Kia ora to all the whānau of our Rotorua Boys’ High School students as we begin another exciting school year. I am thrilled to continue this journey with our young men, supporting their growth and development through their senior years.

For those who may not know me, my name is Ceylan Bekar, and I am the Year 11 Dean for 2025. I have been part of the school since 2014 and have previously served as the Year 13 and Year 11 Dean for the past seven years.

A little about me—I am originally from Scotland but have called Rotorua home for the past 13 years, where I live with my partner and our five-year-old daughter, Ada. This year is a special one for our whānau as Ada begins her own schooling journey.

I’m thrilled to be working with this outstanding group of young men at Raukura. At the start of the year, I shared two key goals with them:

Achieve 90%+ attendance as a cohort.
Strive to be the top-performing academic cohort.

I look forward to working with you all and supporting your son as he works towards his own goals this year!

Attendance

Regular attendance at school is vital to the recipe of success. NCEA is a demanding programme and it is expected that our students attend every class. I encourage our students’ to follow our school motto “Ad Astra Per Aspera” and reach for the stars.

NCEA - how does it work?

There are three levels of NCEA certificate, depending on the difficulty of the standards achieved. At each level, students must achieve a certain number of credits to gain an NCEA certificate. Credits can be gained over more than one year.

For more details see the following websites: http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/ncea/understanding-ncea/

https://www2.nzqa.govt.nz/ncea/about-ncea/ncea-levels-and-certificates/

Students can earn literacy and numeracy credits through the Common Activity Assessment, held in Terms 2 and 3. While these standalone exams are the future of NCEA, this year, students can also obtain literacy and numeracy credits through various subjects and standards. To receive their NCEA Certificate, students must earn 10 literacy and 10 numeracy credits, giving them multiple pathways to achieve this requirement.

Additionally, students who earn 50 or more Excellence credits will receive a Level 1 Certificate endorsed with Excellence. Those who achieve a mix of 50 or more Merit and Excellence credits will earn a Level 1 Certificate endorsed with Merit. I strongly encourage students to aim for these accomplishments. Those who achieve Level 1 with Excellence will have the opportunity to purchase a Scholars blazer, which will be awarded at the following year’s Celebrating Success Evening.

Ngā mihi,

Ceylan Bekar

“Ko au te taupa kihai i puawai aku moemoea”

“I am the only obstacle to the fruition of my dreams”

In this issue

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