Kia ora koutou

As we approach the marketing season it is important to remember all that is special about our school. Please enjoy our new prospectus which you can view on-line and let all younger students know that Open Night will happen on August 3rd this year with two tour start times of 5pm and 6pm. Bookings will open next week and can be accessed from the school website. We have much to celebrate:

• Outstanding academic achievement including 19 Scholarships in 2020, six Outstanding Scholarships and three top New Zealand Scholars in Sculpture, Media Studies and French, excellent results at all levels of NCEA and wonderful progress being made in many vocational areas.

• Fabulous recent sporting performances including our Senior A Netball team being promoted to the Dunedin Premier Netball A Club Competitions; our Cross Country runners winning the Under 14, Under 15 and Under 19 team trophies at the Otago Cross Country Championships as well as lots of stunning individual results throughout the Cross Country series; and in Rugby 7s our Senior A and Junior Navy teams winning their finals.

• Wonderful cultural activities including 38 students performing in the Big Sing Otago Girls’ Choir along with the Otago Boys’ Combined Choir; our amazing ShowQuest performance in the Regent Theatre; the combined OGHS/ OBHS Production ‘Cry Baby’ in full swing for Opening Night on 30th June, and Hautonga - the regional kapa haka competition where Wairua Pūhou hope to qualify for Nationals in July.

• Exciting plans are underway for our 150th Jubilee at Labour Weekend. All students will attend the opening of the Jubilee at 1pm on Friday 22 October in the Regent Theatre. Wairua Pūhou and the choir will perform and the guest speaker will be Mai Chen, ex-girl, prominent New Zealand lawyer and Chair of the Superdiversity Centre for Law, Policy and Business.

Our Year 9 Scholarships will be awarded by the School Board at a special ceremony in July. Up to 14 Scholarships are awarded in the areas of Academic, Sport, Cultural Activities and Leadership. Further Year 9 Scholarships and prizes are awarded at the end-of-year Prizegiving at the Regent Theatre.

We thought it would be helpful to point out that despite some post-COVID challenges this year, including issues arising from social media and out-of-school behaviours, our pastoral and disciplinary systems remain rigorous, well-resourced and robust. Please never hesitate to call a mentor, dean, counsellor or member of the senior leadership team to discuss issues or concerns you have. We welcome open discourse and engagement with whānau and the community and would love to connect with you. While we can’t always share specific outcomes of disciplinary action, we can definitely discuss the rigorous systems we have for dealing with such matters.

Please support senior students to plan ahead in the last few weeks of term so that they manage their assessment load, part-time jobs and other activities. We encourage the use of diaries, wall-planners and other tools to facilitate this. Again, deans, mentors and the Careers Department can assist with this. We are here to support every child to reach success in their chosen pathway.