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Mount Aspiring College

by Mount Aspiring College

Nā te tumuaki

Dean Sheppard - September 16, 2020

Here Acting Principal Dean Sheppard shares his thoughts.

Kia ora, nau mai, haere mai ki tenei pānui o ngā wiki. Welcome to this week's newsletter! You’ll note that all our headings are in Maori today as we celebrate Maori Language week. I have been thrilled at the way in which our students have embraced this week, participating in all manner of Te Reo games and learning - some of which you will see in our activities section. I have also observed many students making an effort to add Maori words into their vocabulary which has been wonderful to see.

There is only one more week left in this term and then a well deserved break for all. Term 4 marks the start of our award season with Blues awards, the Leavers Dinner and Junior and Senior prizegiving. It’s also a big term for exams, so I would like to encourage all our seniors to remain focused and continue working hard - your tenacity will pay off in the long run!

On Wednesday we welcomed keynote speaker and educator Richie Hardcore to school for an insightful, eyeopening talk to our seniors - you can read more in our activities section.

I want to draw your attention to our new concerns and complaints policy. Over the past few weeks myself and the senior leadership team have been working on a new way to streamline these processes so it is clearer for all involved. Should you have a concern or an issue you feel the need to raise, please see here, but I would also like to reiterate that you should in the first instance always contact your child's classroom teacher.

To finish, I would like to wish our Kapa Haka rōpū all the very best with the Ride Tamariki program over the weekend! For all of you, here’s a whaktaukī (māori proverb) to finish off the week with Haere taka mua, taka muri; kaua e whai - Be a leader, not a follower.

Nga mihi

Dean Sheppard