Kia ora koutou to Term 3, after the successful conclusion of a very busy Term 2. I hope that all of our ākonga and whanau are ready for a busy yet exciting term of events and challenges.

During term 2 it was fantastic to see so many of the cohort engage and see results in the opportunities offered here at Cashmere and beyond. A great example of this was Helena Pirnea who gained 5 medal placings at the Canoe Sprint Nationals, and won the Junior Speech Cup. Harrison Staunton won the 1500m at the Canterbury Champs, and Zac Rickerby won the New Zealand Radio Car Championship for his division, representing their families and community proudly. Barbara Zhang has set up a support group for year 9’s, new students and anyone who is facing challenges here at school. It was a great privilege to acknowledge Sophia Su’a and Nevannah Ashworth at a Head of School Assembly, this was for their kindness and citizenship which everyone of their teachers wanted to acknowledge. Silas Jones was recognised as our first year level COVE recipient with an impressive collection of results both in and out of the classroom, this award carry’s a great deal of mana and Silas is a very worthy winner of it.

The student council has continued its strong start to the year under the guidance of Mrs Jo Stewart. They have completed several initiatives which have added to the cohort’s vibrancy which included a student led Trivia battle took place in the final weeks of term 2. The council ran a head-to-head knockout challenge between the form classes, this was a great success with huge participation being achieve. A big congratulations to 9GRT for winning the final, and the hot chip lunch that came with it. During the final week of the term the council helped to run Year 9 Kindness Week, following our theme of ‘Open the door for others’. The focus was on doing one kind thing for themselves and others each day. At the end of the week form classes put these together on post-it-notes to display their involvement over the week. The students next job is to promote the upcoming mud run and continue encouraging students to try new things term.

Term 3 signals the final weeks of the winter sports season, many more musical performances and the major school production, I wish all the students participating the best of luck. The Term 2 Graduation grades showed an overwhelming number of Year 9’s reaching 95% or better, and a very large number of students improving on their scores from Term 1. This is fantastic to see and is a clear indication that this year is achieving personal Excellence more consistently than ever.

Coming up this term students will be looking towards subject selection for Year 10 in 2023. This is an opportunity to reflect on what subjects they have enjoyed, but also a time to remember how every part of the learning this year will support their success next year.

Ngā mihi nui,

Nick Milward
Head of School | Year 9