Success continues to flourish in our College and I am constantly proud of what our students and staff are achieving. We are a small semi rural college but continue to punch well above our size.

I would like to acknowledge Mrs Ruth Flanagan and Mr Mike Meade for joining our SLT as acting Deputy Principals from now through to the end of Term 3. They will be working alongside Mr Simon Finnimore and Mr Ian Nicholson. I would like to thank them in advance for stepping up to assist with leading our school. I would like to welcome Mrs Kylie Greer (Languages and Literacy), Mr Patrick McMahon (Social Science and Year 7s & 8) and Mr Ben Parker (PE & Health), who have joined our staff. We also welcome back Mrs Sam Davies into Year 7.

At our recent assembly we recognised and celebrated some of the fantastic things that have been taking place at our kura. I was fortunate to recently spend the day in Hamilton with our Pasifika group at Pasifika By Nature. l was so proud to see the leadership from our older students and the commitment that everyone showed in creating their performance. Our ShowQuest performance in Tauranga was superb. Our leaders tackled the difficult and challenging subject of dementia - the piece that they created, and students from Year 7 to 13 performed, was incredible. This was evident in the emotions that it created in the audience.

The senior school ball was held this weekend and was a fantastic success. The school ball is an opportunity for our current students and their guests to celebrate the culture of our school. Well done to all the staff and students who made this occasion what it was. Thank you to the families for your support for this occasion. I would like to compliment our students on how they conducted themselves, ensuring that it was a night to be remembered.

I am looking forward to our Matariki Po Tuku Taonga awards which is our opportunity to celebrate and recognise the taonga of Maori culture and our students at our school.

I have been taking the time to watch many of our students who are involved in activities outside of the classroom. It has been fantastic to see such a wide range of students doing something different, which for many of them is their happy place. l commend students on getting out there and getting involved. During our assembly our lead students also challenged our students with the idea that it is never too late to get involved.

It is so important that our young people are involved in activities at school. This involvement can be in the arts, sport, culture or service. Being involved increases the connections for our students, it makes coming to school more enjoyable. It makes it fun. It keeps students busy! This increased sense of enjoyment means that our young people will be more successful at school.

As a college we continue to reiterate our MARK values. I am truly humbled to see so many of our students living these values and making the most of their journey at the College and making their MARK!

Louise Buckley
Acting Principal
Katikati College