Nau mai hoki mai
Welcome back to Cashmere High School!

One of my favourite times of the year is the start of Term 1 as we welcome back our students after a long summer break.

Our founding Principal, Sir Terrance McCombs, said in 1956 “ while fine buildings are important, they are not by themselves a school. They do not become a school until they have people in them, it is our students and our staff that turn our grounds and buildings into a school”. These words were reinforced to me as I watched our students arrive at school and settle into their classes. It is a privilege to be able to work alongside them, to support them and to provide the best learning environment we can for them.

Early last week we received our academic results for the 2021 year. When considered against the nature of that year, and the challenges we faced, there is no doubt that we should be very proud of all that our community achieved, reflected in both individual and collective outcomes. When these results are combined with other aspects of our ‘performance’ across co-curricular programmes in 2021, I am in awe of all that was accomplished.

Again, I want to thank the community for their continued support of our Cashmere Kaupapa. I have often spoken to the students about their contribution to a ‘culture of personal and collective excellence’ and how they benefit both from their contribution of encouragement and goodwill in supporting others, and from the aspirational culture that is then created. This is the key value we add to each student’s educational experience.

NCEA Results

Last year we again achieved excellent results in NCEA. Again, Cashmere High School students continue to outperform the national averages, including decile 9 schools. This is a testament to all the hard work our students put into their studies throughout the year. It is also an endorsement of our greatest teaching and learning resource, our staff.

Congratulations to all our students who have worked hard to achieve such pleasing results.