Scholarship Success

We are proud to report that members of our Year 13 cohort have been awarded over $505K in University Scholarships. This is a tremendous achievement. Congratulations to our worthy recipients.

We look forward to hearing about your future successes post-school.

2024 Head Students

Congratulations to the 16 students shortlisted from over 70 for the Head and Deputy Head Student roles. All 16 were interviewed by a panel of 4, including this year’s Head Student, Liv Marshall. Students will be informed after their NCEA exams have concluded later in November.

International Recruitment and Marketing

Along with the Director of International Students, I had the pleasure of travelling to Korea and Japan last term. This was my first trip to Japan, and it was a privilege to visit the schools and agents from which we have had a long-standing relationship and from whom we receive students. I was able to meet new students and also to catch up with some alumni. Despite our flights over and back being cancelled due to engineering and technical issues and temperatures in Tokyo being 31 and 32 degrees Celsius, it was an enjoyable experience and wonderful to meet parents and thank schools for their commitment to our International Students programme. Special thanks to Mrs Clifford, who has now retired as International Director. She has been committed to Tauranga Girls’ College and our foreign fee-paying students. Her caring, kind and fair reputation has enabled our International Department to flourish. Mr Simon Wheatley, our new Director, has already welcomed a short-stay group from Japan. He is committed to growing our programme with excellent homestay and educational opportunities for students who join us from overseas.

Celebrations continue

With our Sports and Arts Celebrations now complete, we look forward to welcoming you for Te Moana Nui a Kiwa, our Maori and Pasifica Celebration, this week and early November, our Senior Prizegiving. All details are on our college’s Facebook and Instagram accounts.

The Festival of Sport

At the beginning of the year, our Athletics day was disrupted when the Domain was closed and home to our festival athletics event. This meant that on the day, only our competitive athletes could participate. The ‘festival’ part was delayed until Term 4, and that event was realised last week. While the weather threatened to spoil the event yet again, the day was beautifully warm and under the guidance of Mrs Talbot, student leaders facilitated a fabulous event. Thank you to everyone who got behind their house. Congratulations to Batten for taking first place on the day.

Attendance Matters

Thank you to all our parents and caregivers who continue to encourage and support attendance at school. With a wide range of curriculum and extra-curricular activities, there is something for everyone to realise their passion. Learning is not always easy, but we all have to give things a good go, stick with it and persevere. If your daughter or young person is going to be away for any reason, please let us know so we can keep her attendance up to date.

Need to contact us?

Who to contact if you have any questions? If your young person comes home and voices a concern, take the time to speak with them to ascertain the context and to triangulate the story. If you wish to talk to a staff member about the matter, then raise that with the learner’s coach, subject teacher, dean, etc., depending on the context. Please make the time to do this. Email (addresses are on our website) or phone to make an appointment.

Two more weeks for senior students

Whilst senior students undertaking an NCEA course have only a short time left in classes before their national exams commence, it is important to note that all subjects are offering tutorials for students. Please ask your young person to find out when they are being offered. Attending one of these sessions may make all the difference. It’s never too late to ask for help, nail those exams, and reap the rewards for all that mahi done in class throughout the year.

Parking Challenges

We acknowledge parking is a problem, especially as more senior students travel to school by vehicle. Unfortunately, we do not have sufficient car parking for staff, let alone students. The matter will only worsen as the Tauranga City Council looks to remove more car parking spaces off Cameron Rd. We are already in talks with them regarding this challenge, and one of the solutions is better bike/scooter/cycle parking for students.

NCEA in 2024

As you will be aware, some schools have opted out of offering the national qualification of NCEA in 2024. Tauranga Girls’ College supports this qualification and will continue to provide a rigorous academic programme that supports NCEA. High-stakes qualifications like this are known to motivate students, and without them, there is a tendency for some students not to be as fully engaged in learning for learning’s sake. Whilst this is disappointing, we believe that the four levels of judgement (Not Achieved, Achieved, Merit and Excellence) offer rigour and challenge for all students and provide the pathway into Levels 2 and 3 of the same qualification. A qualification that is accepted around the world. Tauranga Girls’ College will continue to offer opportunities for students to engage and excel in competitions like those celebrated in this newsletter - Writing, Poetry, Music and in other areas as celebrated previously, STEM-based Epro8, Debating, University Papers and Maths, Science and English competitions as well as those in other subject disciplines like Technology. Academic success continues to be at the forefront of what we do, but so too do opportunities for all learners to experience success in terms of belonging, academic and extra-curricular success and leadership. We believe in our inclusive approach and our passion to hear and grow the voice of wahine. Our dedicated Board of Trustees supports this vision and view, which is realised through our Strategic Plan.

Tara Kanji