Ka pai te mahi ki Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori!

Dear parents/caregivers

After three weeks of lockdown it has been great to have a week of face-to-face learning back at school. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our wonderful teaching and support staff who very quickly transitioned to online learning and juggled delivering their lessons whilst also managing their own children and lockdown bubbles. I would also like to acknowledge our students who have shown resilience and adaptability in engaging with online lessons and the subsequent return to the classroom. Having said that, it has been a pleasure seeing the buzz of learning once again taking place on campus.  This week has been especially special as staff and students have taken part in a number of challenges to celebrate and acknowledge Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori, including pausing for Māori Language Moment on Tuesday. 

Over recent years we have intentionally invested in preparing our learners for a digital world, encouraging BYOD and offering many blended learning opportunities within the classroom. This has certainly prepared us well to transition in and out of online learning as the need arises. Just a reminder that we have long-term loan laptops available through our library for those students who do not have access to a device. We are planning and preparing for the possibility of another lockdown, so I do suggest that students take up this opportunity. 

Senior students are busy preparing for derived grade exams to take place in the last week of this term and we wish them all the best for their study. While we hope that there will be no need to go into lockdown again, these exams are even more important this year to ensure students have a derived grade they can rely on should external exams be cancelled.

NCEA

A reminder that we have been informed by NZQA that the following changes have been made to accommodate the loss of learning during lockdown:

• The dates for end of year NCEA and NZ Scholarship exams will be delayed by two weeks, to run from Monday 22 November until Tuesday 14 December. Due dates for portfolio submissions will also be pushed back by 2 weeks.
• The Mathematics Common Assessment Task (MCAT) will be delayed by two weeks until 28-30 September.
• The Digital Technologies & Hangarau Matihiko Common Assessment Tasks (DigiCATs) will also be delayed.
• Learning Recognition Credits will be issued at a rate of 1 LRC per 5 credits achieved through assessment, up to a cap of 8 LRCs at NCEA Level 1, and 6 LRCs and Levels 2 and 3
  
• There are no changes to endorsement or UE thresholds

Ngā mihi nui

Daniel Wilson
Principal