Tēnā koutou katoa, Mālō e lelei,

Covid-19 re-emerging within our country continues to present everyone with ongoing challenges. Our staff and students are once again demonstrating their resilience and commitment to keeping things as calm and close to normal as possible so that we can all get on with our primary mahi, namely teaching and learning. We are fortunate to have such a capable and committed property team who swung into Covid Alert Level 2 mode, implementing Level 2 protocols very quickly.

We were aware that moving between alert levels would be how this year was likely to transpire and we continue to do the very best we can to keep everyone safe, well informed and ensure communication between the College and community is effective. Please continue to refer regularly to our Katikati College Facebook page or your emails for the latest updates.

Dealing with the ongoing crisis is taxing on everyone and we continue to focus on prioritising student and staff well-being. The uncertainty of Level 2 and restrictions on social gatherings have meant a number of our events have had to be cancelled or reschedule. These include the Arts Showcase, Divas and Divos, the Year 7 and 8 Disco, Fiefia Night and our Senior Ball. This is frustrating and a little heartbreaking for everyone!

The decision to cancel our Ball and Fiefia Night were the hardest as they are events and experiences that are deeply etched into our Katikati College DNA and are highlights in our community calendar. They are the rite of passage for our senior students and are our opportunity to celebrate and honour their transition from teenager to adult. Our staff are all 100% committed to finding ways to still demonstrate this to our Year 12 and 13 students and we will continue to look for opportunities to celebrate this very special time in their lives.

Our Open Evening is scheduled for Thursday, September 17 however it is unlikely this will be actually happen if we are at Level 2. However, we are exploring alternative ways to possibly bring Open Evening to our community and potential future students.

With our focus firmly on well-being and as we all come to terms with the reality that this Covid crisis is a marathon not a sprint, we are adjusting our methods and strategies for teaching and learning , as well as our expectations so that we are best supporting our people; students, staff, whānau, families and our community.

Special acknowledgement must go to our staff who are constantly adapting and reviewing ways we can best support our student learning, achievement and overall hauora (wellbeing). A big thanks to our staff team, without their resilience, commitment and passion for our college and community, we would not be able to do all we are. This newsletter and the following pages demonstrate the wide range of activities and events we have found ways to participate in, even under Level 2 constraints.

Lastly, to our students, our rangatahi, our kids, you are all amazing individuals, resilient and adaptable. Keep your heads up, keep up the great effort to keep calm and maintain as much ‘normal’ as possible in your day. Know you are not alone, we are all here to help, support and encourage any way we need to.

We are all hopeful that we will return to the normality that Level 1 provides very soon.

Kia Kaha Katikati. We have the resilience, endurance and innovativeness to not only meet the demands of this Covid marathon, but to continue to thrive and ensure our students are well cared for and successful.

Nāku noa, na

Carolyn Pentecost

Principal/ Tumuaki

Katikati College