Tēnā koutou e te Whānau

Welcome to the last newsletter for 2020! To say that this year has been challenging would be an understatement. Covid-19 has left an indelible imprint on our year. Despite this, I have been proud of how well our staff, students and community have responded to the challenges that confronted us. Throughout this time, our community has demonstrated a high degree of flexibility, adaptability and resilience and this has enabled us to complete another very successful year at Halswell School. 

We had a pleasing turn-out to yesterday's parent helpers afternoon tea. This was the staff and Board of Trustees' opportunity to thank all of the parents who have supported learning programmes this year. The partnership between home and school is a critical one and without the level of support we have received from our parents and caregivers, we simply wouldn't be able to provide the sorts of opportunities we do. 

On Friday, you will be able to access your child(ren)'s end of year report via Hero. You will notice a number of changes to the report format. These changes have been made as a result of the feedback that was received in last year's Assessment and Reporting online survey. Some of the key differences you will notice is that all Years 1-8 children will now receive comments for the key areas of reading, writing and maths. We have also simplified the criteria we use to measure the current achievement level of students in these areas to make it easier for parents and children to understand. As previously informed via the school newsletter, this will mean that the achievement graphs for reading, writing and maths will not display achievement levels from previous years due to an unavoidable change in the scale but this will begin to repopulate from this point forward. 

I hope you can take the opportunity to sit with your child(ren) on Friday afternoon and celebrate the progress they have made this year. 

On Monday afternoon. 2021 T group placements for all students will be published on Hero. The children will have the opportunity to spend some time with their next year's teacher and classmates on Monday morning. 

Next week we will also be formally farewelling our Year 8 students at our Prize Giving ceremony at 1.30pm on Tuesday 15 December. I would like to wish the Year 8s and their families all the very best as they depart our school. As one chapter closes, another one opens and I know that a tremendous amount of new opportunities will open up for them at secondary school. They have been a fantastic year group and I hope they will be back to visit their old primary school in the years to come. 

I would also like to acknowledge the contributions of departing teachers Stephen Tait and Megan Newton. Both Stephen and Megan will be moving to new schools in 2021. We thank them for their efforts and wish them all the very best for the future. 

Have a wonderful festive break. We look forward to seeing you when school resumes on Wednesday 3 February. 

Merry Christmas!

Stuart Cameron 

Principal