Another busy term ahead!

Dear parents/caregivers

A huge thank you to Hannah Banks and my Senior Leadership Team for leading the school so well in my absence last term. New Zealand principals are very fortunate to be offered a sabbatical opportunity every five years, and I have thoroughly enjoyed my break. Alongside reflecting upon current educational trends, student and staff wellness initiatives and attending two conferences, I have had time to rest and relax. I am now refreshed and ready to face the myriad of challenges for New Zealand schools in the current educational climate.

The start of term 2 has certainly been incredibly busy. The Pūaha Te Tai Kapa Haka group have been rehearsing incredibly hard for their stunning routine, which will be performed at the Trafalgar Centre at 2.25pm tomorrow (Saturday 7 August). Also performing this weekend are a number of dance students in the VAST Dance Festival at the Theatre Royal tonight. We had another brilliant Open Evening earlier in the week and next week we open our doors again for our annual Subject Selection Evening on Thursday 12 August. This is a very important event, giving our 2022 senior students an opportunity to fully explore all options before choosing their subject pathways. We believe the transition from year 11 to 12 is the most challenging, as students suddenly have full choice over their subject pathways. Therefore, all of our year 11 students will be offered a careers interview over the next fortnight to ensure they are putting appropriate thought into this process.

Over the holidays I was approached by the media regarding a number of ‘fight/scrap’ pages that continue to feature Nelson students on Instagram. I can assure Nayland College parents that the incidents we saw on these pages were historical and had already been investigated by the school. We have a zero tolerance for this sort of behaviour, and I can assure you that any students who are involved in, or encourage (by filming or otherwise) any form of fighting, face consequences at the highest level. Filmed fighting incidents are linked to a growing community concern about the use of social media and the role it plays in young people’s lives. Our positive behaviour initiatives, health lessons, Puna Ako wellbeing programme, digital technology classes and assemblies (to name a few), alongside support from the Police and Netsafe, continue to educate and support our young people to make good decisions around their own health, safety and wellbeing.

The Ministry of Education (MOE) continues to push forward with changes to NCEA, which will take effect for year 11 students from 2023. To prepare staff, the MOE have scheduled a number of NCEA Teacher Only Days over the coming 18 months. The second of these for 2021 will take place next Wednesday 11 August. I encourage you to explore the NCEA website and learn about the changes moving forward, which sit under 7 key ideas:

1. Make NCEA more accessible
2. Equal status for mātauranga Māori in NCEA
3. Strengthen literacy and numeracy requirements and assessments
4. Fewer, larger standards
5. Simplify NCEA's structure
6. Clearer pathways to further education or work
7. Keep NCEA Level 1 optional

I look forward to seeing many of you at the Subject Selection Evening next week.

Ngā mihi

Daniel Wilson
Principal