Tēnā koutou katoa, Mālō e lelei,

As the school year rapidly draws to an end for our students we need to take a moment to reflect on the phenomenal resilience, dedication and achievements we have seen and continue to see from our students, staff and community to overcome the challenges 2020 has confronted us with.

On Monday we acknowledged our senior students who have consistently demonstrated our College values of Manaakitanga, (Putting others before yourself), Ako, (Learning together), Rangatiratanga (Self Management and Leadership) and Kotahitanga (Working together) at our MARK Prizegivings. Thank you to all our parents and whānau who attended and shared these celebrations with us. Congratulations to all those students acknowledged for positive contributions to their learning and our College.

Tonight we celebrate with a Graduation Dinner for Year 13s and their families.The our final College Prizegiving is on Tuesday, December 8. This year because of the impact of Covid-19 we have not been able to have our Matariki Awards or our Pasifika Fiefia Night. Therefore these awards have been included into our final Prizegiving evening. It is always a privilege and honour to gather as a community to acknowledge and celebrate those students who have made their MARK and achieved personal excellence.

We will soon be putting together a special end of year newsletter with all the important information for the beginning of next year. We will reshare it with you again before school starts, so that everyone is well informed about 2021, especially about our uniform requirements and important dates.

In addition we are excited to be nearing completion of our new website and we hope to be able to have this ready to share by the end of the term.

Staffing Update

There are a number of changes to staffing in 2021 that I wish to update you on.

A number of our valued staff are retiring at the end of this year and we wish to acknowledge their contributions to the College and community.

• Mr Roy Murphy retires this year and we look forward to helping him celebrate his 35 years at the College. His wife Ann Murphy has also tendered her resignation effective the end of the 2020 academic year and we wish them both all the very best in retirement. Mrs Colette Lemon from Katikati Primary School will be our new College Librarian in 2021.

• Mrs Margy Bansgrove has tendered her resignation effective the end of the 2020 academic year. Mrs Bansgrove has completed 45 years at the College and we wish her all the best in retirement alongside husband Peter, who also gave many years to our College and community.

• Mrs Barbara Green, our Homestay Coordinator, will finish at the end of this year. Barbara has been a fantastic member of our International Department for many years and we are grateful for all she has done. With a change in the international student numbers due to restrictions on travel in and out of New Zealand we will not be replacing Barbara at this stage. All inquires about international students should be made through our Business Manager, Debbie Christian, or by emailing international@katikaticollege.school.nz

We also have some staff taking time out to have a family:

• Ms Libby Bevin, Deputy Principal (Curriculum), has been granted 12 months maternity leave and we wish her and partner Brad all the best with their first child. The College will return to three Deputy Principals for the remaining part of 2020 and 2021. Libby’s responsibilities will be shared among our senior and middle leaders.

• Mrs Chloe Gardner has been granted 12 months Maternity Leave for 2021. Mrs Gardener and her husband Thomas are expecting their first child and we wish then all the best.

• Ms Danielle Carter has been granted 12 months Maternity Leave for 2021. This will be Ms Carter and partner Gary’s first child and we wish them all the best.

We have staff moving into leadership or taking up further learning opportunities, including:

• Congratulations to Mrs Jane Finnimore, who has gained a leadership role at Tauranga Girls’ College. Jane has tendered her resignation as of the end of 2020, and we wish her all the best in her new role and thank her for all she has done for our students and community over the last four years. We look forward to strengthening collaboration opportunities with TGC through our connection with Jane. We are currently in the process of confirming a new Dean for Year 13 students in 2021.

• Congratulations to Mrs Jenni Carter. Shehas been successful in gaining a Secondary Study Award for 2021. This means she will only be working Fridays in College. She will continue to lead the Year 7 and 8 team as the Head of Faculty (Curriculum) along with Lindsay Gowans Head of Faculty (Pastoral Care).

• Congratulations to Mr Ian Nicholson. He has been successful in receiving a Secondary Teachers Sabbatical Award and will be taking Term 3 off in 2021 to explore ‘Engagement of Pasifika students’.

• Congratulations to Mrs Sandy Kindley. She has been successful in receiving a Secondary Teachers Sabbatical Award and will be taking Term 4 off in 2021 to explore ‘Health Education in New Zealand’.

We are really proud of Jane, Jenni, Ian and Sandy’s achievements and look forward to learning alongside them. It is always a pleasure to celebrate staff who have taken up opportunities to learn more or continue to develop their leadership capabilities in education. We can assure you we will plan carefully to ensure student learning only benefits from this and there is as little disruption as possible to course teachers over the year.

Introducing our Deaning Team for 2021

• Year 7 Dean - Lindsay Gowans (also HOF Year 7 & 8 (Pastoral))

• Year 8 Dean - Linda Hammonds

• Year 9 Dean - Stuart Pratt

• Year 10 Dean - Anneke by de Ley

• Year 11 Dean - Ruth Flanagan

• Year 12 Dean - Graeme Vallely

• Year 13 Dean - To be confirmed

Our Deputy Principal leading the Pastoral Team will continue to be Louise Buckley.

Lastly, best of luck to all our senior students with NCEA exams. Make sure you keep up the hard work and do your best. Ask for help from any of our teachers if you need it. We are proud of the way you have just got on with the year. Our focus for the remaining part of our year with our junior students includes:

• Year 7 and 8 Activities

• Junior Projects

• Transition day for our incoming Year 6 students - Monday, November 16

• Transitioning our Year 8 students into Year 9

Please also be aware we want to be working with any families or whānau that may need support this year or next year with any College related costs. Please contact either your child's Dean or principal@katikaticollege.school.nz if you are experiencing hardship that prevents you from paying for uniform, stationery, camps or other activities at the beginning of next year. We are all here to help and ensure all our students have access to what they need to be successful and maximise learning opportunities.

Nāku noa na

Carolyn Pentecost

Principal/ Tumuaki