Kia ora ki te whanau o te Cathedral Grammar School

I hope you all had a wonderful long weekend and were able to enjoy the lovely weather, and the great result from the Black Caps. It is hard to believe that we are at the end of Term I. I think it is true what they say about time going faster as you get older! 

Along with our pupils settling into their new classrooms and building a relationship with their new teacher(s), there have been many academic, musical, sporting and cultural events and activities spread across this term. Congratulations to all those pupils who have applied themselves to their full potential, tried something new, made mistakes, and persevered, supported and praised others, suspended judgement and allowed something to evolve, and who have been grateful for the opportunities they have. Yes, results on the board are important, but so too is effort and attitude. 

Tomorrow at 2:50pm we are holding a special service for Mrs Julie Lee and Mr Des Matai who we are farewelling at the end of this week. Julie (10 years) and Des (20 years) have contributed significantly to our school and have given their heart and soul to our pupils, your children, and our community. We wish them all the very best. We welcome you to attend this service. 

Rev. Felicity also finishes her short term role as Chaplain this Friday. Rev. Felicity has been amazing and brought great enthusiasm to the role and we have thoroughly enjoyed having her and her husband, Rev. Aubrey, as a part of our team for this term. We very much appreciate all that she has given to our school while we continue the search for our new permanent Chaplain. We are conducting interviews over the holidays and will communicate the outcome of this as soon as we can. Thank you Rev. Felicity and Rev. Aubrey - we wish you well.

Mrs Sarah Lowe, our Music Director, returns in a fulltime capacity from the start of next term. As you know, Miss Jill Kerr has been here this term in a part time role working together with Sarah and we wish to sincerely thank her for her time, energy, skill and expertise in ensuring our programme continued to function to the high standard that we expect. Thank you Jill, we very much appreciate it and look forward to seeing you at the Cathedral.

My Executive Assistant, Mrs Tasha Brobyn, has been head-hunted by an ex-colleague for her dream job as head of Human Resources for an insurance company. This role comes with a great package that she cannot, and should not, turn down. We have enjoyed working together, and were just getting to know each other well, but great opportunities need to be taken. We wish Tasha all the very best for what is an exciting role for her. You may have seen that we have advertised the E.A. role on Seek and will be interviewing over the holidays. We will communicate the outcome with you as soon as we can. 

Hopefully you have seen our Y3-4 pupils in The Press and on Stuff over the weekend. They have been involved in a project with Crown rebuild company Otakaro as a part of the Victoria Square revamp. The pupils have collected items for a time capsule that is going to be buried tomorrow (Thursday 5 April) in one of the raised gardens, and opened in 63 years time. This corresponds with when our school will celebrate its 200th birthday! Our Y2-4 pupils will be at the ceremony in Victoria Square at 9:30am tomorrow - please come along if you are in the area.

Many thanks Mrs Ladley and Mrs Erasmus for leading this work for our pupils, school and city. Here is the link if you missed it:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/christchurch-life/102615519/Future-Outlook-Students-pack-time-capsule-for-Christchurchs-Victoria-Square?cid=app-iPhone

As you know, we, together with Warren and Mahoney, are in the planning stages of the next phase of our building development programme. There were two options being considered for which group of pupils would occupy this building. One was a Y4-8 Boys' School and the second was a Y7-8 School which would have both boys and girls within the same building, but still educated separately. I confirmed with the Board last week that this building will be for a Y4-8 Boys' School. 

While the community feedback was varied and reasonably balanced in support for both options, and there was definite support for a Y7/8 School, the leadership team feel that this is the best decision for now. We will continue to focus on our strategic goals as they relate to enhancing our school culture, developing a high quality curriculum and sharing and celebrating our stories and successes. As we progress with our goals, continue to build and grow understanding about our strategy it may be that we revisit this. Smart design will mean that a Y7-8 School will remain an opportunity for us in the future.

During Term II we look forward to updating you on aspects of the key pieces of work we are currently undertaking related to our 2020 strategy. As a reminder, our May 2018 goals are:

1. All staff and parents understand and align with the change journey.

2. To have a preferred future focused curriculum model, a common framework and teaching methodology in outline to support it.

3. Facility upgrade programme and business case has been approved by the Board and the first project initiated.

4. To have implemented and reviewed a marketing strategy and plan.

The opportunity to educate other people's children is a rare privilege, bringing with it a huge responsibility to provide the best all-round education possible as we aim to prepare young people for happiness and success in their adult lives. I appreciate that we have a number of key pieces of work on the table currently, and I thank you for your ongoing support as we work through these. As I have previously said, I can assure you that we are doing what we can to maintain momentum whilst allowing time for things to be addressed effectively. A fine balance, but one we are committed to.

Nga mihi

Scott