Kia ora whanau

As we draw to the end of a memorable year, it is fitting to acknowledge the contributions and achievements of so many.

Covid-19 certainly provided some major challenges. It ensured that the school year did not proceed as originally planned, and brought inevitable disappointment for many as some much-anticipated events simply had to be wiped from the calendar. Yet much was able to still be scheduled and learning for all was able to proceed, despite the lockdown, through our ability to deliver online learning.

I want to pay tribute to the staff, who worked incredibly hard over that time to connect with students and make every effort to support them in their distance learning, while at the same time managing the demands within their own households. It was an intense period for staff as they sought to ensure that senior students were able to complete courses and internal assessments and prepare well for external examinations. Junior students also had programmes of learning to engage with to progress their learning and readiness for the next step.

Students accepted with grace the necessary reduction of extra-curricular activities and many managed their year’s learning well, completing their qualification prior to departing for externals. Senior student leaders worked hard to ensure that there were events provided to encourage student and staff involvement and build spirit.

End-of-year celebrations over term 4 have provided the opportunity for us to be awed by the high quality of work that has been completed this year. The Technology exhibition, the Visual Art Exhibition, the Drama Evening, the Music Evening, the Fia Fia Night, the Whakanui, the Sports and Arts Colours Assemblies and our Senior Prizegiving and Year 13 Graduation ceremony were all occasions where high achievement was able to be admired and celebrated. Despite the challenges it was evident that students at our school had continued to be involved and focused on learning and could feel justifiably proud of their achievements.

Combining the Year 13 Graduation with the Senior Prizegiving, followed by supper for Year 13s and families provided a fitting occasion to farewell our Year 13 students, gathering together for a final time before heading to examinations. As a group our Year 13s have shared and achieved a great deal. We are proud of the eighteen university scholarships that have been awarded to this group to support their future study plans, and wish all departing students well for life beyond school.

Thanks are also due to our families for the ongoing support of their daughters, through the upheavals and challenges of the year. Staff and parents want the same thing for our students, and that is for them to be happy and connected at school, and engaged with and succeeding in their learning so that they will have real options available to them at the end of school life. We celebrate the progress that many of our students have made this year and look forward to working together on whatever challenges 2021 may bring. We certainly hope for a more settled year!

Best wishes to students and whanau of those leaving us this year, and best wishes to all for a relaxing summer break.

Arohanui

Sue Hume

Principal