My first six weeks – a short reflection

Kia ora e te whānau,

The day before what I think was my first official day as Acting Principal the Government announced that we would move to the Red Light setting of the COVID-19 Protection Framework. I would love to say that I responded with action plans and big picture thinking, but I had a Peer Support Camp all set to go the following day in Hanmer Springs. Our work went into a plan B for the camp and the big picture part came later! The up-shot was 25 Peer Support leaders all trained at school and were rearing to go as leaders of our new Year 9 cohort. Every year I am amazed at the leadership potential we have at this kura and this year was no different. A number of students were back for their second year, which was an amazing resource to have in terms of leading others and providing tuakana taina for our new leaders. Our Year 9’s are very lucky to have such enthusiastic and motivated leaders looking out for them and providing opportunities for them to connect with each other. The beginning of the year also starts early for staff at Te Puna Wai o Waipapa/Hagley College as we act as a regional hub in offering Catch Up College, a short term programme for students around Aotearoa that have just missed out on University Entrance. It is a great asset for our school.

We then welcomed our new ākonga through a range of mihi whakatau. Due to the COVID restrictions, these too ran very much as a Plan B. This was something that I had prepared for over January and I felt very relieved when I was able to welcome our kaiako hou with a whaikōrero of which I was proud. It reminded me of the importance of continuing to learn and grow and put yourself in situations where you are out of your comfort zone. This is something we often ask of our students! Year 9 students were welcomed in class groups with mihi whakatau and then spent the next two days being oriented to our school culture and our school site. Peer Support and getting students connected digitally were components that also made up these two days. A big thank you to our Counselling Team and our Year 9 tutors who did a lot of work to ensure these days were a success. Student feedback indicated it was very worthwhile.

We held an enrolment day for new Year 12 and 13 students in late January and then we welcomed our new senior students with a tutor-based mihi whakatau and then a brief orientation of our school. The tutor role is such a key wellbeing component in our school with most teachers also acting as a tutor. As whānau, this is both you and your child's main contact with the school and we like to think of this as a student’s ‘go to’ person.

It is always somewhat of a relief when classes actually start as we rightfully spend a lot of time enrolling, welcoming and orienting students to the school. It is when you hear the buzz in the corridors and overhear student chatter (on topic of course!) and teachers teaching that the place comes alive.

Last week I spent time in all Year 9 classes and it has been fantastic to see the way this cohort has settled in to the way we do things here. As I write this, I have come from three very different but equally inspiring Kete Wana classes. Seeing junior students really engaged in an area they are passionate about is very motivating. The same goes for the teachers, actually!

We are constantly watching the COVID numbers grow across Ōtautahi and at present we have three cases of COVID-19 and a number of students isolating due to being in a COVID positive household in our kura. We have developed a care register to support our students and staff that are off and unwell with the aim of keeping these students connected to our kura. Our attendance has dropped by 7-10% for this time of year which I think given the situation is good. We expect students that are at home and not unwell to complete work remotely. Microsoft Teams is the platform that we use as a school, and staff are uploading work on to Teams regularly. For whānau, please keep our attendance email informed if your child is going to be away (attendanceshared@hagley.school.nz), monitor for symptoms in your household and keep your child away from school if unwell.

If you have any questions or concerns, I am always keen to hear from you. My email address is rw@hagley.school.nz

Ngā mihi maioha ki a koutou,

Rowan