Whāia te taumata, pursue the highest peaks, Mā te manaaki, by respect and kindness, Kia māia, by courage, Kia rawe, by being our best, Ka toa tātou, we will succeed.

Kia ora koutou e te whānau

These are lines from our school karakia and waiata and they guide students in how we do things at Cromwell College. Our waiata along with our Kōpūwai Haka were performed by each School House in our kapa haka competition in Week 1. Each House stood with mana, commitment and unity to deliver passionate performances. Congratulations to winners Mata-au who brought the ‘ihi’ (power, awe) to their mahi.  Ka nui te mihi rangatahi mā, well done to leaders and students for the effort and respect.

One of our goals this year is to strengthen the subject selection process for students in NCEA so that they make more informed choices. There was a parent and student evening held in Week 1 with Deputy Principal Sarah Hill providing an overview of NCEA and the selection process and then our Head’s of Faculties sharing details about their curriculum areas. All the details for subjects are available on a website and students are to make their selections by Tuesday 20 August. 

He rawe and congratulations to our Jazz Band 45 South on their Gold Award at the Dunedin Schools Jazz Fest. The band also received a number of individual awards for their stagecraft, skills and performance. The Jazz Band performed at Light Up Cromwell on Saturday evening along with the band Mistep and Mischa Tomlinson. Their musicianship and energy was enjoyed by a very appreciative crowd.

Over the past few weeks we have had around 25 Year 7 and 8 boys training for the Central Otago Junior Rugby League Tournament with support from parents and staff from Otago Rugby League. Congratulations to the Cromwell Raiders for winning a close and entertaining final against Arrowtown on Friday last week.  

We have welcomed Jim Gilbert as our new permanent science teacher and welcomed back Melanie Mills who is relieving for Amy Dickey this term. We are very grateful to Danny Winstanley for covering fixed term science positions over the past two terms. We have appointed Mark Wilson as our new Director of Sport. Mark is currently working at Waitaki Boys High School teaching alternative education and directing rugby and cricket. Mark starts with us later in August. We will be farewelling Deputy Principal Sarah Hill at the end of this term and wish her all the best as she heads to a Deputy Principal position at Wakatipu High School. 

We have the Life Education Trust here this week running their valuable health and wellbeing programme with Year 7 and 8 classes. Over half of our year 7s were up at Cardrona enjoying a stunning day skiing on Tuesday. Year 8 and then Year 9 and 10 students have their ski days coming up over the next two weeks. 

Cupcakes have taken on a special meaning in our school this term. Our Prefects have developed an award scheme to acknowledge students who are doing the right thing, showing manaaki, courage and being their best during our break times.  Staff issue a cupcake token when they observe positive, supportive behaviour at break times. These students log this at our Library, an email goes home and they go into a draw at assembly for prizes. They also get awarded a cupcake to eat during the week. Ngā mihi and well done to our Prefects for proactively supporting our positive school culture. 

I wish our senior students well over this term as they focus on achieving their goals in NCEA. We have senior practice exams and assessments scheduled from Week 5 this term. A number will be involved in Winter Sports Tournament in Week 7 so it is important that students are organised, conscientious, making full use of the tutorial opportunities and communicating well with their teachers. Kia kaha, kia manawanui - commit and persevere rangatahi mā.