Talofa lava! This has been Samoan Language Week and our Samoan girls have treated the school and the staff to glimpses of their culture and language.

I shared the story of Ida Mālosi, the first female Samoan judge in New Zealand in assembly on Tuesday before the girls presented a poem in Samoan and English and sang a beautiful Samoan song. Our Head Prefect Ella Rooney also spoke about the use of Samoan language in her home. This morning at our staff briefing the girls ran a Kahoot! for us, which tested our Samoan general knowledge. It has been wonderful to see these girls show their pride in both their culture and their school.

I have enjoyed interacting with many of our parents in recent days. We have held “Finding our Why” consultation sessions for our Pasifika and Māori families this week and held the first of two parent/teacher interview sessions. We have also had the first Sports Council meeting of the term. All of these events have been an opportunity for staff, students and parents to connect and learn from each other. Each of these interactions allows us to better understand the priorities of each of the stakeholders in our school community and to build the partnerships that best support our girls in their learning.

Prior to the consultation meeting for our Māori whanau we were treated to a performance from Wairua Puhou. Although they did not share the bracket they will be performing at the Hautonga national finals next month (they want to keep that up their sleeves!) they performed some pieces from last year’s repertoire. The quality of their performance reflected the hard work, deep pride and pursuit of excellence this group of students from OBs and OGs has demonstrated in recent months as they have prepared for this prestigious event.

Next week Wairua Pūhou will share the stage with our OGHS choir and the combined OGs/OBs choir at the regional Big Sing event. This is always a highlight of the choral year and I am really looking forward to hearing our girls in full song.

Winter sports events are in full swing and the courts and fields of the city have been filled with many of our girls throughout the week and weekend. If your daughter has signed up and been allocated to a team please encourage her to fulfil her commitments to that team. She needs to attend all practices and games if at all possible. If it is not possible she should communicate with her coach and/or manager as soon as possible. The willingness and ability to commit to an activity is an important skill and one that your daughter needs your support and encouragement to achieve.

Our cross-country runners have been enjoying significant success in the cross-country series being held at present while Sabrina Swerdloff in Year 13 has made it into the national debating team. Congratulations to all of these girls. Their commitment and effort has been rewarded through outstanding results.

Currently a number of groups in the school are preparing for international trips and exchanges. In September a group of students of Japanese will be travelling to Japan for three weeks to experience the culture and language of that country and to visit our sister school, Yasuda. Thirty students from Yasuda are coming to us early in Term Three. We are still looking for homestays for these girls so please contact the school office if you are able to help. They stay for two weeks and are always delightful girls. Hosting a student is a great way to bring the world to you and benefits both the girls hosted and you as a family. A further group is in the final stages of planning their trip to France and Germany which happens in late August.

I trust you enjoy the long weekend ahead and keep warm!