Nga mihi ki a koutou katoa, Kia orana koutou ka toatoa, Mele lelei, Talofa lava, Noa’ia, Mauri, Fakalofa Lahi Atu, Bula Vinaka, greeting to you all.

2021 promises to be a year that 2020 should have been, and looking at our student leadership team, our school results, our staff, and finally our property development it’s shaping up to be a very successful year.

I would like to welcome our Year 9 students to the school and I know that as older students you will look after them. 30 of these students have older brothers and sisters, and many others have brothers, sisters and whanau who attended the school.

Firstly, I would like to welcome our news staff:

• Elizabeth Knowles, Year 9 Dean

• Jason Doyle, Assistant Head of Mathematics

• Arthur Trousdell, Health and PE

• Meyer Goosen, Technology

• Elin Lorenzen, Te Whare Ako

• Tamahae Keelan, Health and PE

• Danielle Uden McFarland, Te Whare Ako

I am excited to welcome these staff to Mana College as I know they will make a significant contribution to our school based on the influence they have made in their previous schools. Please manaaki them and look after them as they begin their career at Mana.

The next group I would like to acknowledge is our senior leadership group who have been working with Year 9 orientation and in leadership workshops with Mr Chapman and Ms Anderton.

These students are:

Jack McMahon

Maddy Vai-Little

Rohan Best-Miller

Ysobel Solomon

Tuhoe Davies

Karena Waru

The third group of students relate to their academic achievements in 2020.

I would like to congratulate all students in their NCEA JOURNEY and to congratulate students who achieved Level 1, 2, and 3 last year.

It is our tradition to present silver ties to students who have achieved an excellence endorsement at Level 1, 2 or 3.

This means that the student has achieved NCEA with 50 excellence credits or more at the given level. Remember that excellence is generally awarded to 5-7% of the population in New Zealand. So, students are achieving in the top percentile for academic achievement.

In 2020, Mana College had the highest excellence and merit endorsement in the history of the school’s achievement, and one of the highest proportion of endorsements at Level one in Wellington.

Remember this was achieved in a global pandemic!!!

Excellence - Level 3

Shaniyah Munroe

Temepst Jahnke

Merit - Level 3

Harmony Fanueli, Tyler Mata and Jared Vilsoni

Excellence - Level 2

Maddy Vai-Little

Ysobel Solomon

Merit - Level 2

Israel Haerewa, Maia MacArthur-Roberts, Andrea Madelo and Karena Waru

Excellence - Level 1

Eloise Bason

Jack Chapman

Lilly Drummond

Jacob Duncan

Simotu Judkins

Melerita Malaulau

Rosa Stratford

Merit - Level 1

Jayliz Brown-Risati, Emma Buckley, Corin Carradice-Rua, Waipunarangi Clay, Kaitlyn Hawe-Good, Kassidy Head, Azaria Iti, Evo Kelleher, Maia McLean, Caitlin Moore, Sapphire Morgan-Ruwhiu, Hohaia Ogilvy, Huia Shepherd-Taputoro, Va’a Taulapapa, Amber Van Den Ende, Helava Vilsoni and Ella Ware.

A challenge has been laid down for us to consider. The challenge is to find the places and people that will light our fire, our energy, our mauri, our mana so we can find our flourishing and use our special talents we have all been given.