At our assembly on Friday I thanked all of the students who contributed to our successful open night. The school looked amazing and more importantly if your child was one of the ambassadors on the night you should be very proud of your child as they were fantastic. A special well done to Ariana and Rupert who are two of our class councilors, they spoke brilliantly to a crowd of over 600 people, a task most adults would find very daunting!

I also had the pleasure of showing around 40 Principals from the Waikato area the following day after Open Night. I was immensely proud of the way our students interacted with them, the learning that was displayed on the walls, and the interesting learning activities that the students were doing in their class and the specialist classrooms. I had to drag my group out of the music room such was the quality of the students' performances that these Principals wanted to stay longer and enjoy a second song!

We don't spend a huge amount of money on marketing as this just takes away from what we can provide for our students to support their learning but I am a firm believer that in Dunedin especially, the power of the "word" is very important. Please encourage your friends or family members who want to enrol at Tahuna Normal Intermediate for 2023 to do so by the 9th of September. We have a $200 voucher for the uniform shop for a lucky family who gets their enrolment in by the 1st of September.

The calendar is looking very busy over the next three weeks with some really interesting and valuable learning experiences coming up. We also have the remaining camps coming up at the end of the term and into the next term. As great as this is for the children, we also recognise that a financial cost comes with these activities. Please do not hesitate to reach out to the team in the office if you need financial support.

It is also a very busy time for our Board. It is great to see a number of people put their hand up and stand for the Board in the upcoming election. I strongly encourage you to take part in this democratic process and vote. I would also like to ask you to assist our new Board in defining the strategic direction of the school by completing the Community Consultation included in this newsletter.

Kind regards

Simon Clarke

Principal

NZ Flora Art