Kia ora ngā whānau o Pāpāmoa. He mihi aroha ki a koutou katoa. My name is Pere Durie and I am the Acting Principal for the first half of 2022.

I have already been in touch with you through weekly emails, facebook and website updates, so it feels familiar to be writing to you now for the first newsletter for the year.. COVID-19 has brought on a lot of disruption to how school normally operates. We have had assemblies, pōwhiri, sports tournaments, whānau interviews and daily schedules all affected. That said our students, our staff and our community have all been able to roll with the punches and adapt as needed.

Despite the challenges, a number of opportunities have been coming up which students have been taking. Theatre sports has started after school. Netball, Hockey and Basketball have been holding trials for the upcoming season. Some senior students have been going out to pathway courses that include construction, hair and beauty and engineering. Others have been learning about driving, pest eradication and connections to the local whenua. 

The value for the College this term is whānaungatanga - the relationships we share with each other. With everything happening in the world today this is a great value to embrace. Once we get to the other side of this pandemic wave we hope that we can get our whānau to come on site and meet with teachers in person and make those connections which are crucial to the success of our young people.