Nau mai haere mai!

What a busy and action packed Term 3 we have experienced here at East Otago High School. Life at school can be challenging at times but this term has sure been one for the ages. During the first half of the term we had a constant visitor forming a dark cloud over the school and making it challenging for staff, students and whanau - Covid! A number of staff members, or their family members, came into contact with this unwelcome visitor. This caused a great deal of interruption to learning programmes with a lot of absences of teachers having to be covered by relief teachers. With our geographical isolation it is very tough getting a consistent supply of relief teachers so a great deal of this work was covered by other teachers using their non-contact classes supervising these gaps. A huge thank you must go to our amazing, collegial staff that rolled up their sleeves and filled the breach enabling us to keep our school open for all students.

A highlight for this term, and indeed the year, has been the return of the "Extravaganza". A lot of work had gone in to making this event the huge success that it was. Students and staff worked every week for over 16 weeks to produce a performance that was greatly appreciated by our local community. I have to admit that I was sceptical about the relevance and importance of this event for all involved. There was a lot of anxiety, stress and worry from students and staff, and I feared that we were taking our eye off the important business of educating our students. I am glad to report that I was wrong and this was a great event which allowed our students to showcase their talent, all the while developing skill sets that can not be taught in a normal subject class. The leadership skills developed by our House Captains and other Senior and Junior students will serve them well in future. Students overcoming their fear of performing in front of their peers and community. Perseverance and resilience were certainly to the fore to ensure that the end product was something to be proud of. Again a huge thank you must go to our amazing student leaders, staff and in particular, Kelvin Cummings for putting on such a great event.   

On the sporting front we have had a number of opportunities for our students to shine. Tournament Week saw our Hockey and Netball teams participate in competitions in Gore and Timaru. Our depth of talent was tested in the Hockey but thanks to the connection we have with a few of our ex-students we were able to make up the numbers required. Both teams learnt a lot about themselves and the requirements of competing across multiple days in a a tournament setting. This will pay dividends in the years to come for our students. A highlight this Term for sports was our Koru Games championship winning team. We sent two teams up to Christchurch to participate in the South Island, Intermediate School, competition. These teams had put in a significant amount of work at school and in an overnight camp. Both of our teams played exceptionally well over the three days making the semifinals of the mixed competition. The Year 7 team kept their composure in the final two games to win the gold. While this was an awesome result the most pleasing aspect for me was the camaraderie the students had between the teams. The way they supported one another, particularly when the Year 8 students lost their last two games was moving. The feedback we got from other schools was also a highlight with them universally commenting on the positive and inclusive culture of the teams, their humble and gracious approach in victory and defeat. A huge thank you must go to Johnny Herewini whose passion for touch is infectious and the culture he creates is so positive. Supporting Johnny in the background were Jodie Kemp (Year 8 Manager), Kate O'Connell (Year 7 Manager) and Felina Kee (Camp Chef) - Thank you!

These are just a few of the highlights from an action packed term. Term 4 promises to be a little less packed in regards to events with the first three weeks getting the Senior students ready for NCEA examinations. Have a great break and see you back in a couple of weeks!

Nga mihi nui 

Marcus Cooper

Tumuaki

East Otago High School