It’s hard to imagine we are at the end of Term 2 already! I’d like to take a moment to thank you all for your perseverance this term.

 Between the ongoing industrial action and the usual winter illnesses, our students have shown a real sense of Pukengatanga in their learning. The disruption faced has been unprecedented, and it is worth mentioning that only our Year 13 cohort have experienced a full and undisturbed Secondary School year of education, and this was in Year 9.

Regardless of this there have been many things to celebrate this Term. The work done by our junior students in their academy classes over the last 20 weeks was on display in the Library and Auditorium during the last week of term. Many of our students have strove to produce work of the highest quality from onstage performance to creating digital worlds, they should be proud of the things they have achieved in those classes. In the Senior school, our Year 11 students had their first taste of what a formal NCEA Examination will look like. Their performance and maturity during this experience is something many of the teachers supervising commented on. These types of examinations are relatively foreign to many students in Aotearoa, as NZ largely abandoned this type of assessment nearly 10 years ago. The way they committed to giving it a go made many of the teachers’ jobs much easier, well done.

Manu Korero was also a great success and provided our fantastic Maori speakers with a spotlight to highlight their amazing abilities. If you have not taken the time to listen to their korero on our FB page, I’d highly recommend it.

The iSport foundation provided some of our Year 12 students with an insight into what it means to be a great person and leader around the school. There were some amazing speakers who shared some really insightful stories, but I think it was something that Richie McCaw said that stuck with me. Richie spoke about a conversion he had with one of his coaches that helped him believe, at a time when he was maybe doubting himself. He said the coach's comments lifted him, and gave him the belief he needed to dig in. The message our students took from this was to make sure they listen to the people who lift them up, not try to tear them down.

Our Art students have had some great work on display at the recent Artarama expo being held at the Aigantighe Art Gallery. Felix Conlan, Keira Maich, Lauren Bolton, and Tristyn McEwan were all prize winners and from looking at their work, it is easy to see why that is the case. If you are passing the Aigantighe Gallery, it is well worth a stop to see their phenomenal talent on display.

Looking ahead, Term 3 is going to be a good one. We have many big things on the horizon. The performing arts tram will present the musical, Evita. Later in the Term, our sporting teams will be travelling around the south island for the annual winter tournament week, and our seniors will have senior assessment week in preparation for the end of year exams which will be in Week 8.

I hope you are having a well earned break and look forward to seeing you all on Monday July 17th for Ako conferencing, if you have not booked a time yet please make sure you book through our booking system at www.schoolinterviews.co.nz and entering the code: 2gzq5 to book an appointment with your child’s Ako teacher. 

Ngā mihi nui

Kenny Diamond
Principal