An exciting sporting year awaits our students in 2018

After such a fantastic 2017, we are incredibly excited to get our year of sport underway at Heaton. I would like to take this opportunity to welcome back all of our returning students and their families, and to express my excitement about working with our new Year 7 and 8 students.

We aim to provide our school community with clear, and easily accessible ways to navigate the sport opportunities at our school. Our three major ways of communicating with our students about sport, are through their school gmail account, the daily notices and our Heaton SportsBlog (accessible through the school website or by using the following link: https://heatonsport.wordpress.com/

We are very committed at Heaton to developing your child's independence, and fostering their ability to manage themselves. To help us achieve these goals, it is essential that you encourage your son/daughter to take responsibility for their own organisation and planning, when it comes to sport and extra curricular activities. This includes things such as students packing their own kit, checking the daily notices for meeting and trial times, signing up for events, and letting teachers know when they are unable to make a training session.

I have been so impressed already this year to receive personal emails from students who want to clarify a sport question or make an inquiry, rather than students asking their caregivers to do so on their behalf. I have also had students taking the initiative to visit me in the PE office to discuss what they can get involved in, which has been absolutely fantastic to see! My door is always open to our students, so your encouragement to get them to be proactive and take responsibility for asking questions and reach out is greatly appreciated.

There are a number of exciting sporting opportunities available to our students in term one, and I have outlined these on our 'Frequently Asked Questions' page: https://heatonsport.wordpress.com/new-to-heaton/. Our sporting opportunities are not only scheduled during our school day, they often extend to before school sessions and weekend fixtures. Community support and involvement in our sports programme has always been encouraged at our school, and has been an integral part of our success over the years. Having additional parent coaches, managers or helpers has a huge effect on what we can offer, and how many students can get involved in various tournaments and competitions. If you or a family member has a passion, level of expertise in a particular sporting area, or wants to try something new, I would be delighted to hear from you. Please email any expressions of help to Tim Evers (everst@heaton.school.nz)

Thanks so much for your continued support.