Tēnā koutou katoa

Ko Osmotherley te maunga

Ko Mersey te awa

Ko Irish Sea te moana

Ko Ngāti Pākehā te iwi

Nō Liverpool ahau

Nō te whānau Rafferty ahau

Ko Mick toku tāne

Ko Pete, ko Joe toku tamariki

Ko Lou Buckley toku ingoa

Tēnā tātou katoa

It is my pleasure to once again welcome you to the start of another year at Katikati College. To our new students and staff, I extend a warm welcome. I hope that your first few weeks at our kura have been enjoyable; that you have made new friends and are learning your way around your new school. It was fantastic to be able to welcome our new students, their whānau and new staff at the pōwhiri at the start of the year. In this newsletter you will see introductions from our new staff; please make them feel welcome in our school and our community.

The start to the year was again not what we expected. Thank you for your understanding as we made the decision to close as a result of Cyclone Gabrielle. I feel incredibly fortunate that we were not affected by this weather system. Our thoughts are with those in Northland, Auckland and especially Gisborne and the Hawkes Bay. We are currently planning what we can do as a school community to support those in need.

This week I have had the privilege of working with the Head Students and the wider Year 13 Leadership Team. I have been impressed by their maturity, their ideas and their willingness to give back to their school and community. I look forward to seeing what they achieve this year.

Congratulations to last year’s Year 11 - 13 students on their achievement in NCEA. It was incredibly pleasing to see that yet again Katikati College is achieving above national and decile averages.

Throughout the year, I emphasise the importance of connections between home and school. On Monday evening we were able to welcome whānau into school to meet the Year 7 & 8 teachers. This is the first of many opportunities that we hope to provide to increase these connections.

Over the last 3 years regular attendance at schools nationally has fallen from around 70% to 40%. Regular attendance is defined as attending over 90% of the time. As a result of this, you will see many comments and references to attendance from me over the course of this year. It is vital that we get our young people back into the habit of attending school regularly. Regular attendance is not just linked to academic achievement, more importantly it allows young people to connect with each other, giving them a sense of belonging and community. If you have concerns about your child’s attendance, please get in contact with their Dean so that we can support them in being back at school.

Just a reminder that on Thursday morning the College starts at the later time of 9 am. This is so that staff can undertake important professional learning. Students who arrive at school at the normal time can be supervised in the College library. They can also attend the Breakfast Club in the old food room.

As the year progresses, I look forward to meeting you out in the community and at upcoming school events. The next school event is Athletics Day on Tuesday 7 March. Thank you for your ongoing support of the College.

Ngā mihi nui

Lou Buckley

Tumuaki/Principal