This week we celebrated the life of Gail Shand who worked at the school for nearly thirty years keeping the school glistening and clean. Gail retired from long service as our House Manager in 2020 and her retirement was all too short, with her passing last week. At assembly we remembered Gail and reflected on the contribution of each and every person in our school and also the importance of humour, friendship and camaraderie in our life every day at school.

Learning at school is in full swing with many assessments due between now and the end of term. Please encourage the use of organisational tools like diaries, planners, Google calendars and actual calendars to get students planning ahead and doing a little often, to get ahead on their workload. Reporting will take place towards the end of the term with every student receiving a short comment in each subject they take, as well as the grades they have completed so far. This replaces the usual Term One ‘dot’ interim progress report and signals our movement to reporting that is more regular, informative and timely.

Thank you to everyone for attending the Student Learning Conferences and engaging in meaningful discussion around your child’s learning and progress. These are rich and important conversations that enable home-school connections to support student success. If you have missed your appointment, please arrange a new one through the school office.

I draw your attention to the Strike Action next week on Thursday 16th March. The school will be closed for instruction on this day. Please encourage your child to read, exercise and catch up on homework on this day. Please support the teachers as they are the key to your child’s learning. They are an amazing group of talented and hardworking individuals and we need to keep them in the teaching profession.

Ngā mihi nui