Dear Parents and caregivers

Tēnā Koutou Katoa

Term two holidays are nearly upon us. I hope that you can spend some time with your children to talk to them and enjoy their company. It will not hurt them to do a few chores around the house. There are important lessons for them to learn, one being, hard work is good for them and not everything in life is exciting and sometimes the most mundane jobs can give one a sense of accomplishment and pride in doing a job well. Thank you for raising them up to be fine young people. I know the challenges and difficulties you face as parents to enable your children to grow. Sometimes it may seem like one step forward and then taking two steps backwards

Ms Stewart our Principal has been away for a few weeks this term and it is good to see her return to work at the back end of the term. Like most secondary schools, it has been a busy term, winter sports are in full swing and I have seen many parents on sidelines encouraging our teams to play their hearts out. There has been plenty of teaching and learning happening both inside and outside the classroom. Your sons and daughter have been marvelous; a school without young people is no school at all.

During the term, we celebrated support staff day. We just could not operate a school of our size without these wonderful people. As a member of the SLT (Senior Leadership Team), we have to acknowledge and thank the teaching staff, we are fortunate to have a dedicated, hardworking and committed group of teachers. Every term has its own joys, celebrations, pressures and challenges. I would have to say we have done all right.

I just want to share with you a couple of clips about the world in which our we and our children  are going to be living in. If you manage to get some downtime have a look at these clips. Some of the ideas shared in these clips, you may be familiar with and some you may not be.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpW9JcWxKq0&t=7s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QM6FC1-hhFo

The education profession, like many other professions, is aware of the changing world. As a secondary school, we have to be courageous, innovative and creative to prepare our young people to thrive in a world that will be ever-changing and uncertain.

As I conclude this letter, read this to your children:

Be kind to your parents,  look after your younger brothers and sisters . Help around the house, do heaps of enjoyable activities, relax, read plenty and talk to your mates. If you have a part time job, well done.

Take care these holidays, if you are fortunate to have some, and safe travels on the road. For our older students, if you are driving, be safe and look after your friends.

Paul Donnelly

Associate Principal