As the term draws to a wet and windy conclusion, yet again I am amazed by the energy and enthusiasm of our young men.

Our senior students have launched themselves into Wānanga Days with open minds and on the whole the feedback I’ve received has been positive. We will be doing a full review of these days with all the students in term 3, but as an institution we believe it is important to keep striving to improve with innovations such as this.

On Monday I was privileged enough to attend a Tongan Fono meeting held at the school. It was fantastic to catch up with some members of our Tongan community, both past and present, and I am always impressed by the level of support and care that this community provides for each other. I look forward to continuing to work with this group to support and help in any way we can.

We have also just finalised becoming an NCEA Change Hub School. We are one of 14 schools selected nation wide to provide community feedback on the proposed NCEA changes. Our first opportunity to have our voice heard is on Tuesday, 9 August where whānau are welcome to attend a meeting in the library at 6pm to find out about the new Literacy and Numeracy requirements. Please make an effort to come along as the more varied feedback the Change Team receive, the more likely we will end up with an NCEA system that is fit for purpose.

In my final assembly with the juniors today we discussed the topic of gratitude. The boys have been given some homework which includes doing the dishes, washing their clothes and making cups of tea. We are a 100% completion school, so I encourage you to talk to your sons to ensure they complete these tasks.

Please keep warm and safe over the holiday period. Thank you for all the support I’ve received this term. It will be nice to get back to my day job next term and welcome a refreshed Mr Hall back as Rector.