Kia ora koutou,

Last week a large number of the community were privileged enough to be in the audience of the school production  "Beauty and the Beast Jr". I would like to acknowledge the huge amount of work that the staff and students put into this amazing event. In particular the work of Brent Ford (Director), Kelvin Cummings (Musical Director), Lauren Keen (Choreographer), and Dyanne Ford (Production Manager) was immense in ensuring this was a first class production.  The talent of the students on stage was something we can be extremely proud of as a school, parents and wider community. 

The newly formed PTA had their first opportunity to do some fundraising at the production which was a great success. The next opportunities to raise funds for the school will come in the form of American Hot Dogs, every second Friday (starting the 13th of September). These will be sold for $3 and can be ordered from the school office. The PTA will also be running a booth at the East Otago Field days on the 4th and 5th of October. If you would like to be involved with the PTA  you are most welcome, any time or expertise is most appreciated.

On Thursday the 5th of September our two Head Students, Lauren Keen and Hannah Paton will be receiving their Class Act certificates from the Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern. These two students have certainly earnt this acknowledgement and will be great products of Otago High School, going on to achieve great things as they transition into tertiary study.

On Monday the 2nd of September a group of young students made their debut on 'Happy Days Radio' promoting the school and highlighting upcoming events. They prepared well for this experience, doing some research, and confidently presenting their show. This will be a monthly show at 11.10am on Mondays which you can tune into at 99.3FM or directly through their website, https://happydaysfm.weebly.com/

On September the 19th we are fortunate to have Mike King come into the school and give a talk about mental health. This promises to be an entertaining and informative presentation and one that is open to the wider community.  The start time is 9.30am and will go for an hour and a half. Please come along!

In the last week of term our senior students will be undertaking their practice examinations from Monday the 23rd to Wednesday the 25th of September . This is a great opportunity to get some experience in examination conditions and find out the gaps in their knowledge. We will also be having an NCEA evening for students and caregivers of Year 10-12 students on Thursday the 26th of September at 6pm in the Year 7/8 block. This is an opportunity to ask questions about NCEA and the options the students can choose from in 2020.

Nga mihi nui.

Marcus Cooper