Kia Ora Parents and Friends of Katikati College,

I would like to congratulate all the people involved in the Divas and Divos competition that was held last Monday evening. Once again this was an opportunity to showcase some of our most outstanding vocalists and we can feel very proud of what they achieved. As an audience we have a responsibility to acknowledge and support our students in the most positive way and to encourage others to give it a go. There was a small section of the audience who were a little over boisterous and this is something that we will need to collectively work on at our next event. Please check-out our newly launched Arts Faculty Facebook page as this is a great way of capturing our Arts events across all the disciplines.

Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/Katikati-College-Arts-1760945910883098/

Cross Country was a hotly contested House event this year with the overall lead changing a number of times! I would like to confirm that MacMillan actually won the event, however Gledstanes certainly gave them a good run for their money and it was great to see such a close final result.

As we approach the mid-point of Term Two it is important for our students to focus on their academic studies and make sure they are keeping up with everything that is happening in their classrooms. Please take an interest in what your students are doing and ask them about what they are doing in class. The more involved you are in their day to day schooling, the greater value our students will put on their learning.

There have been some wonderful sports results over the last 4 – 5 weeks with many teams doing outstandingly well. A number of teams, across a number of codes, are leading their respective grades and really playing extremely well. It is only through the dedication of staff, students and parents that this can happen, so thank you to all those involved at this point of the season.

With Stage Challenge just over a week away I would like to wish all involved the very best. A huge amount of time and energy has gone into this event. My thanks to Mrs Buckley for once again co-ordinating and managing Stage Challenge this year. Our student leaders have done a great job and have produced something different for Katikati College. We have a strong tradition in Stage Challenge and our focus has always been student driven with the aim of including as many students as possible from Year 7 – 13. A number of schools go to great lengths throwing external expertise and resources into their performance. I am really proud we do it all ourselves and the students have ownership of their performance. While it is nice to get awards acknowledging our performance, the real value lies in building student relationships across the school, lots of leadership opportunities and another way to showcase the Arts at Katikati College.

Our Parent / Teacher evening is on Monday 26 June for our Yr9 – 13 students. Please make the most of this opportunity to meet with your child’s teachers. We continue to get lots of positive feedback about the fortnightly engagement reports, specifically parents feeling they know more about what is going on and there are ‘no surprises’. This is great and I am pleased people feel like this. However, sometimes it is best to have discussions face-to-face and to establish relationships with the teachers. Please follow the link to book your interview time by logging into:

https://www.schoolinterviews.co.nz/ Use the code: hhnz3

Nga mihi

Mr Neil Harray | Principal