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Last week for our senior students

We are asking every student to be signed off by their Dean before they leave school. We want to ensure that all of our students get their highest NCEA qualifications possible this year and our teachers are there to support them to do this.

There will be teachers available to work with our students after their “leaving date” to complete NCEA assessments and study for externals. Please contact the dean or the specific classroom teacher if you want more information about this.

Senior Key Dates

• Thursday 3 November: Last day Years 11 and 12.

• Friday 4 November: Last day Year 13.

• Friday 4 November: Trades Academy Prizegiving @ Shantytown.

• Tuesday 6 December: Senior Prizegiving

Bird of the Year

Although we didn’t win Bird of the Year with the kōtuku sponsored by GHS Year 9s, the students did an amazing job to get involved! Hopefully we’ll try again next year!

Junior Disco

My absolute thanks goes out to our senior students who organised our Junior disco on Thursday 27th October. It was a fantastic night! They looked like they had so much fun and just a great time! I would also like to thank Sydney Gay and Jana Roos our Student leadership and peer support co-ordinators who have guided our senior leaders this year and have done an amazing job! (see photos below).

An email from one of our parents summed up the night and we really appreciate this positive feedback!

I would like to extend my thanks to all the staff and students who made the semi formal such a welcoming, fun and inclusive event last night.

Many juniors I know didn't go because they were unsure - Initially, my child was not wanting to go for the same reason. They pushed through their fears with the help of their friends and encouragement from staff. They and their friends had the night of their lives!

Well done everyone! A huge social, confidence building success!

Young Enterprise West Coast Regional Final Pitch

On Monday I was fortunate enough to add the Young Enterprise Regional Pitches held at Monteith’s. There will be more information in the newsletter to come but I had a fantastic time and was very impressed with all of the pitches; especially the ones from Grey High!

West Coast Trades Academy Prizegiving - 4th November

On Friday I will be attending the West Coast Trades Academy Prizegiving at Shantytown. I am very proud of our school for being involved in, as well as leading, the West Coast Trades academy. Being part of trades is an amazing positive experience for many of our students and there are such a lot of fantastic opportunities out there for them to experience. Our thanks goes to Kiri Russell for her role in supporting the GHS students who take Trades as an option.

Also, a massive thank you goes out to Tania Washer and her team for all of their hard work throughout the year and also the celebratory prizegiving. It is really important for us to recognise all of our students’ achievements and this is a great way to do so.

Year 8 Enrolments

Our year 8 enrolment evenings start on Monday 7th and continue on Tuesday 8th and Wednesday 9th November. Thank you to Rowan Haigh and his team for organising this very important time so we can get to know our new students and you get to know us a little better.

Personal time out for myself

On the 24th November, fingers crossed, I am having an operation on my hip. I am very much looking forward to, hopefully, getting back to my previous levels of activity! It is actually perfect timing as I will have the holidays to fully recover. I am hoping to still come to a couple of events but that will depend on my recovery. Jayne Wheeler will be acting up for the 3 weeks at the end of term and I really appreciate not only her but also Rowan Haigh and Ian Johnson’s extra work they will be doing for myself and our school. The school will be in good hands.

Accord Days - School will be closed for instruction

We have our final two Accord days in November:

• Tuesday 29th - we are based at school

• Wednesday 30th - we will all be at the Arahura Marae

If you have any comments please feel free to email the office at office@greyhigh.school.nz

“Whāea te iti kahurangi - strive for success”

Ngā mihi nui

Samantha Mortimer

Principal