Reports for students in Years 9 and 10 will be made available today.

These can be found in the parent portal on Edge and a letter containing information about how to access these will be emailed to you. If you are unable to access the report, which provides a snapshot of your daughter’s attitude to learning at this stage of the year, please contact the school office.

It has certainly been a busy week in the school calendar with numerous activities supporting our focus on Wellbeing and Engagement.

On Tuesday students in Years 10 to 13 had their learning conferences with their mentors. This was an opportunity to check on how the girls have settled into the year, identify what is going well and their next steps for learning in each of their subjects, as well as setting goals for the year ahead. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting with my mentees, both new and old. It is lovely to see the girls grow and develop as they progress through the school. We really appreciate that many of you make considerable sacrifices to attend these meetings but know that you will reap the rewards of being involved in your daughter’s learning journey.

While students in Years 10 to 13 were involved with Learning Conferences, Year 9 students participated in a Wellbeing day. Two speakers addressed the girls, Sonya O’Neill - a registered nurse and wellbeing advisor from Southern Rehabilitation, and Adrienne Buckingham - a teacher from OBHS and Positive Education Advocate. Their messages revolved around building wellbeing and using positive psychology to support our own wellbeing. The girls then went into a series of workshops that included Yogalates, Cyberbullying, Relationships and Adventure Based Learning activities.

Our annual swimming sports were held on Wednesday with both competitive and non-competitive swimmers participating and competing with respect, positivity and integrity.

Year 11 students participated in the Survivor 2020 Safer Journeys Expo at the Edgar Centre on Thursday. While this is a graphic and confronting presentation, it brings home the message about the consequences of poor decision making and is aimed at educating students before they begin to drive.

Back here at school on Thursday senior students were able to tour the Careers Coach, yet another way of supporting our students to make important decisions in their lives regarding future careers.

Meanwhile classroom learning is progressing with students in the senior school having numerous NCEA assessments between now and the end of the year. Next week sees our Year 12 Geographers and Biologists applying their learning in the field as they undertake their Borland Lodge camp. The remainder of Year 12 will participate in an EOTC camp at Sidey Camp in Waikouaiti or a Careers Week here in Dunedin.

Also on next week is Summer Tournament and we will have numerous students participating in a range of sports including Volleyball, Rowing, Waterpolo and Athletics. I know the girls will do the school proud and I look forward to watching some of the action at Maadi Cup (Rowing) and the South Island Athletics Championships in Timaru.

Once again I would like to acknowledge the work that goes into organising all of these events for the girls. Our students are extremely fortunate to have such a wide range of opportunities to support them in their learning. These are only possible because of the willingness of our staff to take on additional tasks, on top of their normal teaching load. Thank you to everyone involved.