Kia ora koutou.

In addition to our new Year 9 cohort, we have welcomed approximately 50 new students in Years 10-13 and their whānau. We do hope that your association with us is a positive and rewarding one. This term we have also welcomed a sizeable number of international students from Germany, the United States, Egypt and Japan who will be with us for varying lengths of time. My sincere thanks to those families who have offered to act as homestays for these students.

Considering the challenges that COVID-19 has brought us in 2022, I am pleased with our NCEA results across all 3 Year levels. Based on those who were entered for a full NCEA course, 83.9% of our Year 11, 80.5% of our Year 12 and 78.8% of our Year 13 students gained the qualification at their respective levels. The school also gained 9 scholarships from the NZQA exams at the end of 2022. You will find further reference to these scholarships in our newsletter. Our congratulations also to the 20 students who received scholarships to various New Zealand universities at the end of last year. You will find photos of the scholarship recipients (pictured above), in our reception foyer. Poho kererū katoa - We are proud of you all!

Finally, I am pleased to report that in terms of our redevelopment project, some partial demolition took place over the holidays to allow for the building of our first new classroom block. Foundation work for this building is now underway and we hope to see the rate of progress increase over the coming weeks.

Here’s to an exceptional year without any major interruptions!

Ngā mihi nui

Neil Haywood

PRINCIPAL