Talofa lava, Noa'ia, Mauri, Ni Sa Bula Vinaka, Fakaalofa lahi atu, Tālofa, Kia orana, Mālō e lelei, Mālō nī, Talofa lava, and warm Pacific greetings!

This week - in Samoan Language Week - we celebrate Moana Week, embracing all of the Pacific cultures and values that are part of our rich cultural tapestry here at Otago Girls’ High School. We also celebrate our strong Pacific leadership at school, led by Head Prefect, Jordan Evans-Tobata and Pasifika Prefect Alyssa Slade.

This week I attended the New Zealand Secondary Principals Conference in Queenstown. The conference included a range of workshops, keynotes and presentations on a variety of topics, with a focus on equity in education and addressing nationwide attendance issues in schools. At Otago Girls’ High School we have very good attendance, averaging around 90% attendance at school. It is important to maintain this and work together with families to keep attendance high. Illness excepted, students should be tracking their own attendance on Edge. Get your child to show you the pie graph on their phone and if needed, discuss strategies to improve attendance. Getting involved in school activities is the main factor in high attendance rates and we have a plethora of school activities to choose from.

School Board elections happen in early September and there will be some change in our Board make-up so please consider standing for election. More information will be coming soon. It is vitally important for the school that we have a good number of people stand to go on the Board and therefore hold a robust election and get good representation. There will be an information session coming up about what being on the School Board entails and how to go about standing for the Board. I would strongly encourage you to get involved. We are indebted to our current Board for the work they do.

Tōfā soifua