Welcome to the 2016 school year.

May I take this opportunity to extend a special welcome to the new students and parents who have joined our school community. Whether you have come from just down the road or the other side of the globe, it has certainly been a busy start with a wide variety of events/gatherings already behind us.

As at 1 March we had 1000 students enrolled at Riccarton High School, including those in Kohanga Ako (our Special needs Department) and our International students. It is fantastic to see our community supporting their local school and we look forward to sharing a very positive and rewarding educational journey with you all.

Our Year 9 cohort witnessed a substantial in-zone increase over the summer break, and in order for us to keep our average class numbers down, we found ourselves creating an extra class at this level in late January . This move has already paid huge dividends in a number of ways. 

It was wonderful to see such a large number of parents at our Powhiri on 1 February to officially welcome the Year 9 group. At the Powhiri, I spoke about the fact that at our school it is not just about the buildings or the learning that goes on inside the buildings; the most important aspect about Riccarton High School are the people within it and its associated community. It is about valuing every individual who comes through the gate. It is also about those individuals themselves asking the question: What can they do for others? which clearly reflects our school motto disce ut prosis - learn that you may be of service.

Congratulations to our senior students on their NCEA exam results that we are currently in the process of analysing to see where we, as teachers,  can learn and improve upon. 

The provisional statistics for 2015 in terms of achievement in NCEA are:

Level 1 - 91.3%

Level 2 - 80.8%

Level 3 - 83.6%

In particular, congratulations to the students who gained a New Zealand Scholarship: Mark Holdaway in Music, Chemistry and Physics; Fredy Youssif in Maths (Calculus); and Nicholas Lam in Physics. In addition to the 153 students who gained a Merit endorsement and 55 students who gained an Excellence endorsement across the three levels. Well done!

At the recent Academic assembly, I stressed that this type of success, whether it be through NCEA or any other pathway that we offer at Riccarton High, can only be achieved through a three-way partnership. I thanked both the staff and you the parents for your dedication and support throughout 2015. I also reminded the students of their responsibilities in this partnership: the importance of maintaining a focus, setting goals, being organised and making the most of the opportunities available to them.

These are all things which our new whānau time and our whānau  teachers plan to address throughout 2016. In the last newsletter for 2015, I indicated that this specific time, twice a week would provide our teachers not only with the time to complete administrative tasks, but also would provide pastoral support to our students. Previously our staff have had to juggle this element with the stresses of sticking to a tight curriculum schedule and although this new move is quite a ‘culture shift’ for both students and staff, overall we are pleased with the way these sessions have started. As with any new initiative, we will continue to review how things can be done better.

Enjoy your Easter break and I look forward to catching up with you soon.