I would like to congratulate Mrs Fleming and the musicians who were involved in the Waikato Band Festival that was held on August 28th. Their performance was of an extremely high quality and was simply outstanding.

I was very impressed by the inclusion of some contemporary pieces that were uplifting and particularly enjoyable to listen to. The audience that I was part of appreciated hearing the Band perform and the judges clearly agreed with us, awarding the Concert Band a Silver Award and the Jazz Band a Gold Award. The students and Mrs Fleming can feel exceptionally proud of their achievements and the recognition that they have received.

It is exciting to see that Zespri has announced two Scholarships, primarily aimed at Secondary School students looking to be involved in the future horticulture industry. Zespri’s plan for expansion will ensure that the industry continues to attract outstanding individuals who can lead and develop future horticultural innovation. I would like to think that a number of students from Katikati College will apply for these Scholarships which is something we will be encouraging and supporting in conjunction with our Growing Innovations Academy.

This week sees our Year 7 & 8 athletes compete in the AIMS competition that is held annually in Tauranga. This quite amazing event has now grown to include over 7,000 students from around New Zealand who attend and compete. The competition is a wonderful experience for our Year 7 & 8 students who enjoy the opportunity to be involved in an event of this scale. I would like to thank those parents who have been supporting our teams; I am certainly looking forward to seeing how well the teams all do.

I would like to congratulate the Senior A Netball and the Girls and Boys 1st XI Hockey Teams for their participation in the winter tournament that was held last week. There is no doubt that the competition was intense, particularly given that we are competing against much larger schools. However, as always, we seem to punch above our weight and I have heard some very positive things about how our students performed and behaved during the tournament.

As mentioned in my last newsletter, our Senior Examinations begin this week. I trust that students have done sufficient preparation for these exams, the results from which can be used as part of their planning towards the end of year NCEA examinations that take place in November and December. It is important for students to plan carefully during the coming weeks to ensure that they allow enough time for the completion of any remaining internal assessment work, in addition to preparing for their external examinations.

Congratulations to all of the Year 7 & 8 students who made it into their respective Speech Finals. The quality of these finalists was fantastic, as was the range of topics that were covered. It is heartening to see such a confident group of students coming through the school.