Kia ora koutou and welcome back to Term 2 after the successful conclusion of a very busy Term 1. I hope that all of our ākonga and whanau have had a restful and rejuvenating holidays as we head into the first of the winter terms.

During Term 1 there was a large range of successes both in and out of the classroom for our students. It is wonderful to see that as Year 10 students the range of opportunities that are being taken up continues to expand. Once such opportunities being taken up is demonstrated by Miro Luxford who has gained some outstanding sailing results. Miro sails the Starling class of boat and placed 1st in the North and South Island Championships earlier this year and again in the recent holidays placed 6th at the Starling National Championships.

Our Year 10 Adventure racers have had a very busy 2022 and continue to grow in the sport with some outstanding success. At the recent South Island Secondary Schools Adventure Racing Championships held in Kaikoura during the holidays seven year 10 students were in various teams. Leo O’Neill, Karin Prince, Finn van Keulen and Alice Vetcher gained 1st Place overall and 1st Mixed Team in the 6 hour race. Isla Cook and Millie Palmer team placed 3rd overall and 2nd Intermediate Girls team along with Erik Cassels-Brown who’s team placed 4th overall and 1st intermediate boys in the 6 hour race. Congratulations to these racers who have worked hard to gain excellent results.

Amongst the wide number of excellent sporting and cultural results it is important to recognise that our core values at school require students who be striving for excellence both in citizenship and academic excellence. For this reason it is exciting to see the number of Year 10 students actively giving back to the community through service and personal growth. Two very good examples of this are Auraeyah Harris who has recently been awarded the Bronze Award for the SVA which recognises 32 hours minimum of service back to the school and wider community. Along with this we have also had Callum Warwick who was presented with his Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award at the start of Term 2. The Duke of Edinburgh Award requires Callum to strive for excellence across Service, Skills, Personal Recreation and to train and complete an Adventurous Journey (2-day Tramp). Congratulations to Callum on completing his Bronze Award over the past six months.

Term 2 signals the start of winter sports and a large number of significant cultural, performing arts and academic events. After reflecting on the Term 1 Graduation grades and seeing an overwhelming number of Year 10’s reaching 95% or better our students are in the right place to make the most of these opportunities.

It is important to remember that in a few months students will be looking towards subject selection for their first year of NCEA in 2023. What students do now in and out of the classroom is laying the foundations for success in these subjects. While it may seem a long way off, small actions now will have a big effect later. I am proud to see how the cohort is progressing and I look forward to seeing even more success in the future.

Nāku iti noa, nā

Tom Wilkinson
Year 10 Head of School