It has been an emotional week for many of us at JPII as we farewelled our Year 13 students and sent our Year 11 and 12 students off on exam leave.

Our Year 13 students went on our inaugural overnight retreat at Punakaiki for an opportunity to connect and reflect on their journey through their years at JPII. My thanks to our parents for their special contribution to the retreat, and for Celia Costelloe and Abina Pope for their support of our Year 13 students. They are such a cohesive and lovely year group, so it was special to see them supporting each other at retreat and last night’s annual leavers’ dinner. We wish each of you every success for your chosen futures and know that you head out into the world with a grounding in our quality Catholic values.

To all our Year 11 and 12 students, we wish you all the best for your exams. You have worked hard through another challenging year, and we are proud of each of your and your efforts. We encourage you to use your study leave effectively and come in for tutorials so you can put your best efforts forward in the external exam. Your teachers are still here to help, so don’t be strangers!

Today we farewelled Merv Ellis who has worked at JPII since late 2019 in his capacity as guidance counsellor and social science/RE teacher. Merv moves on promotion to his new role at Lead Counsellor at Tarawera College. Merv is respected by students and staff alike for his relaxed, easy-going manner and interesting travel stories. We wish him safe travels and hope he finds the Bay of Plenty sunrises as beautiful as our West Coast sunsets.

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Alain Davies to the role of guidance counsellor/social worker at JPII. Alain has a wealth of experience in counselling, social work, and restorative justice. She is well-connected within the social works pace in the Greymouth community, and is a welcome addition to our Hauora and Pastoral team. Students can book to see her from Monday 7 November: alain.davies@johnpaul.ac.nz

Ngā mihi nui

Renée Hutchinson
Principal