From the tumuaki | principal 2024 Term 1 Week 2

Tēnā tātou (hello to us all)

Our latest addition to staff is Mr Lockie Corich, a new teacher with a background in airlines, who will be teaching in Year 8. Nau mai, Lockie.

I’m excited as I write this, knowing that I’ll soon be kayaking in the Coast to Coast with our intermediate team. Pip Deans has done an amazing job with two teams entered: this event is an incredible experience for anyone but especially so for teenagers and I feel very lucky to be able to take part with Andrew Maultsaid and Hannah Molloy. Best wishes to our senior team of Cam Waters and Oscar Stevenson with Motueka kayaker Nika.

Last weekend I took the opportunity to spend time learning te reo Māori and local history at Te Pā o Moki, the marae of our mana whenua Ngāi Te Ruahikihiki or Taumutu. Between whānau and staff we had 20+ adults and as many kids. There is a rich and fascinating history and culture in this area and I’m looking forward to us all being able to learn more. It was good timing, with Waitangi Day, and we had plenty of opportunity to learn about our nation’s founding document, Te Tiriti o Waitangi, which was an incredible piece of work.

Our student leaders spent their Thursday learning more about leadership and our shared vision. They’re a capable team with great energy and I look forward to seeing them make their mark.

Kapa haka started this week with an incredible 70 students signing up, plus the 30 primary school students who do after school kapa haka - a record for us. 

By the end of this week, we’ll have completed our first 6 day cycle of the new timetable. We’ve been working on ironing out some minor issues and hopefully everyone will get the hang of it soon. It promises significant benefits for senior students especially and we will monitor the success of this pilot throughout the year.

Mauri ora,

Andy England

Tumuaki | Principal 

Save the date:
22 February Meet the Teacher evening 3.15 - 6.45 pm