The start of the school year is often a whirlwind of notices, events, and for our Year 9 students - new experiences. At Mountainview, many of these events provide great opportunities to develop Whanaungatanga and demonstrate Manaakitanga.

Last week we held two of these events, Athletics and Swimming sports. These annual events are often eagerly anticipated by many of our students who - after dressing up, painting their faces, and practicing their whānau chant - compete in a range of competitive and social track, field, and pool events. For the students who embrace these days, they often provide memorable experiences that long outlive their time here at school. These events provide an opportunity for every student regardless of their ability level to get involved, challenge themselves, and support their friends and whānau peers. The smiles, camaraderie, general cheer is always remarked on by teachers in the staffroom and parents who attend to support their children. These events are not solely for our elite athletes, although they are encouraged to challenge themselves and excel, but they are for everyone to have a good time and experience what success looks and feels like.

Following those two events, our Year 10 cohort have been experiencing camp this and Whenua are away the start of next week. These trips take a lot of planning and the Physical Education Department, alongside the Whānau Leaders have spent considerable time ensuring they are a success. Our Year 10 students will engage in tramping, rafting, and a range of team building and bushcraft activities while they are away. These trips provide ample opportunities for our young people to gain a sense of belonging here at school and build confidence in unfamiliar situations. We often see the most remarkable growth in our Year 10 students as they embrace uncertainty and challenge themselves in a controlled and safe environment.

Herein rests my message this week. While the majority of our students engage in these events, it is not all of them. Some of our students do not attend these events. Valid reasons like sickness etc... aside, there should be no reason why all of our students do not attend, support, and compete in these events. Students who attend these events, and get involved with the sporting and cultural activities on offer generally have more positive experiences while at school. We know that some of our students are worried about these types of events, but the answer cannot be to simply avoid them. A big part of developing resilience is knowing you are worried about doing something, and then doing it anyway. There aren't many situations where we get the opportunity to experience this in a safe and controlled environment, like school. My advice is for everyone to model the words of our student leaders this year, and GIVE IT A GO!

With sports and cultural sign ups currently available, there has never been a better time to practice this mantra and get involved in a sports or cultural activity. Better still, if you look at our available activities and see something missing that you think would be popular here at Mountainview High School, speak to your Ako teacher about it and we will see if we can make it happen.

Have a great weekend; if you are playing sports on the weekend - good luck!

Ngā mihi nui!

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Congratulations Nikita!