Kia ora koutou

We congratulate our Class Act recipients - Hetty Finney-Waters and Loji Moharram - who received their awards from the Prime Minister yesterday. Both are top academic students as well as leading and being involved in a wide range of school and community activities. Please see their full citation in the newsletter article below.

Well done to all students and members of staff who took part in Winter Sports Week. It was truly fabulous to be out and about at tournaments again and a great level of performance and sportswomanship was shown by all teams. We look forward to Sports Day on Monday.

Last week we began the very exciting task of interviewing the 160 Year 8 students who will begin their Otago Girls’ journey in 2023. An important message to these students is to get involved in at least one winter and one summer activity. It is expected that ALL OF YOU will be involved in a school co-curricular activity this term and next. Keep an eye out on the notices for what is coming up and speak with Ms Robson our Arts Coordinator, Ms Hokianga, our Sports Coordinator, or senior students, to find out what you can do.

Thanks to all those who attended the Year 10 NCEA Information evening and subject selection. This is an important time. Please speak to your child about their option selection and seek more advice from HODs and the Careers team if you need it. The first main message from me is that distance learning is only available in cases of extreme need. Our preference is to be studying a subject in person, with a teacher, at our school. This is followed closely by the limited back-up option of studying a subject in person, with a teacher at Otago Boys’ High School when it is unavailable at our school or there is a subject clash. There are a few notable exceptions such as studying Tongan, Samoan or Korean language - but even then, students need to be strongly motivated and self-managing to achieve success in studying online.

My second main message regarding subject selection is that secondary school is a five year journey. Staying at school for Year 13 gives a great advantage academically, socially and in the job market where employers are looking for stickability, reliability and perseverance. School is 5 years and the rest of your working life is 40 or more years. Investment in the five years of education here is a small price to pay for qualifications and options that will go with you all your life. If a Year 12 student is considering leaving school at the end of the year, please make sure you as the parents have come in and had a proper conversation about the long-term ramifications of this.

Congratulations to all of our students on their public speeches. Again, this is an important skill that they take with them all their lives. The extremely high quality of the speeches and the important messages they shared demonstrated the confidence that our young people have to tackle hard issues and communicate convincingly. We have a strong culture and tradition of speaking here and I was pleased to see many students speaking from their own experience.

Parallel examinations are coming up for seniors at the end of next week and students should be preparing for this. On your landing page and also on our Website is a link to the Careers website which has a range of revision tools and apps available, including Learn Coach, Study It and other really good help for studying. There are also tips for wellbeing, nutrition and mindfulness/ relaxation. Please support your child to prepare and go positively into these examinations.

Whāia te iti kahurangi ki te tūohu koe me he maunga teitei

This whakatauki is about aiming high or for what is truly valuable, but it's real message is to be persistent and don't let obstacles stop you from reaching your goal.