From the Principal
Kia ora koutou katoa
Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou
Welcome to Term 4, week 5
We have started our end of year celebrations with our MSA (Māwhera Services Academy) March Out, Leavers Assembly and then our Trades Academy awards.
Māwhera Services Academy March Out
I have been very fortunate to be involved in MSA in lots of different ways since I came to Greymouth High School. Last year I was fortunate to go to Whenuapai and meet up with other principals and leaders of service academies from across NZ.
This year I was asked to give the speech on behalf of all the principals of the schools involved in the Services Academies across the South Island at the Service academies induction course.
We had a great March Out watched by a number of our students in the sunshine on our new outdoor courts. Our MSA students made us so proud!
Leavers Assembly and Year 13 last day
I love our Grey High traditions which include our Leavers Assembly. Our senior students clapped in our year 13s who were dressed up beautifully. We watched a video from the year group and then they were clapped out.
On the Friday our year 13s were all dressed up in togas and had their traditional water fight followed by a bbq. It was a fun day!
Trades Academy awards evening (seated at 5.30pm) - 3rd November at the Regent Theatre
The 2023 Trades Academy Awards was an amazing evening celebrating all of the successes of our Grey High students and everyone did so well. I was so proud!
As part of my role as lead principal of the West Coast Trades Academy I gave a speech to a packed Regent Theatre. I ended by talking about the seven essential employability skills with examples from careers.govt.nz which is really important for everyone to practise before they enter the workforce:
Positive attitude
Being calm and cheerful when things go wrong
Communication
You can listen and say information clearly when you speak or write.
Teamwork
You help out when it gets busy
Self-management
You get to where you need to be on time every day.
Willingness to learn
You want to learn new things to improve your skills.
Thinking skills (problem solving and decision making)
You try to solve problems or can see where something won't work.
Resilience
Things don’t go your way but you keep calm, keep working and even laugh about it later.
A reminder: Seniors end of year 2023
A number of our senior students have gained NCEA qualifications at the level they need. These students will be allowed to leave in agreement with their deans.
However, there are a number of students who need to complete internal assessments or need to achieve their externals to gain their qualifications or endorsements and will need to attend specific classes as agreed with their dean.
We are keeping classes running as normal
Monday 6th to Thursday 9th November
Monday 13th to Thursday 16th November
Students need to be in uniform and sign in and out at the student office
Staff Only Day - Monday 20th November 2023
This staff only day is one of the day’s given to us by the Ministry of Education to get ready for the new NCEA programme which is starting in Year 11 next year. School will be closed for the day.
As always, any questions please contact the office.
Samantha Mortimer
Principal Greymouth High School
Tumuaki Kura tuarua o Māwhera