Year 11 Head of School

Kia ora koutou and welcome back to the new school year. I hope the summer was relaxing and enjoyable for our Year 11 rangatahi and whānau. Whatever you got up to, I hope there was time to stop and breathe and enjoy some family time in whatever form that takes. As life gets more and more fast paced, it is increasingly more important to take time to enjoy the company of those around you and also to take care of yourself. And after the disruptive year we had last year, I hope you all managed to have some quiet time to recharge, reconnect and relax.

This year marks a big step up for the Year 11 cohort, as they move into the senior school and NCEA. This year will bring many new challenges and experiences and I hope that, together, we can navigate our way through this new stage of schooling. As always, there will be a continued focus on respect, understanding and tolerance towards fellow students, staff and the school environment. Throughout this year, students (and whānau) will gain a deeper understanding of how NCEA works. At the start of the year students will be given a course calendar for each subject, with an outline of assessments for each of their courses. I encourage caregivers to take the time to look over these with their children, in particular looking for those “hotspots” of the year when there are multiple assessments due. These times can often cause a lot of stress and anxiety for students, so some forward planning and early identification of when this might occur, can really help alleviate the pressure when they arrive.

Being senior students also brings new responsibilities, as the junior students will look to our seniors for guidance on how to act and behave. I am extremely proud of the Year 11 cohort and the way they interact with each other and the wider school, and the values they consistently display day after day. I look forward to seeing this continue this year. As well as behaviour, our Year 11 students are also role models for our school uniform. A reminder that students can wear multiple studs or sleepers in their ears, one stud in their nose (no sleepers, rings etc), and one other piece of jewelry. Also, Socks are to be plain black or white, with no logos. Here at school we greatly appreciate the support of whānau around this.

The results from last year’s Cambridge assessments have come in and are outstanding, with 100% pass rate for both English and Social Studies. A special mention to Luke McPherson, who got 95% for English and Clara Dujakovic, who got 95% for global perspectives and was top in New Zealand!

The year has started well for our rowers, with some great results from the South Island Rowing Club Championships. Sam Clelland, Oscar Clatworthy and James Martin came first in the Boys U19 Eight and third in the Mens Club Eight. This is a fantastic achievement for these young men, and the culmination of many hours of hard work over the summer and during last year. Some more fantastic results in Surf Lifesaving from the recent Eastern Regional Champs, with Brooke Goldsmith gaining a gold medal in the U15 sprints, a silver medal in the U15 beach flags and a bronze medal in the U15 board race. Natasha MacGibbon (pictured below) also won a bronze in the U15 ski relay.

I am looking forward to working with the year group once again this year and continuing building on the positive relationships and experiences from last year.

Noho ora mai,

Brett Cox

Year 11 Head of School