Nau mai, haere mai, talofa lava, malo e lelei, bula vinaka, kia orana, warm greetings

A warm welcome back to our winter term. It was an absolute delight to start the term off in the hall in an assembly - the feeling of normalcy was very evident. It is events like assemblies that help form our culture, which is all based around community and connection.

A key reminder of appropriate uniform is timely - our students aren’t permitted to wear sports hoodies to school, these are for sporting occasions only. We have a warm woollen jersey for the winter terms that can worn under the school blazer. We speak often to our students of the importance of taking care of the “small things” - it enables us to focus and achieve the “big things”. We would appreciate your support with this message.

Our main focus this term is to return to key routines and habits that will enable our students to fulfil their potential both inside and outside the classroom. Last term we all faced many challenges that tested the character of all in our community. The feeling this term is around looking forward, not looking back. With that in mind, our staff are very focused on understanding where our achievement progress is at, and supporting our young men to continue to move forward.

This term is always the start of the winter sports season. This gives us another opportunity for our students to grow in character, and for our community to come together as one to support our young men in their endeavours. As parents, it also gives us an opportunity to connect on the sidelines of sports fields. It is something I always look forward to.

Our school Open Morning is planned for Wednesday 18th May. As has been the recent pattern, we will have more applicants than places available. If you have any siblings or friends that are hoping to attend St Thomas, I would strongly encourage them to ensure applications are sent through as soon as possible.

Over the holiday period I attended Zac Powell's funeral. Zac is the father of Logan (Year 9). All of our prayers and thoughts are with Logan, his Mum, Angela, and his sister, Hayley, during this time of grief. Rest in Peace Zac.