Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou kātoa te whānau o te Kura Milford, Greetings family and whanau of Millford School

I am excited to take the opportunity to introduce myself to the wider school whanau as the newest Deputy Principal of Milford School. My family and I have progressively moved to Auckland over the last 3 years, with my husband (Matthew) and I the most recent arrivals from Nelson in January! We have two adult children (Will and Rosie) at university and we have particularly enjoyed the Americas Cup. I went to high school in Christchurch, was born in Southland, started school in Hamilton and taught for many years in Nelson, so my experience with New Zealand schools is wide. I am a passionate educator, who wants to help prepare our students for the 21st Century and I am really excited to see what I can contribute to the amazing team already at Milford.

This week the Year 6 students have been on camp and lucky for me, I was able to spend some time with them at Carey Park. The students have pushed themselves out of their comfort zones building rafts, cooking on hobo stoves, swimming in the river, shooting air rifles and experiencing communal living! Camp is an exciting experience that gives our young tamariki opportunities to build resilience, develop their self-management skills (which is a lifelong skill we all need) and experience new and challenging things. It was fabulous to see the students making the most of all these opportunities!

Mrs Cattell is back from her conference next week and sends her well wishes. I’m looking forward to continuing getting to know everyone and wish you all a safe and relaxing weekend.

Nga mihi nui,

Nicola Hewitt

Tumuaki Tuarua