Kia ora koutou e te whānau

Having the new block handed over after just over a year is exciting for our kura. Staff will start the significant task of transitioning out of their C block rooms on Friday next week. There is some IT and classroom set up to be completed and we hope to be teaching in the new spaces after the Otago Anniversary holiday.  We will plan for an official opening in Term 2 and look forward to inviting whānau in to see the new block. 

Our goal for NCEA achievement is for results to be at or above our Equity Band - schools similar to us. We achieved this in Year 11 and 12 and were within 2% of achieving this in Year 13. Our Year 11 students achieved highly given changes to NCEA Level 1 in 2024 that saw results across the country drop significantly. Our students have performed well in the Common Assessment Activities (CAAs) for their reading, writing and numeracy and this supported the 2024 achievement. Year 12 results were similar to our Equity Band which is a positive result. Our goal for 2025 is to be at least 5% above the Equity Band.  Ensuring a pathway for literacy and numeracy for our students will improve this result. University Entrance was 10% below our Equity Band and the Year 11 Numeracy and Literacy Results were both above our Equity Band - Numeracy was 9% above and Literacy 2% above.

The aim in 2025 is for all results to be above our Equity Band with a focus on Year 12 being at least 5% above. We will achieve this through closer monitoring of progress, targeted support, better communication with families and working with students and whānau to support achievement. 

The weather for the Year 7 EOTC week based at our Watersport Centre was very kind and students had a wonderful time biking, walking, paddle boarding, sailing, kayaking and also walking the Lake Hayes Track before heading to the Queenstown Pool. A sincere thank you to our dedicated staff team and ngā mihi to the many parents who supported the week. 

At the start of this year I shared the slide show of Student Expectations we have in our kura. Thank you for the support with uniform and attendance. A number of students have dispensations for pendants and necklaces for cultural, religious or family reasons. A dispensation is gained by parents emailing me through school with the reason for the wearing of the pendant or necklace. The expectation is students do not wear rings or bracelets. Staff will collect jewellery and this can be picked up from the office at the end of the school day. 

A reminder of our Staff Only Day on Friday next week, 21 March. The school will be closed on this day. The following Monday is the Otago Anniversary Holiday. 

Effective communication with our school community is a strategic goal and providing opportunities for engagement with staff around learning is a key element of this. So far this term there have been seven such events including our Meet the Teacher evening and NCEA information sessions. In the coming weeks we have goal setting conferences with families for Year 10 to 13 students and we are planning a Māori and Pasifika Whānau Fono/Hui before the end of Term.  

I ask that all whānau scroll down carefully through the Weekly Summaries that are emailed each week. These provide feedback on attendance, effort grades across subjects, notification of upcoming assessments and any achievement results.  Please communicate with your child’s classroom teacher if you have questions about learning and contact the Whānau Teacher with pastoral concerns or questions. 

Mason Stretch

Tumuaki