by Andy England

From the tumuaki | principal: Term 1 Week 1

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An energising first week to the year.

Kia ora koutou

What a wonderful week we’ve had. I was reminded at our mihi whakatau (welcome for new students, whānau and staff) that our roles as school staff are an honour and a privilege: you as parents/caregivers trust us with the people you treasure most dearly - your children - and your children look to us to provide a safe welcome with opportunities to flourish. As a principal, at this time, I get to face all of our new students, staff and parents and I feel their expectations and fears deeply. As a staff and Board, we acknowledge this responsibility and will do all we can to honour it. We won’t always get it right but we will try our best and we are always open to hear from you when we can improve something. This year, we have a largely new senior leadership team as well as many other new staff in key roles, so we’re aware that we may be ‘dropping a ball or two’ as we try to adapt.


The school is now full of youthful energy and vibrancy! I do want to acknowledge some people who’ve made special contributions:

  • Cash Ward, the first ever year 7 student to formally address the mihi whakatau, did incredibly well in such an overwhelming setting.

  • Trae Davis spoke first and spoke with his natural authority. The preparation and courage that these boys showed is credit to their growing rangatiratanga

  • Mr Tom Manley, our new Health and PE teacher, spoke really well for incoming staff and his words about all of us having value, with different roles, fitted perfectly with our school’s values

  • Ms Trish Evans came back to help with karanga, transitioning to Whaea Niki Medhurst for the future

  • Our head students - Blakely, Mason, MacKenzie and Liam - addressed their first assemblies with well considered and impeccably delivered speeches that indicate they’ll be running a highly effective student leadership team

  • All of our Peer Support students - and their mentors, Camille Cartman and Heidi Clark - for their preparation and commitment in supporting our new Year 7s.


As Christine Mossop has her last day with us today, I thank her for her legacy here and wish her well. Our new LAL Technology, Mr Nathan Sandes, has been approved an early transition from Burnside High School and will start with us on 13 Feb.


Dates:

Monday 6 February: Waitangi Day (observed)

Monday 20 February: Whānau- Teacher conferences. This is a new event to hear from you about your child’s strengths and your aspirations for their education. We’re only asking for one meeting with your child’s Whānau Teacher, for ten minutes, and face to face is ideal so you can also see the school. We’ll have some workshops on for parents/whānau about aspects of parenting and of course we’ll have refreshments available.