What a term it has been, and the end is in sight for our students, staff and whānau!

I want to start with a massive thank you to you all as our community for your support with rostering home. It has made a huge difference to us being able to staff classes with our great teachers and relievers. We were also getting the vibe that our students were getting tired and I am sure they have appreciated a day a week to catch up on any homework and have some down time.

I hope the holidays are a well-timed opportunity for our staff and students to catch up on rest and some extra time to re-connect with the things that each of us enjoy.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank my fellow members of senior leadership, our teaching and support staff for all they have handled this term. It has been challenging, and I appreciate all you do for our ākonga!

On Wednesday we farewell our Director of Learning Support and Enrolment – Kathryn Constable. Kathy has done a great job of leading a team of awesome staff who support our learners with diverse needs. Kia ora i tō mahi, Kathy, we wish you all the best and enjoy some extra time for your diverse interests. You will be missed!

Chris Smith is also leaving us for the remainder of 2022 as he has taken the opportunity to connect with his whakapapa in Niue. Ka kite, Chris. We will see you back here soon and we wish you all the best!

Our two new buildings Auripo and Wainuku are really taking shape now and it is incredibly motivating to see the progress being made week after week. October remains the completion date; however, there is a massive ‘move in’ required and realistically we will be looking at Term 1 2023 before we have classes operating out of these buildings. A focus for now is looking at the space between the buildings, which is called Waipapa, and gathering student voice on what they would like to see in this space. Connecting the new buildings with the rest of our Te Puna Wai o Waipapa site is very much a priority.

We are seeing a drop off in student cases of COVID-19 and as household contacts over the last week. We still have a number of staff and support staff testing positive or needing to isolate each day to require the continuation of rostering home for this week. At this stage we will start Term 2, Week 1 as a normal school week without rostering home unless you hear from me towards the end of the holidays!

Can I ask please that if your child tests positive for COVID-19 over the holidays you still inform me as I report our numbers to the Ministry of Education. The best way to do this is via email – (rw@hagley.school.nz)

I’ve visited lots of classes this term and have been so impressed with the learning I have seen occurring in our classes. I realise I am in a very privileged position to be able to do this.

As parents & caregivers of senior students (Year 11-13) one way you could keep connected to your child's schedule of assessments is to ask for them to show you their assessment calendar. This is a schedule of when they have internal assessments due so you as whānau can help your child manage ‘hot spots’ of assessments. I can tell you this week is a ‘hot spot’ for most of our senior students!

You should be able to see the subject and the individual standard that is due and on what day. The best way to see this is to go through the Hagley College portal – Student Portal (hagley.school.nz) on your child’s device they use at school and then click on the tile named assessment dates. That should take you to the calendar. Also, if your child has an assessment due, their Microsoft calendar linked to their school email will be shaded pink with the name of the standard also there. Students have been taken through this at school and will be able to show you! The usual tips like not doing everything at the last minute and how to plan for multiple assessments are really great conversations to have with your teenager! Here is an article for teenagers on managing their time that you or your teenager might find useful - click here.

Enjoy a safe and restful Easter and I look forward to coming back refreshed and ready for Term 2. As always, I like to hear from our community, so please email me with any questions, concerns or, even better, positive feedback. We love to hear from you!

Naku noa nā

Rowan