FROM THE ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL

Tēnā tātou e te whānau whānui,

As we come to the end of Term 1, I want to acknowledge the incredible energy and enthusiasm that has filled Rangiora High School these past few months. It has been a busy and productive start to 2025 as we embark on our journey of shifting from good to great.

Our students have excelled in a range of activities. The Polyfest performances by Tū Fa’atasi Rakahuri were a highlight, showcasing our school's vibrant cultural diversity and talent. The dedication shown by these students, the tutors and staff involved was unwavering, training three to four times a week since the beginning of the year. Time well spent for a reward well earned.  We must also give thanks to all our whānau and aiga who supported us throughout this campaign.

I was also thrilled to see so many of our students involved in Summer Tournament Week competing in athletics, touch rugby, volleyball, horse polo, cricket, golf, mountain biking, basketball and swimming.  The Girls' Futsal team represented us at the nationals in Wellington where they placed 4th out of 32 teams, and our Girls' Dragon Boating team paddled away with two gold medals and one silver at the Canterbury championships.  It’s truly heartwarming to know that students are pursuing their talents and making the most of the opportunities afforded to them.  Well done to you all!

Year 9 Camps at the Boyle River were again well attended and enjoyable.  I loved seeing our rangatahi outside of their comfort zones, bonding, challenging themselves and each other, respecting and appreciating this remarkable land of Te Wai Pounamu.  

I’ve been impressed by the way our students have embraced the new Kaitiaki system and the focus on our school values. We talk a lot about kindness, which should underpin all that we do here.  Our aspiration is to move from words to actions as we embody kindness in our daily lives.  It's wonderful to see our culture of belonging and wellbeing growing stronger and it is up to each of us to contribute to the positivity of our kura.

With these things in mind, Rangiora High School has the honour of hosting the Waitaha Regional Ngā Manu Kōrero Speech Competition, a significant and prestigious event on Wednesday 18 June and Thursday 19 June. We are anticipating around 2000 attendees from the wider Canterbury region, which will require significant space, resources, and a focused environment. To make this event a success and to minimise disruption to your children's learning, we will be implementing a "learning from home" model on these two days (18-19 June) where teachers will provide structured learning activities and resources for Year 9-13 students to complete at home. Friday 20 June is Matariki (public holiday).

This decision allows us to fully support Ngā Manu Kōrero and showcase our school, while maintaining our commitment to student learning.  We thank you in advance for your cooperation and understanding, especially with such a fantastic and rare opportunity for our school and community. 

Finally, ‘keep cool till after school.’  I wish you all an enjoyable holiday.  Kids, be kind to your caregivers lest the Easter Bunny leaves you empty and wanting.  We hope to see you in the Court of Memories for our Anzac Ceremony at 9.30am on Friday 25 April.

Ngā mihi nunui,

Remihana Emery

Associate Principal

FROM THE PRINCIPAL / TUMUAKI

Kia ora Parents and Caregivers, 

We are now in the final week of what has felt like a very long term. I think our students are ready for a couple of weeks away from school - even if it is not away from study. 

Remihana and I attended the Canterbury West Coast Secondary Principals' Association conference in Melbourne last week. About 30 of our Secondary Principals went to Australia to see what was working well under their system and hear any common issues that we both have experienced. If I am honest, whilst they may pay more, their issues and ours are very similar with respect to teacher shortage, loss of perception of the value of the profession, and dealing with the negative impact of social media. The two most obvious differences were that Victorian schools had access to very clear common data across years and schools, and that vaping was almost non-existent due to their more stringent laws. I hope that someday our government will strengthen our own laws and make it more difficult for young people to access vaping. Even though I am not a fan of prohibition I do believe that we need this to make a dent in vaping by young people in New Zealand.

This term we have been doing quite a bit of work on our pastoral systems. At the start of the year we made some structural changes and lifted our expectations around attendance and behaviour. Most year levels have been pretty good at accepting these changes and I am sure that with a continued emphasis, the others will shift their thinking too. What I am really pleased to report is that our focus on attendance has produced some positive results already. We have made a commitment to be more proactive in our communications with our parents when a student's attendance starts to raise concerns rather than waiting too long to contact home. In addition to that, of course, we have placed consequences on students who choose not to attend in relation to both representing our school and for our older students, being able to remain in school when an alternative pathway may be more beneficial. This term we saw some positive changes in our attendance data compared with Term 1 last year:

It has been a very busy term for sports and culture. PolyFest was huge, Summer Tournament Week saw multiple buses of students travel around New Zealand competing. I had the pleasure of watching the Girls' 3x3 Basketball tournament in Dunedin and our girls were successful in making it to Nationals which will be played later this year. These sporting events are made available for our students through our staff and family members offering their time freely to coach and manage teams and we as a school, appreciate the support that is given. Finland is a country that is often held up as the model education system, yet teachers there are not expected to coach sports and manage teams, their sole job is to teach. I think it would be exceptionally sad if we followed the same way as for many of us it is the activities outside the classroom that we remember the most fondly from our school days. 

I hope that you all have a great next couple of weeks and that you enjoy your Easter break. I had an amazing time dressed up as a rabbit with the Head Students delivering Easter eggs to our Year 9’s this week!

It would be awesome to see you at our ANZAC Day commemoration and celebration on Friday 25 April. It starts at 9.30am in the Court of Memories. There will be a free sausage sizzle and coffee from 8.45am-9.15am. This year is about not only commemorating our fallen but also celebrating the gift of life that was given to us. There are only three speakers: our two Head Students and me. Hopefully I will see you there. 

Ngā mihi nui,

Bruce