Kia ora koutou,

I hope you have had an enjoyable last ten weeks and are looking forward to spending some time with your young people over the holidays. I would imagine that many of them are very tired after a long term and will be looking forward to having a sleep in, so maybe hold off on that list of chores until mid-way through the first week. As I write this newsletter I am wondering if the world is preparing me for my trip to Scotland in September. The weather has been really grey and wet for a long time and I am really grateful that we have had Rakahuri open for our students during these cold and wet days.

There really is so much to celebrate this term, and we need to start with the return of our school production. I want to thank the team first and foremost for picking ‘We Will Rock You’. Personally, musicals are not my thing so I was overjoyed when I found out that the usual suspects of ‘Oliver’ and ‘Annie’ had been replaced with a great rock anthem musical. My family and I just loved every minute of it. The students and staff are already talking about their plans for the next production in two years' time!

Over the last month I have been visiting our contributing schools at night for our ‘Coffee and Chat’ evenings. This is where myself and two of our Head Students chat about our school and the transition to high school for parents of Year 8 students. One of the key messages we try to convey is the "vending machine" analogy where there is so much to do at school and all it requires is for you to get involved. Put something in and you'll get something out. Whilst the production has taken a front seat this term we need to also acknowledge that music, drama, kapa haka, dungeons & dragons and a huge array of sports and activities all happened at the same time. This requires a large amount of organisation and people willing to give their time to support our students, both staff and parents and in fact other students. I know that we are an institution for teaching and learning, yet for many of our students the most memorable times come from those activities outside the classroom and I want to thank everybody who has been involved in these activities this term.

Finally, I would like to wish Remihana Emery the best of luck for his time in the Principal's seat next term. For me, the plan is to take some time to recharge, visit schools in Scotland for three weeks, and then do some work on asking why so many Principals see this position as a calling rather than a job, and how that impacts on their wellbeing. It should be interesting…

Anyway, all the best for the break and for a busy Term 3. I'll see you in Term 4!

Ngā mihi nui,

Bruce