Kia ora parents, caregivers and whānau

Sitting at the midway point of the term, there’s a real sense of purposeful activity around the school as we settle into the rhythm of this winter term.

Winter sport is well underway with record numbers of students involved in badminton (7 teams), basketball (11 boys and girls teams), football (7 boys and girls teams), futsal (Awhina team) and netball (7 teams). We have 3 rugby teams, all of which include a number of Heretaunga College players, and it’s great to see supporters from both schools on the sidelines of games. Our 1st XV recently gained promotion to Prem 1 division but, due to a number of factors, have chosen to remain in Prem 2 division for the season. It was great to see them play Paraparaumu College at home on Friday 4 June during the school day. All of this would not be possible without the exceptional work of our Sports Department – Sam Twomey, Chris Campbell and Onour Murray (who has sadly left us this week). Their vision for sport at UHC, involvement, organisation, enthusiasm, and drive are the foundation of the college’s recent growth and success in sports.

Our Multicultural Group, and our Dance students have been busy preparing and rehearsing for two upcoming events. Showquest, held at the Michael Fowler Centre later this month, will feature both groups and the Multicultural Group will take the stage at HuttFest on the last day of term.

We have also been preparing for two important school events. Open Day (Tuesday 8 June) will see large numbers of students from Maidstone and Fergusson Intermediates, as well as Year 8 students from other schools, visit UHC to have a ‘come and do’ experience, looking at what the college has to offer. At Open Evening (Wednesday 16 June), parents/caregivers and whanau are invited to attend a ‘come and see’ tour of the school. If you know of families who are interested in finding out more about our school, please let them know of these events.

You may be wondering what we are doing on Friday mornings with our late-start-to-school day. That space in the morning allows us the time to work on teacher professional development, as a whole staff, within Departments, and as smaller groups and individual teachers. There are a lot of changes coming up in the NZ Curriculum and our subject areas are looking at these, and the changes in NCEA require much discussion and planning – the NCEA Teacher Only Days are part of that process. We also have the opportunity to share what teachers in different areas are doing with their teaching and learning – there are some great things happening in classrooms that have sparked discussion, debate, and trying of new ideas and approaches.

I loved the work that our Learning Support teachers and teacher aides are doing throughout the school, and it was a joy to watch the video of our students in Awhina and how they go about their day’s mahi.

With a busy school calendar for the rest of the term, we have much to look forward to!

Ngā mihi nui

Judith Taylor

Principal