"Thank you to all our wonderful students and parents for your commitment to our school.

Kia ora e te whānau,

I want to start this newsletter by expressing gratitude for your continued commitment to our school. 

Last Thursday we held a local curriculum and HERO hui. The support shown was so good, it's great knowing we are in partnership to improve the learning outcomes for our students. We certainly appreciate your involvement and feedback.

Thank you all for your kind words, and hearing the positive feedback always encourages us to move in the right direction. 

We had a very productive staff-only day, continuing to refine our local curriculum and ensure we can deliver an engaging environment that meets our guiding principles.

Cross Country

Yesterday 36 of our students (years 4-8) competed in the Parumoana cross-country at Queen Elizabeth Park. From all accounts, our students did very well. I want to congratulate them all on competing against ten other schools. I also want to thank parents for transporting and encouraging our runners. We have four students moving on to the regional cross-country event. Congratulations! These athletes are

Roselle Eagar - Year 4 -5th

Noah Van Son - Year 5 - 4th 

Clara Wiles - Year 5 - 5th

Gretal Eagar- Year 6 - 9th

PB4L - Kura reward

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of spending the morning with the Principal's Assistant, Edie Adams. This opportunity arose as part of our commitment to the KURA values, which play a vital role in our school community.

Our school prides itself on the KURA values:

• Kindness
• Unite
• Responsible
• Achievement

These values are integral to fostering a positive and inclusive environment. Students who consistently demonstrate these values are rewarded with the chance to be selected as a principal assistant.

The process of selecting a principal assistant is both exciting and fair. During team hui, names are drawn from a box. Students who have exhibited the KURA values have multiple opportunities to go into the draw.

Having a student shadow me in the morning was a delightful experience. Edie was enthusiastic and eager to take on responsibilities and help me and the admin staff with our work for the morning. Her positive attitude and willingness to help were infectious and Edie even provided staff with blueberry muffins for morning tea! 

Ex-Student achievements

One of our ex-students Caelan Taylor, a year 12 student at Whitby Collegiate is going from strength to strength. We want to congratulate Caelan on his recent selection and wish him all the best with his upcoming leadership opportunity. 

Below is the letter to the school to inform them of his selection.

Caelan Taylor, one of your year 12 students, has recently been selected for the Pinnacle Programme.

Pinnacle is a unique scholarship created to identify young New Zealanders with potential, develop their skills and nurture them to be this country’s next generation of leaders. We give motivated and talented youth the opportunity to go through iconic experiential leadership programmes: Spirit of Adventure and Outward Bound. Pinnacle students also have the opportunity to partake in high performance workshops, goal setting and one on one mentoring with an expert in their field.

We will be holding an induction day in Auckland on the 26th June 2024. The day consists of a water safety course (in preparation for Spirit of Adventure), workshops and opportunities to connect with other students in the programme. I am writing to request time off school for Caelan to attend this key part of the programme.

Caelan will elect to sail on the Spirit of New Zealand at a time of his choice and will communicate with you if this falls within the school term. This ten-day voyage provides leadership, teamwork and self-discovery opportunities which translate back into most students’ lives, study and extra-curricular activities.

For more information visit our website at www.pinnacleprogramme.co.nz

Please feel free also to contact us with any questions you may have.

Warm regards,

Pinnacle Programme Lead