Last year we were so close to winning the house cup, placing second after what feels like the first time and trying to maintain the momentum built from last year. We were determined not to drop back to our fourth-place track record in the running for the house cup, we decided to continue trying to promote group spirit among those in our house, particularly junior years.

Unfortunately, the year began with an uphill battle, as we could not have our usual House Day at Long Beach, which has long been a favourite on the calendar. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the school was forced to cancel the 2022 House Day, which was a huge shame, as this event always helped create a sense of unity within the house. However, this did not deter our leaders from pushing to keep everyone together, beginning with organising a school-wide scavenger hunt for our new year 9s during their first week.

With events such as the second-ever round of Taskmaster, groups have worked together to be creative, clever, and curious. Groups are given random and fun challenges and judged by the infamous Taskmaster, Mrs. Caulfield, and two of her minions. Our victorious team that took home the Taskmaster Cup was Group 4/1 this year, closely followed by 4/6. Over the term it ran, it had been excellent for Toroa, because it helped everyone feel a more positive competitive spirit, which has struggled to come through in previous years.

Other highlights include the intergroup Tug-of-War, which took place over the end of term 3 and into term 4 and was won by 4/6! They then went on to win the inter-house Tug-of-War competition against Omimi and were rewarded with their hard work and team spirit with a pizza party.

Despite this not being our year (again :( ), and no matter our house cup placing at the end of the year, we feel as though Toroa has continued to gain a sense of pride, and it feels like a more tight-knit family, which we hope continues to flourish for years to come.

We hold great hope for the future of this house, and we hope we had a positive impact on it - maintaining the momentum from last year's legendary leaders and paving the way for the new leaders of Toroa. We hope that next year our new Toroa leaders will continue to foster the whanau of our house, especially with them (hopefully) being able to cherish our beloved House Day once again.

A big thank you to our wonderful group teachers for their love over the years and to the lovely Mrs. Caulfield for her undying support this year. It was so reassuring to have such a friendly and passionate group of staff that was eager to support our ambitions.

And lastly, thank you so much to all Toroa students who have made this year one to remember! We hope your days with our family and at Logan Park will be remembered as fondly as ours.

Grace Jones, Bill Campbell (House Leaders)

Shima Jack, Maia Puricelli Callau, Hannah Yeardley, Jack Cowles (Deputy Leaders)