Term 3, Week 5
Monday, 23 August - Sunday, 29 August
Well done to the young men and their partners who attended the PNBHS Ball last Saturday night. With close to 650 young people in attendance, it was a large and ultimately very successful event. We were very pleased to receive many positive comments from many of the adults associated with the event about the manner in which the attendees interacted with them, particularly their good manners. While an emphasis on social graces, such as manners, may have lost some appeal, the old adage that 'manners maketh the man' (and in this case young lady too) is just as true as it ever was (click here to view the ball photographs and click here to see the photo booth photographs, password veGas21).
Not so positive was having to make the decision to have to call off the school concert after the announcement was made that New Zealand was to move into Alert Level 4 lockdown. The young men and staff involved had put in many hours of practice in preparation and will no doubt be disappointed to miss this performance opportunity. We are hopeful that the concert can be rescheduled before the end of term.
Young men who were due to play in semifinal and finals in their respective winter sporting competitions this weekend will also be disappointed. Again, we are hopeful that there will be opportunities to reschedule these matches. We will keep our community informed as we receive information from the organising bodies.
Covid Alert Level 4
Our Guidance Counsellors, Mr. Steve Dawson (dawsons@pnbhs.school.nz) and Mr. Brett Greer (greerb@pnbhs.school.nz) are available to support young men as necessary. There are also a range of other support services available in the community for both students and family members who might benefit from it:
Need to talk? – 1737 – free call or text
Depression Helpline – 0800 111 757
Healthline – 0800 611 116 (or 0800 358 5453 for Covid-19 related inquiries)
Samaritans – 0800 726 666
Youthline – 0800 376 633
Alcohol Drug Helpline – 0800 787 797
Suicide Crisis Help Line – 0508 828 865
If you have COVID-19 symptoms, call the dedicated COVID-19 Healthline 0800 358 5453
Based on our 2020 experiences and moving out of Alert Level 4, it is likely that this will be done in a staged manner. Under Level 3 restrictions the Year 9 and Year 10 children of essential workers have the opportunity to be supervised at school. If we move to Alert Level 3 and it will be necessary for your son to be supervised at school so that you can return to work please email the school office with your son's name and form class - admin@pnbhs.school.nz Please note that this request is preparatory - we have no information to indicate that a move to Alert Level 3 will occur or any indication of a timeframe for such a move.
Cancelations/Postponements
We are aware of the following changes to scheduled activities. Further changes to scheduled events will be necessary if we do not return to Alert Level 1.
- All Rugby matches scheduled for this weekend are cancelled or postponed
- All Football matches scheduled for this weekend are cancelled or postponed
- All Hockey is postponed until August 25
- Manawatu Secondary Schools Basketball is cancelled up to and including Friday, August 27
There is no sports draw in this Weekly Update. We will update our school community as we receive information about rescheduled matches.
Are Your Contact Details Up-To-Date?
If you've moved house or changed your phone number, email address or any other contact information can you please ensure that the school office has been informed. We require this information so that we can communicate effectively with you. In the current Covid-19 world this information could also be required for effective contact tracing should there be a confirmed case in our school community.
Please contact our friendly main office staff (admin@pnbhs.school.nz) if your contact details need to be updated.
Sports and Cultural Photographs
The final group of Sports and Cultural photographs are (hopefully!) being taken on Tuesday, August 24. The schedule can be found further in this newsletter. Please work with your son to ensure that he is organised with the correct playing uniform as necessary.
2022 Subject Information Evening (now ONLINE) and Subject Selection
Young men are currently being asked to select their subject options for 2022. To assist with this process a Subject Information Evening is being held ONLINE on Tuesday, August 24 from 6.00pm - 7.00pm. Instructions on joining meetings with staff will be emailed to all parents and young men on Monday. Young men in the Accelerate Programme and their parents can click here to watch a short video presentation from Mr. Benn with some general advice about subject selection.
Information about the subject choices available can be found here. Subject choices for 2022 need to be made by 3.30pm on Friday, August 27. Information about making your son's choices via the Parent Portal can be found here.