extra tuition for our students right up to the end of the year, if required, to make up for any lost time and IF students make the most of these opportunities, they will overcome any disadvantage before the end of the year.

Maori language week has been a positive one throughout the country with over a million New Zealanders taking part in the Maori language moment this week. It is worth noting that Te Reo Maori became an official language of New Zealand only in 1987, some 147 years AFTER the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi where protection of language, culture and ways of being were guaranteed. My son asked me over dinner this week if the Maori language was (in his words) dead! The upsurge in people learning and communicating in Maori in recent years would suggest otherwise, however, we certainly have a long way to go and to have something so unique, so specific to our country with such depth of culture and tradition, must surely be a Taonga (treasure) to cherish.

School Uniform

We have noticed there are some unacceptable intepretations of our uniform, namely students arriving wearing tights and leggings and monogrammed track pants.

Our uniform policy states the following items are acceptable for the bottom half.

Plain black Skort

Plain Black Skirt

Plain Black Dress Short

Plain Black Dress Trouser

School Kilt

With the term break coming, it is a good time to get to town and purchase any missing items. Please ensure your child is in correct uniform as we will not be accepting leggings and/or tights as a suitable bottom half.

Have a great weekend.

Nga Mihi

James Griggs

Principal

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SENIOR SCHOOL NEWS

The exam week for Year 10 and NCEA students ran smoothly last week and the results will already be known. I was impressed with the way Year 10 approached both their exams and the formality of the conditions required, this will be one less thing to worry about in 2021. It is still disappointing seeing some students leaving exams early – this tends to result in poorer grades and suggests a lack of revision. Hopefully, this is a problem that will be rectified before the end of term exams if success is to be guaranteed.

Reports for our Year 11-13 students will be out at the end of next week with information on progress and next steps. At this stage of the year it is important that revision and practice must be a regular part of a planned study routine which needs to continue during the upcoming break. It is at this stage of the year that reality bites for some, the reality being that Year 12 is a big step up from Year 11 and the level of self-management and self-discipline required increases considerably. It also follows that Year 13 is another big step again so a minimalistic approach and lack of self-discipline will not make for success at these levels.

Thank you to parents, students and families who have read and acted on the recent reminders regarding appropriate uniform – it is lovely to see skirts reappear and tights disappear.

Next week our Year 12 Geography students head off on their much-awaited South Island field trip, with so much being cancelled due to Covid it is great to see an event actually able to go ahead. A big thanks to Mrs Greenwood for organising this and to the parent assistants on the trip for their time and support.

As this is my last column before the end of term, we wish all our students a welcome and restful break. This is an opportunity to refresh ready for the last term which is always a very busy one – again a reminder to NCEA students to keep the learning ‘motor’ idling, not switched off! For those of you taking the opportunity to travel within NZ - enjoy and travel safely.

Penny Mossman

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Roll of Honour

Mateo Jamieson

Molly Jones

Billy McElroy

1st Merit

Aizelle Dela Rosa

Sophie Drummond

Kyle Gardiner

Ruby Glassey

Emily Greenwood

Tom Jackson

Ella Lauder

Bella Newall

Van Samera

Irish Supan

Kaden Tily

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Congratulations to Irish Supan for answering 1,021 questions during the Education Perfect Maths Championships 2020. She earned 638 points, placing her in the top 20% of 107,000 competitors from around the world.