Kia ora tātou

Shirley Boys’ High School has had a fantastic Term 4. The first few weeks were an opportunity to celebrate the success of our senior students. We had Sportsman of the Year; our Māori and Pasifika celebration; the Shirley Showcase to highlight all of our musicians; and it culminated in the Senior Prizegiving. All of this is a great way to finish the year for our senior students and truly celebrate their contribution to our school.

Once again, our Senior Prizegiving was an outstanding evening. The talent that we have at our school is amazing and makes me very proud. We announced our Head Boy for 2024, Will Edwards and he will be ably assisted by Bradley Mutch and Dom Toli as Associate Head Boys, and the current Head Boy, Felix Hunt was also Dux of the school.

Our NCEA examinations are underway. These have been marred by issues with the capacity of NZQA digital assessment system. The affect on our students has not been significant but it is unacceptable that any student should have their examinations compromised by an inadequate system that should have been more thoroughly tested. I have written to NZQA expressing my extreme dissatisfaction. We are also preparing for the NCEA changes which will be implemented in 2024. Today, Thursday 16th November was a Staff Only Day to provide time for teachers to prepare for these changes. While it is a big job, I am confident that we are in a good position for 2024.

Recently, we consulted with our community about a new strategic plan which we need for 2024. This was a very useful exercise and I appreciate all of those who took time to complete the survey. This information is valuable as we look at how we best serve our community in 2024 and beyond.

The last few weeks of term are busy with the NCEA examinations and Year 10 Camps continuing, along with the usual teaching and learning of those students still at school. It is an important time and we want to keep our standards high as we work towards the end of the year.

Ngā mihi

Tim Grocott

Headmaster/Tumuaki