Kia ora, welcome to another news update, #3 for this Term.

Thank you

For supporting the NGHS non-uniform gold coin fundraiser to support equity needs at our cyclone-impacted sports exchange partner Napier Girls. We were able to deposit $1000 directly into their school account to support them through this difficult time.

Firewood - a real community effort

A huge thank you to whānau who helped split logs into firewood, load trailers or deliver firewood last weekend. It was a huge effort, and money raised supports Rugby, Rowing, Volleyball and Basketball. Special thanks to Mrs Blythe for her organisation.

Te Ara Ako

It was lovely to see parents and whānau making the time to meet whānau teachers on Wednesday. Learning conversations are an important way to meet and connect. There is an expectation that every student is connected to the school through sports, the arts, cultural groups or clubs and committees. Is your young person doing their part?

Attendance update

Please check the parent portal to view your young person's attendance record. Onsite face-to-face learning is the expectation for all classes. Whānau, remember, if your young person is to be away from school, please inform us. Every day missed is another day that requires catching up, missing discussions, participating in that discussion and learning. We want everyone to experience success at school and attend all classes with a positive can-do attitude. Having the equipment ready to learn allows learners to take responsibility for their learning and learning outcomes. We appreciate whānau support in achieving this.

Bathrooms

Recently, there has been some vandalism of the bathrooms. All students are encouraged to use the bathrooms during break times (including to fill up drink bottles), and if they need to use the bathroom during class time, a kaitiaki signing in and out sheet rule applies. One student at a time.

Pastoral Support

All students belong to a vertical whānau group, a house and have a cohort Dean and Deputy Principal to support them. Along with the Careers advisor, Guidance Staff, Learning Hub and the Director of International Students, our students are certainly well cared for. You can email staff directly if you have any questions or concerns. Email details can be found on our website.

Strike Action

Thank you for your support whilst union members participated in strike action this week. The mahi of our teachers go well beyond subject knowledge as the diverse needs of students have grown substantially over time.

Teacher Only Day

On 22 March, TGC will hold the first Teacher Only Days. This is to remind parents that professional learning days are factored into our legal requirements of half days that we must be open. In other words, we are open for the correct number of days and inline with MoE requirements. This PL focuses on trauma-informed practice, engaging with and better understanding Pasifika knowledge and on PB4L, which is part 2 of our earlier PL work undertaken at the start of the year.

Phones and our device of choice

Phones are not permitted during class time. These should be in bags or the drop zones located in the classroom. Our learning device of choice is the Chromebook. Please do not contact your young person during class time. In the case of an emergency, phone the school office. There are consequences for students not following our phone rules. Please support our school in this endeavour as we want to minimise distractions that we know phones can be and ensure that learning is at the fore in class.

End of Term 1 and the start of Term 2.

Term one ends on Thursday, 5 April (Fri 6 is Good Friday and a public holiday for Easter) at 1.30 pm. Term 2 begins on Wednesday, 26th April (Tue 25 is ANZAC Day).

The Addams Family

Our TGC-led joint production of The Addams Family is nearing its opening night! Tickets have been on sale for a few weeks now. Remember to buy your ticket. It is bound to be another spectacular performance from our talented TGC and TBC students.