Welcome to all our new and returning students to a new school year!

Dear parents/caregivers

It has been a wonderful start to the year at Nayland College, with our mihi whakatau on Tuesday welcoming 404 new year 9 students, 70 students from other year levels and many new staff to the school. Our main form of communication is this electronic newsletter, which is distributed fortnightly. On alternative weeks, a shorter 'update' will be published. This will include more general community notices.

Students will have noticed that our House system has changed slightly for 2021. Following the lessons we learnt during 2020, we are taking a bold approach to our pastoral support programme this year and have introduced more layers of support for students. This includes the introduction of another house (Cygnus), an additional Dean, Head of House, Counsellor and Deputy Principal, and additional responsibilities for teachers within learning areas. We are also introducing a ‘Reflection Centre’ to support students that need time out of mainstream lessons and to ensure that the learning of others is not impacted by the actions of a few.

Nayland College is a rapidly growing organisation, with a total roll for 2021 of around 1500 students. This is approximately 150 more students than last year. The Ministry of Education has moved quickly to ensure we have additional classroom capacity, with 10 additional temporary classrooms to be added before the end of 2021. This will also allow us to refurbish an additional 20 classrooms throughout the school by mid-2022. The Ministry of Education have indicated that Nayland College requires an enrolment zone. We are waiting for final confirmation; however, I expect this to be implemented at some stage in the following few months.

Congratulations to all of our senior students on their 2020 NCEA results. Our results at Level 2, 3 and University Entrance were outstanding, and we are performing significantly above National averages at all levels of NCEA. In fact, our University Entrance results were the best in the history of the school. Half of achieving students at Level 3 also gained an endorsement and students achieved 8 scholarships. We are so proud of the academic performance of our students!

Looking back at 2020, I am proud of the way Nayland College faced the many challenges posed through circumstances well outside of our control. Although I am hoping that 2021 will return to a sense of normality, we need to be very aware that a global pandemic still rages outside our shores and that new mutant strains of the virus pose a significant risk to our stability. We are very fortunate to be able to offer face-to-face classes at a time when many countries across the world have once again locked down schools and learning institutions. It is vital that students and families are prepared for any scenario moving forward. A key task over the coming weeks is to ensure that students are set up online and that they are prepared and ready to move fully online at any point throughout the year. The ‘At Home Learning Guide’ may assist in familiarising students with our home learning procedures.

I look forward to another action-packed year at Nayland College.

Ngā mihi nui,

Daniel Wilson
Principal