Newsletter 2 July

He mihi mahana ki a koutou katoa, warm greetings to you all.

The last few weeks here at Kamo High School have been full of a range of amazing events showcasing the talented young people in our school, especially in the Performing Arts and cultural sides of things.

On the 23rd of June the Smokefree Rockquest was held at Forum North. Cicada, comprising of Patrick Biss (Yr 13), Zaria Collier (Yr 13), and Jesse Inger (Yr 12) and Ewan Chave (Yr 13) performed so well that they took away the award for best song. This was a great achievement and we are proud of these students for this effort.

Drama in the form of monologues were on display last Thursday evening with our Senior Drama students. The monologues are a key component for the students NCEA Drama performances and the students performed magnificently. Being able to perform in front of an audience is critical at NCEA level and the students often have to overcome nerves to do so.

At the start of this week the Te Tai Tokerau Regional Nga Manu Korero speech Competitions were held at Te Kura Taumata o Panguru. Kamo High School was represented by two students Jazz Barclay (Year 12) and Khalia Wilson (Yr 11). Jazz was entered into the Senior bi lingual section. This was an amazing achievement for Jazz as she is not a fluent speaker of Te Reo Maori and out of a large number of students she placed fourth. Khalia entered the Senior English section, and her oratory skills were rewarded with a first place in her first time appearance as a Senior. Their peers supported by our kaumatua, students and staff welcomed the girls back to school on Thursday with their taonga (awards).

Last night I was lucky enough to attend “Band Night” in our Arts Block. Twelve bands performed ranging from Years 10 through to Year 13. The students always amaze me with their musical abilities and with the confidence that demonstrate performing in front of a large audience of their families and peers.

We ended the week with a wonderful display of social actions by our Year 9 Health students in our school hall at the interval. The Year 9 Health students have been investigating the causes, impacts and outcomes of bullying and how actions can be taken to support people to stand up and say no to bullying. The actions on display were wide ranging and brought a wonderful awareness of the issue not only to the attention of their own year group but to the rest of the school. The actions certainly brought a lot of smiles and loads of laughter to a very cold day.

Thank you to all of our families, staff and supporters who provide the time, mentorship and opportunities for our students to shine in our school activities. We appreciate all you do to help us support our students to thrive in their learning.

Happy Matariki to you all.

Nga mihi

Natasha and the SLT