Tēnā koutou katoa. Tēnei te mihi atu ki a koutou

We have had a fantastic start to the new term with learning programmes well underway in all studios. Last Friday, we welcomed a large number of new students and families to the school with a mihi whakatau. Several of these students are short-term internationals and will be with us for the next couple of weeks.  They have certainly added to the cultural riches we are fortunate to have at Halswell School. 

Thank you to all of the parents who attended last week's Learning Conferences.  As this was my first time seeing the mid-year conference format in action, I was particularly impressed with how well our students were able to articulate their learning to parents during the evening. 

A reminder that updated assessment information is also available for parents to view via your Linc-ed accounts. If you are unsure about how to do this, or would like to find out more about specific aspects of your child's progress and achievement, you are welcome to make a time to discuss this with your child's T group teacher. 

Please note that later on in the term, we will be conducting a comprehensive review of our current assessment and reporting practices. This will give parents, staff and students the opportunity to provide some feedback on what we do well and what we can improve on in this important area. Watch this space for more information in the coming weeks.

If you have been at school this week you will have noticed some new signs on the entrances requesting that dogs are kept on leads at all times. This is for the children's safety and will hopefully stop some of the issues we have experienced with dog excrement around the school. Thank you for respecting this request.

Finally, I'm delighted to be able to invite you along to a special music assembly this Friday from 9.15am in the Stadium. The assembly will showcase the talents of our budding Halswell School musicians.

I look forward to seeing you there. 

Ngā mihi nui

Stuart Cameron

Principal