I would like to take this opportunity to welcome everyone back to school for the 2023 year – particularly our new students across all the year groups. I am confident that you will have a fantastic experience at Queen's.

Our 2023 Year 9 group is the largest group, at 134 students, that we have had in some years and it is really exciting to see. Under Ms Agnew’s leadership and with the support of all the staff and our community, the school has gone from strength to strength over recent years. We now have the largest roll that we have had in a very long time and from a Board perspective, feel that the school is in a very good space.

I appreciate that growth is not everything and sometimes too big is also not right, however with some growth does come opportunities in terms of funding and other initiatives that can benefit the school in many ways.

Talking of opportunities, I would like to announce that Ms Agnew will be away from school for Term 2 this year. She has been awarded a Principal's Sabbatical, where she will be travelling all over New Zealand, visiting other schools, for a research paper relating to de-streaming of classes in schools and the effect that has on the many aspects of school life.

While Ms Agnew is away from the school, Ms Ashton will be Acting Principal, and will be well supported by  the Board and the staff during this time.

We, as a Board, are very excited about the opportunity that Ms Agnew has been given. We believe it will benefit Queen's immensely, as when she returns she will have so much more knowledge on the subject and how it can be best applied to our school, for the benefit of all.

We all wish her safe travels and will look forward to seeing her back in Term 3.

Jude Molyneux

Board Chair