Nga mihi nui kia koutou katoa. Welcome to the Westland High School December newsletter. Meri Kirihimete me te tau hau, I wish everyone a safe and happy Christmas and New Year.

Kia ora koutou e te whanau,

As this is the last newsletter for the year, the staff and I would like to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a safe and happy holiday.

2019 has now come to an end with our students particularly in year 13 heading away to a range of new and exciting adventures, some a gap year, others to university and many entering the workforce. We wish them well as they depart Westland High School and commence a new chapter in their lives.

Congratulations all of the prize winners who received awards during the last two weeks of school, what our students have achieved this year is amazing and each student should be proud of the efforts put into their studies and other aspects of school life.

As already advertised, 2020 will be an exciting year with many changes planned as we continue to grow and strengthen every aspect of our school, we have new modern learning renovations for year 7 and 8 with the new classrooms opening for the start of 2020, and completion of the Sports hub is near. Our Education Review Office review was positive showing the school is on the right track.

The Sports Academy is all set and ready to go for next year catering predominantly for our senior students and we are already seeing and have received a significant increase in enrolments across the school.

Next year will again see an emphasis on high expectations for academic achievement, student wellbeing, learning habits, uniform, appropriate use of technology and other support systems, some of these are listed below and other changes within the school will be shared in due course.

Uniform attendance and use of technology (cellphones) will be strictly monitored and indeed tightened for all year groups, non-uniform items will not be welcomed i.e. hoodies and caps shall be confiscated as will cellphones and other devices in class, and attendance expectation lifted from 85% to 90% as the minimum standard for all students. Westland High School has the facility to support families who struggle financially with uniform purchases and we are more than happy to work with whanau and students who may need pastoral support.

Our school is very fortunate to have a range of supportive groups such as the Friends of Westland High School, local business and a raft of volunteers, a big thanks also goes out to our staff and the Board of Trustees for the ongoing and unwavering support for our school and students.

We sadly say farewell to teachers who are retiring or moving to other opportunities for next year.

We say goodbye to Mr John Straker, Yvonne Simpson and Sally Richardson who have faithfully served the school and community of Hokitika and surrounds for a considerable length of time, thank you all for your commitment to the staff and students of Westland High School.

We also wish well Mrs G Byrne and Mr M Talbolt who move on to new adventures.

In 2002 we see the return on Mr Karati Metcalf returning from a year away, we also welcome Mrs Maryke Diplock who takes on the role of Food and Hospitality teacher and Mrs Amy Waldie as a teacher of Year 7 and 8.

Have a wonderful holiday break and enjoy Christmas, we look forward to the start of a new year in 2020.

Ngā mihi nui
Iain Murray
Principal