Nau mai haere mai!

Kia ora koutou katoa,

This week is te wiki o te reo - Maori language week. To acknowledge the importance of our bicultural commitment as set out in Te Tiriti o Waitangi and doing our part to promote Maori language in our kura there has been a focus on authentic use of Te Reo, Maori games and past times and creating our own 'Maori Moment' which was to sing our school song together at 12pm on Tuesday (check out the video link).

It has been great welcoming back the whole school under Alert Level 2 conditions. While the teaching staff did a great job with distance learning there is nothing like having face to face (konohi ki te konohi) teaching for our students.

During the next couple of weeks we will be doing our best to ensure the transition back to school is as seamless as possible. I have included some information below for you to look through to help you support your kids at home.

Tips for parents

On the weekend we had a firewood fundraiser for the school up at Macraes. It was a great turnout on a particularly windy day. This is one of the strengths of this community, people are prepared to pitch in and work hard for one another for the benefit of the kids. The generosity shown by so many who provided log splitters, chainsaws and time, certainly makes me proud to be Eastern. I would like to acknowledge the O'Connell family who have generously provided the wood, a number of tractors, expertise and organisation to make this a reality. The money raised from the selling of the firewood will go directly back into the school to provide opportunities for sports, cultural and academic pursuits. Some photos of the day are attached.

Unfortunately during the lock down we were scheduled to have our Open Day for Year 7 (and some Year 9 students) for 2022. This has been cancelled for this year but we will be running an Open Evening for parents and these students on Wednesday, October the 20th. While this will be a disappointment for those students we hope that the Matariki celebration has given them a taste of what life is like at our Kura.

Over the next couple of weeks our senior students should be putting in the work to prepare for their practice examinations. During 'Activity Time' they will be working with staff to develop study skills to help them be as successful as possible. Please support these students by asking questions, ensuring they are doing work at home to prepare for these examinations. The results from these examinations will form the evidence for derived grades. This is super important, particularly if we are forced into another lock down, and end of year examinations are cancelled.

Some good news has just recently come out for our students sitting NCEA. The Government has decided that students disrupted by 16 days of COVID-19 lockdown this year will be eligible to receive Learning Recognition Credits (LRCs) at a rate of 1 LRC per 5credits achieved through assessment, up to a cap of 8 LRCs at NCEA Level 1, and 6 LRCs at Levels 2 and 3.The thresholds for being awarded endorsements and University Entrance will remain at their normal levels for students who have not been disrupted for 20 school days.