Talofa lava

The return to Term 2 has so far been very positive. It has been good to get a break from the Covid environment and start the term on a more normal footing. It has been very special to celebrate Samoan Language Week and the 60th Year of Independence for Samoa.

To date, the number of Covid cases we have seen this term is low which is very pleasing. Attendance levels are also reasonably high with around 75% attendance throughout the week which indicates that the effect of Covid on our community is a lot less. We anticipate Covid having an effect for a number of weeks to come, so encourage people to continue monitoring their health and let the school know if your son is a positive Covid case or household contact.

Unfortunately, the ongoing impact of Covid, along with other winter illnesses is putting significant strain on our school staff. During Week 6, Tuesday 7th to Friday 10th June, we will be finishing at the end of Period 4. This is designed to give people time and space to recover and regroup for the last four weeks of term. It is not intended that we will continue beyond that week, however we will continue to monitor the situation through the remainder of the term. I do understand that this may be inconvenient for our whānau, but it is also important that we support the wellbeing of our staff over the remainder of the year.

One thing we may need to consider to keep people safe is the wearing of masks. Currently, face masks are encouraged but not compulsory. However, I would like to signal that in order to keep people safe we may need to have staff and students wearing masks during the school day.

Recently we had a special Assembly to celebrate Shirley Boys’ High School and the people who make it special. Our guest speaker was Dr Duncan Webb who is the Member of Parliament for Christchurch Central and  attended Shirley Boys’ High School. I spoke a little about the history of the school and took the opportunity to let the boys know that we were gifted by Ngāi Tūāhuriri, Ngā Tama o Ōruapaeroa which basically translates as the boys of Ōruapaeroa. We also acknowledged some long serving staff, Mr Banks 10 years service, and Mr Koster and Mr Skinner who have been on the staff for 20 years. It is wonderful to acknowledge the contribution they have made to our school.

Ngā mihi nui

Tim Grocott

Headmaster

Kieran Sinclair-Lomax

Congratulations to Kieran Sinclair-Lomax for an outstanding achievement of gaining a tie in three separate areas of achievement. Kieran has met the criteria for an academic tie (4 or more excellence endorsements in NCEA), a cultural tie (3 plus years of significant commitment to arts and culture) and a sporting tie (Kieran is a nationally ranked hurdler). We were able to present what has been dubbed the ‘Tiefecta’ in a recent Assembly, attended by Kieran’s parents, and acknowledged with a haka led by the Head Boy.

Staff Only Day

On Thursday 12th May we held a Staff Only Day as one of our Teacher Accord Days from the Ministry of Education designed to support the future changes to NCEA. The day was combined with Avonside Girls’ High School and the focus was on culturally responsive practice. Dr Hana O’Regan did a keynote address on “How do we acknowledge and honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi in education in 2022?” This was a thought-provoking presentation designed to give our staff a greater understanding of why they need to be culturally responsive when working with students and our community. This was followed by a facilitated workshop looking at Te Tiriti o Waitangi Principles with a focus on protection, participation and partnership.

There will be three more days allocated this year to support the implementation of changes to NCEA. These will occur in Term 3 on the 22nd of August, and two more in November. I would like to thank our community for their understanding and support.