Kia ora, Talofa , Mālō e lelei, Bula, Namaste, Kamusta, Xin chào, Salutations

Wow, it’s week 6 and students are already building up their credits, which is really inspiring and wonderful.

This is a massive year for our year 11 students. It is the first step to their formal qualifications and my goal is to have a pass rate of over 95%. This is a very high expectation but I firmly believe that through good planning, a focused approach, and strong parental support, students will achieve.

Ask your learner on a regular basis to show you how many credits they have gained. It is all on the Kamar portal which you can easily access. Students should be tracking their progress so they know how they are going. It is no good waiting until term 3 and suddenly finding out that you are way off passing. Remember students need a minimum of 80 credits and included in this must be 10 credits in Literacy and 10 in Numeracy. If you are unsure of how NCEA works, here is a link with a short video http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/ncea/understanding-ncea/how-ncea-works/video/

I am super proud of the students who are under my care and I will do my utmost to help them on their learning journey and to be successful. It is so important that they have your support and that means ensuring they attend school, are learning ready and that you believe that they will achieve. Ask them about the learning they are doing and when they have assessments.

Thank you to the parents who are supporting them by ensuring they have a device. It makes it so much easier as students can quickly research for information and record their learning which can’t get lost. I know some students say they don’t want or need a laptop or chromebook, but I can assure you they do. From time to time we get second hand ones donated, so please contact me and I will see what I can do to assist.

Congratulations to:

• Our cricket girls Bella Williamson, Amy Woerman, Jorja Woodgate, Hannah Manson, Jasmine McGrane and Kimberley MacKinnon.
  
• Hawiki Kiri-Te-Amo and Jack Lamont who completed the Blue Light Camp held at Burnham Army Camp. Top effort guys.
  
• Secondary School Touch Team players Mya Newton Whare, Vaione Siaki, Sonny Avia and Lina Fevaleaki.
  
• Jordan Lee Paratene and Montana Jamieson for their awesome speedway driving skills (photo above).
  
• Sakara, who has been busy on her hospitality course at Ara each week.
  

Congratulations also to all the students that did their personal best at Athletics last Friday.

If you have any concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Nga mihi

Whāea Chris McLaren
Year 11 Dean