Newsletter - WE 10/12/2021

Welcome to our final newsletter for 2021!

We started the week with transition day as we welcomed our incoming Year 7 and 9 students for 2022. Thank you to Flynn, Olivia, Laura and Kieran for being great student leaders on the day and supporting this effort.

On Tuesday we farewelled our Year 11 students for the year as they completed their final exam and attended the final assembly and look forward to doing the same for our Year 12 and 13s today. Congratulations to the students in Year 11 who received awards. This and all assembly recordings will be available on Facebook and will have been emailed as a link to all Year 11 parents so please let the office know if you did not receive it.

This week Lucy, Gypsy, Izzy, Sophie, Angie and Hollie received their copy of Write On magazine with their published writing proudly presented within. There is something quite special about having your work published so well done to you all!

Just a few short days to go until the Summer break so please note your children will be finishing at 1.15pm on Thursday so will be home early!

I remember this time last year saying how lucky we were to be able to have a normal prizegiving and it never crossed my mind that we would be in this position 12 months later. This time last year I also hoped for a year without lockdowns and 40 weeks of school. We didn’t quite hit that mark either however once again our team adapted, parents became educators once more, and thankfully our time out of class was short in comparison to others.

We farewelled Mr Anink this year who is enjoying his retirement and the pace of working when he wants to as a reliever. I would like to thank him for his service to the school. We also came together earlier this year to share the sudden loss of Penny Mossman who would, as you know usually be front and centre in our end of year celebrations in her usual position as MC in Chief proudly looking down on another group of her successful Year 13 leavers, demonstrating her amazing public speaking skills whilst encouraging all of us to maintain dignity and decorum. She continues to be missed by us all.

I would like to thank all the staff here at Amuri Area School who have had to adapt, and to teach and work in ways they never anticipated again this year. In spite of this they kept the students at the forefront of their thinking and demonstrated a positive attitude to the many changes forced upon them. It remains my privilege to work alongside them all.

I would also like to thank our Board of Trustees and our PTA who give their time and expertise freely to our school for nothing more than the knowledge that they are making a difference in the lives of our young people.

To our outgoing Head students Celine and Hannah and our student Board Rep Esme I would like to say what an amazing trio you are. You have made such a difference this year and left your mark on the school whilst setting an example for others to follow. You will be a tough act to follow!

2022 sees the introduction of two new teachers to our primary school, Quinn Paterson and Anna Jamieson. We continue with our negotiations with the Ministry of Education around roll growth classrooms and redevelopment of the senior school and although progress is painfully slow, this is without doubt moving in the right direction and we are still optimistic for a positive outcome that will set up this school and community for many years to come.

Have a wonderful Summer with your children. Treasure the time you have with them as they grow all too fast!

Nga mihi nui.James GriggsPrincipal

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Senior School NewsKia ora WhanauThe wrap up to the academic year has been staged this week. Year 11’s final external exam was completed on Tuesday with a recognition of achievement ceremony that recognized the hard work and dedication of our Year 11 students.

Our staff have been undertaking Professional learning in digital technology as we embarked on our first ever robot wars. Staff built robots and then coded them to move. The winner having reached the end of the course the fastest. We look forward to introducing this technology in 2022 with our Year 7 and 8 students.

Year 12 and 13 are finishing off their externals in the next few days, with the final exam taking place on Monday afternoon. While exams are designed to test the years accumulative knowledge, end of the exams signifies a momentous step in a young person journey. Again, we were able to recognize achievement of our Year 12 and Year 13 student award winners. The year has been a tremendous success and all awards culminated in our two top achievement awards the proxime accessit – Esme Hewitt and our DUX - Dominic Brett.

Congratulations to all and best wishes to you in your future endeavors.

Nicole Peterson
Deputy Principal

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Dates for Your diary

December
16th Prizegiving for Year 1-10: Staggered throughout the morning with buses leaving at 1.15pm on this day.
January 2022
24th School office opens
February
2nd Years 1-8 students and student leaders return 
3rd All students return
7th Waitangi Day observed - SCHOOL CLOSED

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Roll of Honour
Fergus Davison
Chloe Dela Vega
Kadmiel Delos Santos
Scott Foster
Grace Johnston
Willow Macadam
Jonty O’Neill
Ziggy Paora
Lachlan Perry
Aggie Rutherford
Eleanor Thompson
Jackson Wilkes
Liv Whittleston

1st Merit
Nico Antilef
Milah Campion
Heider Carreon
Lucy Cater
Isaac Colebrook
Frankie Davison
Tessa de Ridder
Aizelle Dela Rosa
Kimberley Egmao
Kees Flapper
Domingo Gannaban
William Hamilton
Max Kinney
Ben Langford
Owen Lewis
Arlie Marris
Brodie Marris
Kaitlyn Palmer
Chloe Parmar
Hank Reed
Harriett Rutherford
Jackson Schenkel
Molly Schuurman
Oskar Schuurman
Lottie Smith
King Tallar
Pippa Ussher
Riley Van der Heyden
Sachi Wilkes
Sarina Woodhouse
Layla Yukich
2nd Merit
Lily Campion
Hannah Clegg
Valerie Croft
Max Jackson
Maria Lim
Alex Shaw

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Magazines

Unwanted magazines needed by the Primary Art Department. Please drop off to the school office before the 22nd December or after the 24th January 2022. Thanks heaps!

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Thank you to ANZCo NZ Ltd who have donated $2,954.93 from their “Sponsor a School” Promotion

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 Fuel for Schools

Programme - South Fuels. If you are a bulk fuel user, you can nominate our school for .50c for every 100 ltrs of fuel purchased.