Kia hora te marino, Kia whakapapa pounamu te moana, Kia tere te kārohirohi i mua i tō huarahi.May the calm be widespread, May the ocean glisten like greenstone, May the shimmer of light ever dance across your pathway.

Kia orana, Noa’ia, Talofa lava, Mauri, Mālō e lelei, Tālofa, Ni Sa Bula Vinaka, Fakaalofa lahi atu, Mālō ni and warm Pacific greetings. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tatou katoa. Nau mai, Haere Mai! 

As we come to the close of yet another amazing school year I want to take this opportunity to thank you all for your support and awhi of our Haeata ākonga and kaimahi. While the year has thrown up many wero we have weathered the storms and created calm from the chaos. We look forward to the 2025 school year and the positive challenges that lie ahead of us.

I would like to acknowledge our Head Boy - Daniel Wodward, Head Girl Savannah Williamson-Kara, Deputy Head Boy - Elijah Edwards, and Deputy Head Girl - Charlotte Burrell and thank them for their kaitiaki service in 2024. They have cared for and nurtured ākonga across the kura and made a significant contribution to the growth of ākonag leadership as a result. Our congratulations go to Casey Foi - Head Boy 2025 and Kaia Clements - Head Girl for 2025. We wish them well as they lead our student leadership team and the kura in 2025. 

Our ākonga continue to meet with success as we navigate the complexities of the changes the government has introduced with curriculum, ka ora, ka kura lunches and ākonga attendance. My thanks to our kaimahi who have worked hard to ensure that our ākonga have enjoyed every opportunity and every challenge available to them this year.   

I am proud to say our academic results continue to improve and our ākonga continue to win scholarships, awards and places at prestigious tertiary institutions across the motu. Congratulations to this year’s recipient of the Dux Award, Charlotte Burrell. Charlotte won numerous accolades and awards this year including the University of Canterbury te Kakau a Māui Scholarship. 

As we farewelled our Year 13 cohort this year at senior Prize-giving and celebrated their successes, we all felt a real sense of sadness. Saying those final farewells to them was often hard, as they have become like whānau to us. We wish them all all the best for their next big adventure. We know that they have everything they need to make their way successfully in the world.  

Finally, the best thing about being an Area school is we get to meet our ākonga at the age of five.  We get to watch them grow and mature as they engage in an education that will set them apart and offer them real life choices and chances. Our focus next year will be on attendance. It is important that whānau help and support every ākonga to walk up that path every day, to engage in their learning and make school the main thing they focus on.  Education is the key to success, it opens doors to the future and it provides opportunities for a good life.

I wish you the very best for a festive season and a happy and prosperous New Year.

Ko Haeata Tātou!

Kia kaha, kia toa, kia manawanui

He tangata ki tahi.

Dr Peggy Burrows 

Manukura