As we near the end of Term 1, I would like to recognise and highlight some of the amazing activities that have taken place this term. Athletics Day and swimming sports are always an opportunity for our school to show its spirit and encouragement of others. The Year 7 & 8 social event was well attended and ably led on the dance floor by some of our Year 13 students. As a community we raised $2,861 to support the relief fund in Te Matau a Māui Hawke’s Bay. It has been great to see our senior students organising and getting involved in lunchtime activities for Years 7 and 8 and rehearsals for our school production, Moana, are well underway. We have also seen the return of international students to our school. Our host families and school buddies have been excellent ambassadors for our community and have thoroughly enjoyed themselves at the same time.

In my last newsletter, I spoke of the importance of regular attendance being linked to success at school. This is both academically and socially. The College’s current regular attendance (% of students attending school 90% or more) is 53%. Our goal for this year is 60% of students attending regularly. After three years of disruptions, it is essential that our young people get back into the habit of coming to school. If all parents and whānau have this expectation and attitude that their child goes to school then it helps to build regular attendance as the “norm”. If you are struggling with getting your child to school then please approach their Form Teacher or Dean. We all play a part in working together to get all of our children attending school regularly.

Whānau Teacher interviews take place next week. If you haven’t already, I strongly encourage you to make appointments to meet with your child’s teachers. The connection and partnership between home and school is so important. If you need assistance in making interview times, please contact our office staff. They will be more than happy to help.

Please remember to follow the Katikati College FaceBook page . This is where we share important messages and student, staff and community successes. The Katikati College Instagram page is run by Year 13 students and provides a student’s viewpoint on key events and success at our school.

ANZAC Day is a significant day for our community and this year it falls at the start of Term 2. I am always heartened by the number of Katikati College students and staff who represent their school and community at these dawn services and memorial events - all first and premier College sports teams are expected to be in attendance. As a school we will have an ANZAC assembly during the first week of next term.

You will see that we have two teacher only days planned for the start of Term 2. The first day - Monday 24 April, aligns with the primary schools in the area. The second day - Monday 1 May, is a day when all secondary schools across the Bay of Plenty are working together on NCEA changes. Whilst I appreciate that these days can cause disruptions for families I firmly believe that they are essential in allowing teachers the chance to prepare for the changes that are planned for education. Next year sees major reforms to NCEA Level 1 with changes to literacy and numeracy requirements and the implementation of a refreshed New Zealand Curriculum. These changes are significant and in order to make sure that our teaching best meets the needs of our community, teachers need time to plan learning programmes with their colleagues.

I wish you all a safe and enjoyable holiday and I hope that our students will return to school well rested and ready for another full term of learning.