Kia ora whānau! 

We are halfway through term one already and school life is humming along. As always there are lots of positive achievements to celebrate in this week's newsletter and some key events and dates to keep an eye out for. 

Firstly, thank you to all the parents, caregivers and students who attended our recent 'Meet the Year 9 Kaiarahi' evening. As your children turn into teenagers and gain greater independence, I know many parents feel they become less involved in their child's school life. The Kaiarahi, or tutor teacher, is your young person's significant adult at school and I want to encourage you to feel comfortable to make contact with them if you have any questions or concerns about your child's learning, progress or any aspect of their school life. It was great to meet so many of you and to see how your children have settled into college. 

Across their core and module classes, all Year 9 students go through our 'Ko Wai Tātou' unit, which is designed to support this transition from intermediate schools to Nayland College. Meaning 'This is us,' Ko Wai Tātou covers the history, location and culture of Te Kāreti o Neirana (Nayland College). Students also spend time learning the tools and skills needed for success as a college student in each of their classes. They consider who they are as individuals and how they fit into their new learning groups. Our teachers are intentional and committed in building positive relationships.

Communicating with you about your child's learning and progress are priorities. During week 8 of this term (beginning 20th March), you will receive a traffic light report which gives an early indication of learning behaviours and progress. Towards the end of the term, we will then hold our achievement conferences. These are an opportunity to meet with your child and their kaiarahi (tutor teacher) to discuss how the year has started and to set challenging goals and actions to achieve them. Your involvement is a vital part of the process in supporting your rangatahi (young person).

Positive relationships between students are also at the heart of our school's values and culture. Recently during Puna Ako classes, junior students have worked on positive relationship skills including exploring appropriate ways to resolve disputes and conflicts. In assemblies last week, students at all year levels were reminded of the multiple support people we have available at school. If your child feels they are being bullied or threatened by others, please encourage them to let a staff member know. Students can share any concerns with their kaiarahi (tutor teacher), their kaiarataki (dean), school counsellors, our student support worker or any member of the senior leadership team. We have also encouraged students to look after each other, be positive role models and do the right thing in calling out inappropriate words or behaviour and reporting concerns to staff. 

Congratulations to our Nayland Girls A team for winning the first regional qualifying round of the NZ Secondary Schools Volleyball championships and a huge well done to those students who gained outstanding results at the Tasman Secondary Schools Mountain Biking Championships. 

Rehearsals for our term two musical production of 'Seussical' are well underway, with a large number of students and staff involved in bringing the show together. The show will be held at the Theatre Royal in May so watch this space and book your tickets early!

Another date to look out for is Thursday 16th March. The Post Primary Teacher's Association (PPTA) have allocated this day as a national strike action day. If a contract agreement is not reached before this date, it is very likely that school will need to close on this date as the majority of staff are PPTA members. 

Finally, I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge the schools and communities in the north island that have been deeply impacted by the recent weather events. Our students and staff have contributed to a number of fundraisers over the past fortnight and we're delighted to be able to send over $2500 to support those schools most in need.

Ngā mihi,

Hannah Banks

Associate Principal