A week of camp for me with an awesome group of junior students, but not much school time left for senior students.

Kia ora koutou| hello to you all

This week I've been in beautiful Kaiteretere with 20 junior students, and Miss Irvine, doing a waka journey experience with Whenua Iti Outdoors. This is generally offered to older students and I've been so impressed with how our students have handled it (as were our instructors).

Our group was mostly Māori, due to the lack of other opportunities to engage in Māori culture/learning. It's notable how the lack of opportunities to learn and stand proud as Māori over the years has lowered most students' own confidence and expectations of themselves. With some very skilled instructors and a great learning environment, our students' confidence grew. Seeing teenagers getting past their initial discomfort and learning to hongi as a mark of respect was a highlight for me, along with their general growth and development. The learning was intense at times and this was no week off.

A surprising highlight was hearing from a 14 year old girl that she had actually enjoyed having no phone for the week: she found it hard at first then realised that her mind and emotions were clearer. It made me think!

Going into next week, our seniors will have two days of school with half of Tuesday being about connecting as seniors, before study leave and exams start for real. Our teachers continue to offer tutorials and will always support so, if your child has exams, please do check in with them.

Mauri ora ki a koutou,

Andy England

Dates this term

• Last day for seniors: 1 Nov

• Canterbury Anniversary: 11 Nov

• Whānau Hui: Fri 18 Nov 5.30pm Kākāpōtahi

• Staff only day: 25 Nov

• Senior prizegiving: 1 Dec

• Junior prizegiving and last day of term: 9 Dec