Tēnā koutou e te Whānau

I trust you had an enjoyable long weekend. It is hard to believe that we have exactly one month remaining in the school year. As you can imagine, a lot is going on at school at the moment as we prepare for the end of the year. This includes teachers completing end-of-year assessments and reports. These will be shared with whānau via Hero on Friday, 9 December. 

We are also in the process of finalising the school structure for 2023. This will be shared with you in the next newsletter. The children will have the opportunity to meet their new teacher(s) and classmates during the last week of the term. 

Looking ahead to the next few weeks, we are excited to share our Art Exhibition with families on Thursday, 8 December (2-4pm). This is the culmination of the learning that has taken place this term as part of our focus on the visual arts. I'm sure you will be impressed with the quality of the artwork the children have created. 

The performing arts have also been a focus for us this term. It was a real privilege to be in the audience for the Christchurch Music Festival at the Town hall on 3 November. Our students contributed to a stunning performance alongside schools from across Canterbury. In addition to our Years 5-8 choir, we had three students who were selected in the special representative groups; Duncan M in the Concert Band (trumpet), and Theo D (trumpet) and Lucy P (flute) in the Orchestra. They performed throughout the week at the Town hall.

To gain selection for the special groups, Duncan, Lucy and Theo auditioned along with 552 Years 5-8 students from Canterbury Schools. Preparing for the concerts was a huge commitment which required them to attend rehearsals on the weekends and over the holidays. Great effort. Congratulations to everyone involved!

We will be showcasing many of our talented musicians as part of a dedicated music assembly at 9.15am on Friday, 9 December. 

Finally, I would like to extend a warm welcome to whānau to join us at our full school assembly this Friday (9.15am, 18 November) in the Stadium. This will feature learning items from our Years 5-8 students. 

Ngā mihi nui

Stuart Cameron

Principal