We had over 900 people attending through the afternoon and evening and students and staff spent many hours preparing and then engaging with our visitors. It is always lovely to share our school in this way.

I have been discussing with the students in assembly the resilience needed at this time of year - it is very much the grind part of the year; tail end of winter; endless assessments; lots of commitments; sports getting ready for end of season tournaments; school practice exams coming up for seniors and lots of practices, rehearsals, essays, tests, portfolios due and amidst that, also maintaining commitments at home and maybe work outside school. Phew - no wonder we’re all feeling a bit tired and overwhelmed.

I’ve recently been inspired by an article written by Peter Hillary where he writes of an expedition he made to Nepal a few years ago and while trekking in the Himalayas, Nepal experienced a 7.9 richter scale earthquake and the group also experienced the loss of one of their members from sudden illness. I found Peter Hillary’s description of how the group rallied and managed to get through these catastrophic events while trekking in one of the most challenging landscapes on earth very inspiring. He talked about how the group, “laughed a lot and encouraged each other on along the narrow footpaths as they headed up the Himalayan valley. The group mastered the road rules of ‘give way to yaks and the synchronised crossing procedures for suspension bridges above Himalayan abysses’, because to quote Peter you don’t want to meet a yak in the middle of a 100 metre suspension footbridge. “We all adopted our own version of the Himalayan Plod”, meaning to set a pace that allows your heart and lungs to operate within a range suitable for your age and fitness and the lofty altitudes of being 5000 metres above sea level.

This concept of the Himalayan Plod really resonated with me - not suggesting that what I do at school principal is anywhere near equating to climbing in the Himalayans, but the concept that you set your pace to suit the circumstances - and the current circumstances are, we are coming to the tail end of winter (which notoriously has a sting in it); we are in the midst of a frantically busy term with a multitude of commitments and overwhelmingness - so I will find my Himalayan plod and have encouraged the students to as well - not so much to plod but to recognize these are challenging times and set your physical, emotional and spiritual speedometer to the right pace to allow you to navigate through this successfully. And, spring is just around the corner.

I would like to wish our sporting teams who are preparing for tournaments at the end of the month all the best. They have worked hard all season and it is good to test themselves in the wider competitive environment.

I hope you enjoy our latest newsletter - it is jam packed with an array of our students’ success and involvement in a range of sporting and artistic endeavours. I am always impressed by the talents of our young people.

Tracy Walker
Principal

In this issue

North Island Secondary School Cyclocross Championships