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Principal's Report

Ms L. Miller, Principal —

Celebration is always one of the highlights of the OGHS calendar and this year was no exception. I think the email I received yesterday sums it up beautifully.

Kia ora

What a wonderful celebration last night was. I knew there would be singing, I knew little else. All the practise and preparation made for a splendid, entertaining, well-run evening, in beautiful Knox Church, at the end of a full OGHS year. The breadth and range of energetic, assertive, happy students was glorious! Highlights for me were the radiant faces among the Pasifika dancers, so proud and full of the promise of youth, confident; the fabulous electric violin playing, and the obvious pleasure the violinist has in her creativity and skill; the combined choir’s beautiful singing; and especially the Y13 medley - thank you for performing it twice - and expertly managed in such a confined space! I loved its vigour, its humour and its courage.

All the speeches were excellent and pertinent to young women.

Nga mihi nui to you all, organisers, performers, all students in their full-bodied singing of the massed items. Great choices of songs. It really was a most splendid evening, I felt privileged to attend.

Jenny (Grandmother and ex-pupil)

Thank you to everyone involved in this successful event; teachers, students, parents and members of our school community. The sense of togetherness, the joy, the hope and the celebration of cultural pursuits within the school were all a balm to the soul.

Another celebration occurred this week with the presentation of projects by students from the Launch class. This Level Two course was a new addition to the senior curriculum this year and followed a project based learning philosophy. The focus of the course was on developing students 21st century learning skills through developing a product, service or movement. While the presentations included reporting on the actual outcomes of each project, students actually devoted more time to talking about their own personal learning journeys and the benefits they found in learning in this way. Improved confidence, enhanced problem solving skills and the ability to connect their learning in other subjects and areas to what they were doing in Launch were common comments. The evening was hosted by Innov8HQ, just one of the many high tech, entrepreneurial companies the students have been working with over the past year. The course was the brain-child of Deputy Principal, Rowan Taigel, who practised what she preaches by taking a risk and putting together and running a course that was completely new in overall approach and content. Thank you and congratulations to Rowan and the students of 12Launch. You dared greatly, and the rewards were evident to see.

Tuesday, next week, is the final day for Year 11 to 13 students before NCEA examinations get underway. Over the following weeks these students are on examination leave, when they are expected to study for their external examinations. Tutorials are on offer over this period and teachers are available to provide additional support, by arrangement. Some students will be at school completing internally assessed standards, as arranged by teachers. Please support your daughter by ensuring she has a quiet place to study, a study plan that she is sticking to and that she is getting adequate food, water, exercise and rest. There are many helpful tips on our Careers site

The same advice applies to students in Years 9 and 10 who have examinations coming up in Week 5.

I wish everyone well in their examinations. The final day of school for all students is Tuesday 10 December. All seniors return to school this day with Prizegiving held in the evening.