We are now entering the final term for the year and many end of year activities and celebrations are looming.

As I write this article I can hear the girls practising for Celebration in the hall and there is no doubt that hearing all those wonderful voices, singing in unison, is great for the soul. Our annual Celebration Service, held at Knox Church on Tuesday October 25 this year, is always a highlight of the school calendar and I hope many of you will be able to attend. As well as an opportunity for the girls to come together in the spirit of all that is good about OGs and for some key cultural groups to perform for our listening pleasure, Celebration also marks a major milestone for the Year 13 students who get to perform their medley to the school community after five years of listening to their predecessors do the same.

Over the past week or so information has been coming into the school about student successes in achieving tertiary scholarships. While the list is not yet complete, we know of approximately 21 girls who have together been awarded over $400,000 of scholarships to Universities here in Dunedin, Wellington and Auckland. Some girls have received scholarships of such a high value that they have the possibility of completing their university degree with little or no student loan to their name. To my knowledge Otago Girls’ High School has never before been as successful in winning this number or this value of scholarships. A number of factors has led to the success of these students in applying for these very lucrative scholarships. These include having at least a Merit endorsement at Level 2 NCEA along with involvement in community service, sport, cultural and leadership activities. Success in the senior school is achieved by building on success in the junior school and students need to be aware that the more time and effort they put into their learning in the early years of their schooling, the more successful they will be as they move into tertiary study.

As well as celebrating the achievements of our scholarship girls much work and planning goes into supporting girls at all other levels of achievement to achieve to their potential. Our Learning Matters group has throughout the year, been identifying and working with students who we believe to be at risk of underachievement. If you have concerns about the progress your daughter is making, please get in touch with us so we can ensure the necessary supports are in place to help her succeed. This is the case regardless of her current year of study. In the senior school teachers are offering tutorial support and students should have received clear feedback from the parallel examinations held last term on what they need to revise for the external examinations. The key action for students to take at this stage of the year is to spend time on their learning – in class, during tutorials, at home. By focusing on what they don’t know and getting help with this from their teachers and peers, students can make enormous gains in their levels of achievement at this stage of the year.

At the end of last term the Otago Girls’ High School Board of Trustees awarded the Highgate Fellowship for 2016 to our Head of Mathematics, Ms Jeanette Chapman. This is a fitting tribute for a long serving teacher at the school who has worked tirelessly to support the achievement of girls in Mathematics. This fellowship will allow Ms Chapman to undertake professional development and personal refreshment in 2017.

Next week we will celebrate our Cultural Blues Awards which include Academic Blues. This is always a great event and an opportunity to showcase some of our best cultural performances and productions. I hope to see many of you there.