Dear Parents, Caregivers & Whānau,

As a principal you certainly get to see the highs and lows in the lives of our young people. Our students have been involved in such a wide range of activities over the past week or so, resulting in some significant achievements.  

We started the week celebrating the students who competed at the National Shakespeare Festival in Wellington, including Anushka Castaing's prestigious Assessor's Award and Molly Clarke's selection to the National Shakepeare Production in Dunedin. 

And we end the week celebrating success at The Big Sing Secondary Schools Choral Festival last night with our mixed choir 'NayCol Chorale' winning the Adjudicator's Award for their stunning performance of 'Ad Astra.' It has been a tough few weeks for our choirs with both students and their conductors impacted by covid and winter illnesses and many unable to perform on the night. We wish those who are still recovering all the best and we want to acknowledge both choirs for digging deep, persevering and putting in loads of effort over many weeks. Not only did you perform beautifully but you were a credit to Nayland College in the way you went above and beyond on the night. 

This morning I had the privilege of attending the opening of the Ngā Manu Kōrero regional speech competition at the Pūtangitangi/Greenmeadows Centre. Nayland College were the host school this year and I am very proud of our staff and students who have worked tirelessly in behind the scenes organising and preparing kai for the all the manuhiri and students performing. Xanthe Banks (Year 11) and Rosie Goomes (Year 9) both spoke exceptionally well and we are looking forward to receiving the results! 

Our Stoke Tāhunanui Kāhui Ako Matariki Celebration is less than three weeks away with students from across the schools preparing live performances, art displays and market stalls to share their incredible talents with you. There will also be a star hunt, light display and a whole raft of food trucks with delicious options on offer. Make sure you come down on Tuesday 28 June from 5pm-7:30pm and be a part of celebrating Matariki together as a Kāhui Ako community. 

Finally we have nine bands, duos and soloists competing at the Regional Smokefree Rockquest competition tonight. We wish each of you the best of luck!

Ngā mihi

Daniel Wilson
Principal