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Sue Hume portrait
 
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From the Principal

AGHS —

Kia ora koutou

As you read this latest Tatler, we will be embarking on the term break, which will be welcomed by staff and students alike. It will not only provide the opportunity for a break from school routines and a bit of a respite after the Covid-disrupted term but will also be a useful time for our senior students to devote some time to work on portfolios or internal assessment work or study for externals, along with time for some rest and relaxation.

On a school front we are working through the challenges of managing and preparing for the events that make up our term calendar in the uncertain environment that Covid brings. These include our events for the transition of our new students for 2022, along with the events to celebrate the achievements and progression of our students. We are committed to ensuring these events take place and are planning to accommodate them in whatever manner is possible under whatever alert level prevails at the time. It is where flexibility in approach is essential.

This is also the time of year that we are busy planning for the new school year, and students will have made their subject choices for the senior school. Such information is essential to ensure appropriate staffing and to build the timetable for 2022. To ensure our planning is as accurate as possible, it is essential that we know if any student may not be returning to Avonside Girls’ High School next year. Please contact the school straight away to provide that information.

An exciting development that our staff has been working very hard on this year is the planning of semesterised courses for our junior students. These courses will be in place from the beginning of next year. You can read more detail that Ms McRandle, DP Curriculum, provides in this Tatler. Our Year 9 students will make their subject selections for Year 10 2022 at the beginning of next term and will be the first cohort of junior students able to choose from the range of semester courses offered in each learning area. We are excited by this development and I acknowledge the hard work of our teachers and curriculum leaders as they prepare engaging and relevant contexts for learning, in response to student feedback, while at the same time ensuring that students learn the essential content and skills needed for success in the senior school.

It has been an exciting past few weeks as the Board followed the process to select a new principal to take up the role upon my retirement. I warmly congratulate Mrs Catherine Law on her appointment and look forward to working with her and our Senior Leadership Team to ensure a smooth handover. I know she will be welcomed and supported as she takes on this role, which is both an enormous privilege and equally enormous responsibility!

Ngā mihi nui

Sue Hume
Principal