November 2019 Newsletter

Kia ora Koutou.

Here we are in week 4 of a short 8 week term and it is hard to believe that we have already bid farewell to our seniors as they head off on their study leave prior to exams starting on the 8th of November.  During the first senior assembly of this term,  I reminded our senior school about the importance of committing to the tasks which need to be completed over the coming weeks - (short term pain for long term gain), and the fact that there are many people here within the school community who are willing to assist with study tips and schedules, even while students are on exam leave. Some of our students will go into the exams having already achieved NCEA at their particular level, while others will need to do some substantial work in order for them to meet their targets. I also reminded our seniors that the stresses and strains of sitting external exams can be minimised by being well prepared and, at the end of the day, what we are actually asking for is 100% effort no matter what the result. We wish them well.

Thank you to those members of our community who supported a number of “end of year” events for our seniors last week; including our Senior Prize-giving, Leaver’s Breakfast and Leaver’s Assembly.  It is always an emotional time of the year, particularly for those who are coming to the end of 5 years of secondary schooling, but it is also a time of celebration as we come together to acknowledge some wonderful achievements by our young men and women.

Recently we also acknowledged our Foundation Day as a school. This was an opportunity not only to acknowledge our 61st year in existence but also to acknowledge long serving staff, former students and friends of the school. Those staff who were recognised for long service were:

10 Years Service:

• Angela Bland
• Bruce Saunders
• Paddy Scott

15 Years Service:

• Andrew Regaldo
• Dianne Payne
• Susan Bennett

30 Years Service:

• Chris Stoop

After a long process of consultation and feedback from different groups both within and outside the school, I was excited to be able to share the names of our new Whare before our seniors went on exam leave. The decision was made to go with the suggestion put forward by our Senior Maori Students which will see the 4 Whare each represent the phases of the sun:

• Kōtuhi (pre dawn) - colour = purple
• atatῡ (day break) - colour = yellow
• whaiao (broad daylight) - colour = light blue
• ῡranga (dusk) - colour = orange

As previously mentioned, each Whare will have a Kaiarataki (one who leads), which is equivalent to a Head of House and a Kaitiaki (guardian), who essentially is the Dean. Students will find out which Whare they will be connected to in 2020 and onwards, within due course.

Neil Haywood, Principal