I trust we have all kept warm throughout a particularly cold fortnight in Christchurch. Our focus as a Kura has been on working alongside our young people to build the right habits and routines to achieve. I shared at our last assembly ten acts that require no talent but, when embedded into character, have a long term positive effect on achievement throughout a lifetime. These ten acts have been popular on social media platforms and are worth sharing:

1. Being Punctual

2. Work Ethic

3. Effort

4. Body Language

5. Energy

6. Attitude

7. Passion

8. Being Coachable

9. Doing Extra

10. Being Prepared

A number of these acts revolve around self-management and self-control, which we know from the famous longitudinal Dunedin study, are two key attributes that are directly measurable on positive outcomes throughout life. In a modern technological rich society, I often find young people (and older generations!) looking for the magic fix, the get rich quick scheme, the way to cut corners, or, in general terms, the easy path. What I have observed, and has been researched, is the above basic attributes are personally controllable and all help form a type of character that lends to a happy, fulfilling and successful life. When I spoke to our young men about these traits, we challenged each other to pick out three and aim to be a 10/10 in those. I look forward to seeing wonderful habits forming over the coming weeks.

I would like to congratulate our students who participated in the World Scholars Cup, what a great effort and achievement in a highly competitive academic competition. On Friday 21 July the event got underway with the Team Debate, followed by the Collaborative Writing and Scholars Challenge. Team 862 consisting of Will Floyd, Gabe Wells and Samuel Amaris took out the team debate winning gold and finished in 2nd place in the Collaborative Writing event. Team 861 consisting of Keegan Verster, Brendan Sandford and Nathan Kilday also did exceptionally well. They finished 1st in the Collaborative Writing challenge and 2nd in the team debate.

I would like to congratulate both the 1st and 2nd XV rugby teams who gained top four finishes in the Premier and Championship sections of the Crusaders 1st XV Rugby competition. Whilst the semi-finals didn’t go our way, all players and coaches can feel proud of their efforts.

This week we hosted a Cultural Festival involving the schools in the Kahui Ako west hub. A great day was had by all - a fantastic celebration of culture. Congratulations to all of our staff involved in the organisation and running of this event.

This week we sent out our offers of place for our 2024 enrolments. While we are looking forward to welcoming our new students into St Thomas' next year, it is with sadness that we had to decline 35 in-zone preference students at Year 7, and 62 preference students at Year 9. We currently have a maximum roll increase application lodged with the Ministry of Education to enable us to serve a fast growing population in the community we serve.