Kia ora e te whānau. It has certainly been a busy Term 1, with plenty happening, despite all the disruptions over the last 10 weeks. Our Year 9’s have settled well into school and have been making the most of the opportunities to get involved and have fun at the school – from the Top House competition, to the Teddy Bears’ Picnic. The photo above shows the Weetbix Eating Competition for juniors held in the last week of the term! Summer sports teams have had successful seasons and a highlight was the inaugural Summer Sports Exchange with Kuranui College. The winter version will take place in Term 2.

Staffing Update

At the end of the term, we farewelled Sophie Molloy (who has taught in nearly every area of the school but is currently a teacher of English), who is taking up a leadership role at Praxis Education in Kenepuru, and Katie Ayrton who has been in charge of our Awhina Unit and is now moving back to Australia.

New to the college is Callan Melaugh, who is our new Te reo Maori teacher (an ex-student and a familiar face to many students) and Scott Amyes who joins our caretaking team.

Ongoing industrial action

As we move into Term 2, there is no news of progress with the negotiations on the teachers’ collective agreement. There will be further disruptions next term and we have been advised of some of these – nationwide rostering home of different year levels on Tuesdays and Thursdays starting from Week 2, and regional strike days in Week 3 (the Hutt Valley day is scheduled for Wednesday 10 May). The relief ban continues.

Last term we had to move to a reduced timetable to manage the effects of the relief ban and staff shortages. We are in a slightly better position for the start of Term 2 but we may still struggle to cover some classes, and we will not be the only school to find ourselves in that position. We may have to have further periods of a reduced timetable or send a year level home (as was done during COVID) to provide that cover. We will let you know more and give as much notice as we can if we have to make such changes.

Finally …

The winter terms bring with it a number of changes. Please ensure your child has the correct uniform for the colder months and that the skateboards and scooters are left at home for the term (they’re a health and safety issue in the winter terms). Winter sports preparations have started with trials and trainings, and we have even more students involved than last year. Thank you to all the parents and caregivers who take on the coaching, managing, driving and supporting of teams – it’s such an important part of being at UHC.

Have a safe and enjoyable holiday break.

Ngā mihi nui

Judith Taylor