Hero photograph
Fergus Chinnery & Gemma Thorp          Head Boy and Girl 2017
 
Photo by Caitlin Lemon

Principal's Comment

Carolyn Pentecost —

Tēnā koutou katoa

As we come to the end of a very busy Term Three, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those parents, whānau and members of the community who took the time to come and meet with me and share their ideas and aspirations for our college. We have also been working together as a staff and with our students to construct a vision for our school for the next five years and draft strategic plan. We will share this with our community next term and seek feedback on it.

Student Success and Achievement

The school Talent Quest was held on Friday September 1, and was a tremendous success, with many students showing the community the range of talents we have in our school. Thanks to Wendy Fleming and her team for such a fabulous evening.

Senior Exams have come and gone and I would like to thank Ian Nicholson and our senior subject teachers for the work they do to ensure these exams prepare our students well for their NCEA Exams which, commence on Wednesday November 7.

This week we have been treated to our Year 7 and 8 student market days. These are valuable authentic learning opportunities where students have been able to design, make and sell a chosen line of products. Many have demonstrated very impressive entrepreneurial skills! Thank you to Simon Finnimore and all our wonderful Year 7 and 8 teachers for supporting our students to achieve this.

If your child is in Year 9 or 10, you may have noticed them glued to the computer in Week 5 answering all manner of Science questions. Our junior students were participating in the Education Perfect World Challenge and we did incredibly well, gaining eighth place in the world out of the 1,281 competing schools and first in the world out of schools with between 250 and 500 participants.

Our sports teams and individuals made us very proud at Winter Tournament and AIMS Games. I really enjoyed having the opportunity to watch some of our athletes in action. A special thanks to our Sports Coordinator, Juliet Dunlop-Fraser, for her hard work and dedication over this period. Also thank you to all the coaches and team managers who supported our students at these events. We are lucky to have such a dedicated staff and community.

Student Social Action

Our Year 10 students have been out and about in our community working on a new initiative this year called ‘Social Action’. Social Action is when people take steps to make positive change in society and the students have chosen a number of different projects to work on. They have been supported by our fantastic Social Studies staff and this authentic learning opportunity has been enthusiastically embraced by our students. If you see them out and about during the day please ask them about their projects.

Student Leadership

Our Year 12 students are preparing for their roles as the school leaders in 2018 with Head Student nominations closing on Thursday September 28. All Year 12 students had the opportunity to participate in Leadership Day, where a team from Waikato Institute of Sport and Leisure came in to the school and offered our students opportunity to explore and develop individual leadership qualities of collaboration, communication and also to develop an ability to take a leadership in action approach within our school.

Important dates to put in your 2017 calendar

  • School holidays September 29 - October 16

  • Senior Sports Prizegiving October 18

  • Senior Prize Giving November 2

  • NCEA Exams November 7- November 30

  • Graduation Dinner, Mills Reef, December 5

  • Last day of school December, 12

Start of 2018

February 2 is the first day of Term 1, 2018 for students. However, with Waitangi Day on Tuesday February 6, we have decided to have Monday February 5 as a day off. This will ensure families can enjoy a long Waitangi weekend together.

I wish everyone a safe and happy school holidays.

Ngā mihi nui

Carolyn Pentecost | Principal