Tēnā koutou katoa, Mālō e lelei,

Welcome back to Term 4. I hope that everyone has had a refreshing break and is ready to go for this short term. There is so much squeezed into the term with all the rescheduling of events, as well as the regular events held in Term 4. The next nine weeks will fly by.

Since our last newsletter we have had the opportunity to celebrate a significant number of student achievements and successes. I would like to acknowledge and congratulate our staff and students on the way they have ‘Kept Calm and Carried on’ during these challenging times and extend a big thank you to all those who have made these opportunities possible. It is wonderful to see our College values of manaakitanga (caring) and kotahitanga (unity), consistently being demonstrated.

We have enjoyed an improvement and increase in communication between College and home since lock-down and we really want to continue to develop our partnership with families and whānau. If you haven’t already, please can you take a minute to complete our online survey to support ongoing improved communication between the College and our learning community. Please be informed that we will be launching a new website very soon!

Covid-19 has created changed situations for a number of our families/ whānau and local businesses. As a consequence we have lost a number of key sponsors for our Senior Prize-giving, which is on Tuesday December, 8. If you are interested in supporting and sponsoring some of our premier academic awards please email principal@katikaticollege.school.nz. We are looking particularly for sponsorship of our Dux and Proxime Accessit awards.

This is the second year we have held our College practice exams (Derived Grade Exams) in Term 4. This change in philosophy links directly to the idea of readiness for assessment and how we can best prepare students for their next learning steps. Our Year 11, 12 and 13 students then have external NCEA exams starting from Monday November. By using their results from the College Derived Grade Exams they can work with their teachers to identify a learning programme and timetable that personalises their study plan to get the best end results.

We celebrated our 2020 Sports Awards last night. It was wonderful to be able to all come together to celebrate the achievements of our students. It has been a year of uncertainty, challenge and change and I am incredibly grateful for the resilience, adaptability and commitment our coaches, managers, parents and students have demonstrated to ensure our students have had many opportunities to participate in sports this year despite restrictions due to Covid-19. Special thanks to our Sports Co-ordinator Juliet Dunlop-Fraser for navigating the changing logistics and for organising another outstanding Sports Awards evening.

Lastly, best of luck to all our senior students with school exams and finishing off internal assessments. We are so proud of the way you have just got on with the year.

Nāku noa na

Carolyn Pentecost

Principal/ Tumuaki