From the tumuaki | principal 2023 Term 3 Week 4
Kia ora koutou
Last weekend, I had the absolute pleasure of attending the Selwyn Awards with several students and Pip Deans. The event itself was a remarkable display of our talented district and its growth, with Hilary Barry MCing a sold out crowd of hundreds of people who make a positive impact in their community. It also demonstrated our growing unity with mana whenua Te Taumutu Rūnanga hosting alongside Selwyn District Council. But our interest was in our team and we did so well!
Anna Roberts Silver for leadership especially drama/volunteering
Lily Payton Silver for leadership especially dance / Showquest
Isla MacPherson Silver for leadership especially sport
Pip Deans Gold for sports leadership
It was also great to see former student Vaughan Smart receive a Gold award for his community leadership with SADD and Ross Meder receive Silver for his role in the Hato Hone St John’s Malvern Committee.
Well done to our equine sports team and their family supports, led by teacher Megan Evans. Please see separate article. I love that we are so successful in such a range of sports. I was honoured to have a good chat with Ryan Booth, recently back from representing NZ in shooting in Korea, and learn about the heat and the competition where he was happy with his performance.
It was also a privilege to experience the speeches of our Junior Oral Tapestries, a beautiful evening of powerful speeches (I missed the seniors but I’m sure they were amazing). The energy, creativity and skill of the speakers was a credit to them and their coaches/teachers. It’s exciting to imagine where these oratory skills may take these young people in the future. Having missed Marli’s speech, on the advantages of being short, she ensured that I heard it so I got a special rendition!
It has been a pleasure to host Keiai Gakuen High School and their delightful students. Amanda Wright, our International Director, and our amazing host families, ensured a great experience and we look forward to continuing this relationship.
Friday night sees the opening of our art exhibition at Te Huanui gallery, Darfield. If you can’t make it tonight, please try to check it out in the next couple of weeks.
Finally, it’s very pleasing to see that the PPTA has settled and we can confirm no more industrial action. We have started to look at ways to maximise learning opportunities, to catch up on lost learning, and we look forward to your support with this.
Ngā mihi maioha (warm regards)
Andy England
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