This week snow affected some schools and areas around Dunedin. I thought it appropriate to let you know the procedures around school closure and how you will be notified about this.

All of the Dunedin secondary schools are part of the Dunedin Secondary Schools’ Partnership. Gavin Kidd, the co-ordinator of the partnership is charged with the responsibility of making the call on school closure, based on information he receives from the Primary School group, Meteorological Service and bus companies. He communicates with us and places notices on the local radio stations. We post closure information on our school App, the website and on our facebook page. Feedback from a parent this week has indicated that it would be helpful to also receive a message stating that the school is open when things look doubtful. We will do this in the future. As a rule, if you hear nothing, school is open. Please use common sense however, and keep your child home if conditions where you live are dangerous due to snow or ice, regardless of whether the school is open.

Although this has been a short week there has been no shortage of activity inside and outside the school. On Wednesday students participated in three choirs at the Regional Big Sing Choral Festival. All three choirs presented outstanding performances in the competition, the quality of which has grown over the years. Of the three, the OGHS choir gained the highest ranking with a Highly Commended award. This puts it in the running for the National Finale to be held in Wellington later in the year. We will find out who the successful choirs are in the next two weeks or so.

Also on Wednesday was the second of our parent teacher interviews. Please contact the school office if you were unable to attend but would like to speak to any of your daughter’s teachers.

Yesterday I was privileged to be invited to attend the Civic welcome for the Prime Minister of Samoa as well as the celebrations marking the 56th anniversary of Samoa’s independence from New Zealand. It was wonderful to see our Samoan students and ex-students being part of events at the highest level of central and local body government; events that acknowledged and celebrated their culture.

Year 11 students took part in the Careers Expo held at the Town Hall yesterday. This experience was one aspect of our ongoing careers programme. Our students gained a lot of valuable information to help support them in choosing a career pathway.

Over the weekend, as well as the usual sporting competitions, we have students participating in the Otago Chamber Music competition and the Harraways Otago Secondary Schools’ Year 9 and 10 Netball Tournament. I look forward to seeing parents and supporters at these events.