What a year it has been.

Kia ora koutou, Talofa lava, Malo e lelei, Ni sa bula, Kumusta and warm greetings to our Linwood College community,

As Term 4 comes to a close and the summer holidays are fast approaching, it is time for a recap of the year. While 2021 has undoubtedly been another challenging year for us, it has also been another year in which our learners have shown amazing resilience coping with distance learning and changes to the exam timetable in Term 4. And the Waiporoporo Deans could not be prouder of their achievements and successes— academically, extracurricular and in leadership roles. There was plenty to celebrate in our house, starting with 2021 Sports Awards. Chelden Hayward received two top awards, the Junior Sportsman of the Year as well as the All-round Sportsman for 2021. We look forward to you taking your leadership skills to the next part of your journey at our kura as a senior student. Big congratulations also to all other Waiporoporo ākonga Sports Awards recipients.

Next up were the Pasifika Awards where Rita A’aitui Laulu, LJ Beattie and Iziah Lipine were among the recipients respectively for their cultural contributions and demonstration of values as well as attendance. Although Covid restrictions meant that aiga and whānau could not be on site this year to celebrate the achievements with our students, it was a great privilege to witness the energy and pride shown by our Pasifika ākonga. The same can be said about our Senior Awards prize-giving, once again held in a very different format with students and staff only, but nevertheless a beautiful celebration of achievements and farewell for our Year 13 school leavers. Boadicea Lynch being awarded the Dux for 2021 was another highlight for Waiporoporo House. Our heartfelt congratulations also to all other Waiporoporo Senior Awards recipients. You have worked hard completing internal assessments and preparing for exams. A big thank you goes to Dipal Narayan, our Head Girl for 2021, for her endless service given to the Linwood College community. The pastoral team wishes you all the best for your future. We are very excited that Waiporoporo ākonga continue to be in leadership roles with Alex Garcia becoming Head Student for 2022.

We are looking forward to our final celebration of the year, the Junior Awards on 15 December 2021, when our Year 7 to 10 are recognised for their achievements this year. Finally, well done Waiporoporo team for giving it your best in the final house competition of the year. We ended the year with a respectable score. Bring on 2022.

The remaining couple of weeks will be busy for the pastoral team with new enrolments for 2022. Lukas and I would like to take the opportunity to thank whānau, SLT, teaching staff, kaiārahi, support staff, the 24/7 team and particularly our guidance and learning acceleration department for their support throughout the year. Next year brings exciting change with our move back to Aldwins Road at the start of Term 2 and the opening of Te Aratai College. Lukas continues in his role as Senior Waiporoporo Dean, while I am taking on the role as Year 10 Dean across the whole year group.

Meri Kirihimete. We wish everyone a restful break and safe summer and look forward to seeing all of our ākonga at the beginning of Term 1 2022.

Sig Koop, Junior Waiporoporo Dean

koo@linwoodcollege.school.nz

Lukas Davidson, Senior Waiporoporo Dean

lda@linwoodcollege.school.nz