Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou katoa

It’s hard to believe we’re already at the end of Week 9 and the pace is certainly not slowing down. Last Saturday evening boarding parents met for drinks and nibbles at Vault 21, which was a chance for them to get to know each other in a social setting, and also to meet our incoming Principal, Charissa Nicol. Monday evening provided another opportunity for parents to gather, this time in Constance Hall to hear about the changes to NCEA Level 1 and discuss 2024 subject choices for Years 11 - 13.

Te Wiki o te Reo Maori has been celebrated throughout the week and I commend Elloise on the enthusiasm and initiative she has shown as Tikaka Prefect, organising activities for all levels of the school, starting on Monday with greeting students as they arrived and the very polished assembly that is reported elsewhere in this newsletter. Thanks also go to Matua Price for the wonderful work he is doing training our Kapa Haka group. They are going from strength to strength and it’s lovely to see all the members looking so happy as they perform. We are thrilled that Matua will be available for four days from next year, which means we can add te Reo to the Year 10 and Junior School programmes, and he’s also keen to start a Kapa Haka Group in the Junior school.

As I walked around the grounds earlier in the week it was lovely to see a group of Year 13 students flying kites with Melody (Year 8), joined by an enthusiastic bunch of her classmates.

Congratulations to our Junior and Senior Debating Teams, who were placed second and first respectively in the Regional Secondary School Debating Championships, with a number of the members singled out in the Best Speaker lists and Clara, Year 12, named Most Promising Speaker.

A highlight of the week was the Class Act Presentations by Prime Minister Chris Hipkins in the Dunedin Public Art Gallery. This is a wonderful celebration that the ODT has organised every year since 2000, celebrating the outstanding achievements of two Year 13 students chosen by their school. Given the many successes that our students enjoy, it is difficult to single out the two most deserving of this award. For the first time both our nominees, Briar and Zoe, are boarding students, and the boarders all enjoyed sharing the celebration by holding a special dinner for them and their parents, as well as Millar, twin brother of Zoe, who was one of the John McGlashan recipients. Another interesting feature of this award is the follow-up edition the ODT publishes ten years later, recording what each of those earlier recipients has achieved in the meantime. We look forward to reading about Zoe, Briar and Millar in 2033!

The week finished with the Junior School celebrating its annual Spring Service on a blustery cold day. Such a pity that the Spring weather we enjoyed earlier in the week didn’t last until today, but the enthusiasm of the students and their beautiful singing and readings more than made up for the wind blowing furiously outside.

There is a busy weekend ahead, with the Readathon in the Caroline Freeman Theatre, the Kapa Haka Group performing at the Chinese Seniors Mid-Autumn Festival at Trinity College, the Senior A Netball Team offering a coaching programme to raise funds for their participation in the National Finals in Auckland and the Colour Run organised by the Parents’ Association, weather permitting. By the end of next week we will all be well and truly ready for the Spring holidays!