Kia ora katou katoa, Bula Vinaka, Malolelei, Namaste and Kumusta

Let me start by introducing myself to those of who may not know me. My name is Ema Motu and I’m honoured to be the Junior Dean of this amazing school.

My role is to lead the school's efforts to create a positive, structured, disciplined school culture specifically for the Years 9 and 10’s. 

I am originally from Fiji and moved over to the beautiful West Coast of New Zealand with my family three years ago and we reside in Greymouth.  I have had 13 years teaching experience in Fiji, Nauru and now in New Zealand.  I specialise in teaching Science/Chemistry and Mathematics and i am privileged to be teaching Food Technology and Te Reo Maori this year .

I want to sincerely acknowledge the challenges we all, especially our Year 9’s and other new students have faced over the past few weeks as we have transitioned into JPII. It has been challenging and I want to thank all of you for facing these transitions head on. These are not easy days, but you have all demonstrated resilience and patience. The sacrifices and effort that all members of our school community are making to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 by wearing masks whilst in school, are crucial to alleviate this health crisis and help keep our entire community safe..

The Year 9 and 10 learning programme provides our students with an engaging and nurturing environment in which to learn, develop and be challenged across a range of academic, cultural, sporting, and social contexts.

Each Year 9 and 10 student has a homeroom and a whanau teacher.  Teachers of English, Mathematics, Religious Education and Social Studies move to the students to teach in the various homerooms. Students move to the various rooms for their specialist subjects of Science, Physical Education (PE), Technology, Visual Arts and Languages. 

Message to Year 9 Students

There is a time for everything! A time for holidays! And a time to be at school! And a time to be Year 9! What excitement can we look forward to this year? Goals! Dreams! Plans! This is your moment!

We at JPII are excited to be part of the journey with you this year. What we have is time and opportunity and we encourage you all to discover what love you have for learning, for education! Have you imagined your better self in the next five years? Appreciate your future self.

This year gives us hope and we are here to support your learning. Let’s do this together and learn from each other. Things will be hard because nothing is easy in this world. Let us make our classroom our place to learn, to make mistakes and to grow each other. Let us make this year like no other!

To our JPII whanau and friends, thank you for all that you’re doing during this period of uncertainty. We are aware that these times have added to the complexity of our work, and we do appreciate your patience and creativity. Note that we are here for you and do not hesitate to reach out.

I wish you all a blessed weekend and look forward to seeing you back next week.

Ngā mihi nui

Ema Motu

Junior Dean