It is wonderful to be finishing off this term with so many successes and celebrations.

The North West School Choir Concert was a real treat for the audience who attended on Wednesday last week. Our senior choir was fantastic and the mass choir was outstanding. Special thanks to Natasha Littler and Alex Heaslip for all their support of the choir.

The student-led conferences for the senior school last week and the celebration of learning for the remainder of the school this afternoon have been very well supported and we appreciate the engagement of parents and whānau. There has been a lot of valuable learning this term and it is always special to share this with our school community.

We have shared a booklet about the shifts happening in education and the refreshed NZ Curriculum called Te Mātaiaho. We have tried to catch the key generic changes that are happening across all curriculum areas for you all to understand so that you are on the journey with us. Next term, I will send out a survey with some options for further consultation and engagement to see what will suit the community. This is a long journey with the full refresh of the curriculum to be in place by 2027. So a lot for us to adjust to as each of the curriculum documents is released. The Aotearoa NZ Histories have been embedded this year and over the next few years, other subjects will also be embedded.

Throughout this week there have been a range of class and lunchtime activities for Matariki. Learning more about the special significance and also lots of activities for remembrance, celebrating what we have and also looking towards the future. There was also a special breakfast for the whānau group.

Yesterday, we had a large group of senior children attend the University as part of the ‘Children’s University initiative. This is our second year in this programme and we can see the benefits for those who are really motivated to drive their own learning with the wide range of activities that they can engage in.

Rebuild update: 

We are so delighted to share that we have a new timeframe for the rebuild. We will start to see some action as term 3 begins. The junior school should be complete by the end of term 1 2024 and the board hope that we can complete the junior playground at the same time. The hall will be completed by the end of term 2 and the middle school by the end of February 2025. Hopefully, this will also include the removal of the last block - rooms 15 to 17. We will then develop that space with improvements to the senior playground as well. All the playground developments are board funded so all of the community support with this is really appreciated.

We have had a lot of illness across the school this term and so I am really hopeful that the holidays will be a circuit breaker and that we return for term 3 in good health and full of energy for another eventful term.

Have a fabulous time with your children over the next 2 weeks and we will welcome you all back on Monday 17 July.

Ngā mihi o Matariki, te tau hou Māori - Happy Matariki.

Ngā mihi nui Raewyn