Dear Parents and Caregivers

Greetings, tena koutou katoa, talofa lava and welcome back to Shirley Boys  High School. For those of you who are new to our family, an especially warm welcome.

Last year will be remembered as our last full year on a school site we have occupied since 1957.  However 2019 is upon us, the year we bring to fruition all that we have worked for since the disaster that occurred in February 2011. The imminent shift to Oruapaeroa will make 2019 the most memorable year in our history since February 1957!

There is still much to be done before the actual shift begins in a few weeks’ time and I will endeavour to keep you informed every step along the way. However teaching and learning is what we are about and therefore this newsletter will focus on the here and now, getting the school up and running efficiently and effectively.

Some quick reminders

Remember, if you are new to Shirley, you are encouraged to communicate early and often with the school. Details of key people are in this newsletter.  Ideally, it would be good to be file this information for easy reference throughout the year. By the time you read this, it is also likely that you will have had a communication with your son’s Form Teacher.  Please remember that a warm invitation is extended to contact them at need, or indeed any of the people noted below:

For those of you who are with us for the first time, here are some useful ideas to help you transition your son to high school. Ask him  to show you what he was doing in school each day.  Help keep him organised and when he does positive things praise him, and let us know so this can be reinforced here at school. Remember that if he is doing something like playing a sport, or engaging in school activity such as drama, tabloid sport, music or something else, try and come along and support him in person.  He might seem a bit indifferent on the surface, but underneath he will love you for it!

Staff members with specific responsibility

• Tim Grocott - Associate Headmaster. Focus on Curriculum Development, Professional Development, Future Schools Development, H+S and Appraisal.
  
• Rob Wilson-Pyne -  Deputy Headmaster.  Focus on the pastoral care of students and student morale.
  
• Craig Croft -  Assistant Principal. Focus on day to day operations.
  
• Dan Gilmore -  Assistant Principal. Focus on Curriculum, Assessment, Data Analysis, Timetable.
  
• Maria Lemalie - Assistant Principal.  Focus on  Student Leadership,  Cultural Activity and new staff.
  
• Sue Nesbit -  Director of International.
  
• Steve Shaw -  HOD Guidance.
  
• Tom Davies -  Across Kahui Ako Role. Focus on Mathematics
  
• Joe Houghton -  Across Kahui Ako Role. Focus on Culturally Appropriate Practice
  
• Eric Persen - IT Coordinator.
  
• Jamyn Keats - Chairperson Spartan Sport.
  
• Ira Perkins -  Dean of Snell. Pete Beswick -  Assistant Dean.
  
• Kris Vine - Dean of Mullins.  Merryn Herlihy -  Assistant Dean
  
• Garth Jones -  Dean of Blake.  Andy Lee  -   Assistant Dean
  
• Andy Firmedow - Dean of Aoraki.  Tony Christie - Assistant Dean
  

As usual there are some staffing changes and some new staff to welcome into the Shirley Family:

Staff News

Juliette Duder will be on Maternity Leave in 2019 and we all congratulate her on the birth of Luuka, on the 5th January.

New Teaching Staff

• Joseph Papesch,  JMP  -  Te Reo Maori
  
• Michael Li,  MRL  -   Mathematics
  
• Steve Shaw,  SPS  -   Counsellor
  
• Jennfer Whelan,  JMW  -   English
  
• Uli Pesefea,  ULP  -   English and Maori
  
• Gwylim Richards,  GJR  -  PE
  

New Support Staff

• Laura McLeod,  LEM  -   Gateway
  
• Jacki Morris,  JCM  -   Deans Assistant
  
• Claire Cooper,  CRC  -   First Aid
  
• Tim Derig, TLD  -  Outdoor Education

Returning Staff

• Jonathan Thurston, JWT  -  Social Sciences
  

There may be further changes/appointments depending on the 2019 roll and curriculum requirements that have yet to be finalized.

For those of you interested, my Annual Report and Statement of Variance will be available from the school office early in March.

2018 NZQA examinations

We do not yet have the confirmed results with National averages. These are likely to be ready by March, however the indications are that we will meet our targets for Level One, Two and Three and the numbers of elite academic performers who entered the exclusive “90’s Club” for high achievement in NZQA are certainly comparable to the excellent achievements of the past five years.

I will ensure you get the exact details after results are confirmed.

Scholarship 2018:

Eight boys achieved nine Scholarship passes.

• Izak Dobbs, Chemistry
  
• Jeremy Wright, English
  
• Callum Teape, English
  
• Logan Bramley, English
  
• Josh Golding-Loudon, English
  
• Jackie Chen, Economics
  
• Ryan Gosset, Classics
  
• George Cox, Classics and Biology
  

Student Leadership

Student Leaders for 2019 have been appointed.

• Head Boy -  Liam Walker
  
• Associate Head Boy -  Phillip Smith
  
• Associate Head Boy - Thomas Pirker
  
• Board Student Representative - Sarmad Qamar
  
• House Captain Snell -  Joel Coleman
  
• House Captain Aoraki - Evan Blyth
  
• House Captain Blake - Uzair Qamar
  
• House Captain Mullins -  Zac Andrews
  

Best Advice for all parents

I am often asked to give an opinion on what a parent can do to ensure their son is best positioned to take advantage of the learning opportunities while at school, the following note perfectly sums up my thoughts on this.

Beware the summer slide!

The “summer slide” is a well-documented decline in reading achievement that children can experience while they are away from school over the long summer break.

Continuing to read through the holidays, whether it’s books (print or online), magazines or graphic novels, will help set your child up for a great start for Term 1 2019 by maintaining or developing their reading skills.

Parents should encourage their children to borrow books from their school library and when this is not available their local library as well. In addition, anytime is a great time to visit Tūranga, our awesome new central library. They have fantastic book and graphic novel collections, as well as lots of other cool stuff like Virtual Reality headsets and gaming, Playstations, and the Discovery Wall.

Conclusion

The school is in good shape, with everything good to go for the start of the new year. Remember to stay close during this important year in our school’s history.  Our doors are always open.

Regards and Best Wishes

John Laurenson
Headmaster.