Kia ora koutou katoa

With three weeks of the term over already, staff are focused on supporting student engagement, learning and wellbeing. This week students have been out with many events: digger school, West Coast chess tournament and West Coast netball. In school, the Year 10 drama class presented their dramatic interpretation of how Maui slowed the sun and performed this to an enthusiastic audience from Paroa School, Cobden School, and Kumara School. We thank them all for coming to share this opportunity with us! The Year 10s did a superb job, and their props and costumes were fantastic. Congratulations to Mrs Dellaway and her class for their work! It was great to see the aspiring thespians from the primary schools up on the stage at the end, experiencing a new perspective. Year 9 and 10 students also took part in the Loving for Life workshops, looking at human reproduction within the contexts of healthy relationships. It was informative and useful, and we thank the facilitators for coming from Christchurch to deliver this. Whaea Tina Singer is working hard with the Kapa Haka students to get them prepared for competition in Reefton in week 10. Special mention to the JPII girls’ volleyball team who won the West Coast Senior competition last week. It was a hard-won victory from some intense competition. Thanks to Kevin Mulcahy and Jasmine Dodemaide for taking three teams up and bringing our students home safe (and victorious!).

This week we were delighted to welcome three new students to the JPII whanau who have moved to the Coast from abroad with their families. They are a welcome addition to the Year 10 and Year 12 year groups. It’s been great getting to know them and their families. We are happy to welcome a new Year 9 enrolment on Monday as well. Enrolments are open for 2024 online via our website. We have a number of enrolment enquiries coming through daily, and if you know anyone looking for a new secondary school opportunity now, let them know that JPII is a great option and we are here to help.

From Monday, cellphones, headphones/earbuds, and smart watches will be banned during lesson times. You will have received an email with the information earlier this week. We have received so much positive feedback about this initiative, so thank you to those who have been in touch to share this with us. You’ll find further details in this newsletter. If students are bringing devices to school, they should be labelled so no one inadvertently collects the wrong device as they can all look the same in the box, particularly those white ear bud boxes.

The student leadership survey is open for another week, and we are delighted by the response so far. If you would like to, please take a few minutes to respond. There are several spaces within the survey to share your thoughts and ideas about any aspect of student leadership which will inform any decision making. You’ll find the link later in this newsletter.

School ball tickets go on sale from Monday 7th. This year, the Wild West Coast is the chosen theme, and we are looking forward to celebrating this night with our students. It is truly a highlight of the year! Parents are welcome to come for photos with their glammed-up teens between 7-8:15pm if they wish. Stuart Nimmo will be on hand to record the evening.

Wishing you all a safe and restful weekend.

Yours in Christ

Renée Hutchinson

Principal