Welcome back to the final term of the year. As always, it is frightening to reflect on how quickly the year has gone by!

NCEA examinations are looming large now and preparations are well underway for end of year events and celebrations. Please ensure you check the newsletter, school calendar and school app for dates and times of these events. They are an opportunity to celebrate the achievements over the past year and to showcase each and every one of our students. We hope you can join us in doing so.

Hopefully your daughter has planned her study programme and has begun studying for the upcoming examinations. Tutorials will be available once exam leave starts and I encourage students to use these to support their own study efforts.

Students in Years 9 and 10 also have examinations coming up in Week 5. These provide an opportunity for them to review the learning they have done this year and to experience what it is like to sit formal examinations before they enter Year 11 and NCEA Level 1.

Over the holidays we received the very exciting news that Otago Girls’ High School has been named as one of three finalists in the Schools' Section of the Zayed Sustainability Awards. The application for these awards was put together by students from our Enviroschools group who focussed on actions that would support our school to be more sustainable in terms of energy use. A significant amount of work went into the application and two students, Lucy Davidson and Bryn McBurney, will be travelling to Abu Dhabi in January to attend the award ceremony and to learn which school will take out the $100,000 prize. This is another example of the initiative and drive that has been shown by our students, time and again this year. It is exciting to see our young women take the lead and venture, with our support, into activities that allow them to develop their leadership skills and that benefit themselves, their peers and society as a whole.

Another such venture occurred earlier this week when Tiare Makanesi organised and ran a Māori and Pasifika panel discussion on mental health issues. This was an extremely powerful and moving event that gave voice to issues and challenges faced by young Pasifika and Māori people. The questions discussed came from our students and the audience and panelists were a mix of students and professionals from these communities. The conversations were frank, respectful and enlightening and I felt extremely privileged to have been party to them. There is no doubt that understanding only comes through dialogue and through truly listening to the truths of others.

Tiare organised the event as a social action that arose out of the work she has been doing in Launch. Launch has been a new subject this year. It has focused on innovation, creativity and project based learning and enabled students to learn how to design and create, and launch a truly innovative product, service or movement. I am looking forward to seeing the projects developed by other students in this class during their presentations in Week 3.