Kia ora Parents and Caregivers,

Tēnā koutou e nga iwi whānui o Te Kura Takawaenga o Whangārei. Nga mihi nui ki a koutou katoa e nga māna, e nga reo huri noa tō tātou takiwā e korowai nei i te aroha o Te Parawhau o Ngāti Kāhu o Torongare. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

This is the last pānui from me for the year. It is with sadness and regret that we are saying farewell, to our fabulous group of Year 8 students who have been an outstanding group of leaders. It has been a pleasure to witness the development of our Year 8 students this year. Not only have some of them grown really tall, but the majority of this group of students have also taken the opportunity to get involved in a range of different learning opportunities that are provided at Whangārei Intermediate School. As a cohort, I do believe that you have developed a level of perseverance, composure, and motivation as a result of the many interruptions over the last 2 years. I am impressed with your positivity and self-determination. These traits will bode well for your future. Ka tu Rangatira koutou katoa. I wish you all the best for your future. Do us proud.

Congratulations also to all the Year 7s surviving your first year at WIS. We look forward to your leadership next year as seniors.

Congratulations to all the students who were involved in extra-curricular activities. We've had students representing the school in activities such as a student councillor, student ambassador, a librarian, a sound technician, a band member, road patroller, canteen assistant, office assistant, kapa haka performer, a performer in the school-based WIS Extravaganza, a player representing our school at AIMs Games, at Whangārei School Sports Association events: swimming, athletics, cross country, Mathex, EPRO8, debating and the list goes on. We thank you and congratulate you all. The great news is every student will be able to relive these moments by reading through the WIS School Magazine that Ms H has been working on all year. It is amazing. We hope you enjoy it and look back on it fondly.

THANKING YOU!

We would like to extend our thanks to you as parents and caregivers for a wonderful year. As teachers, we really value our parents' and caregivers' support. Without the extra help on events, sports teams and trips, we couldn’t achieve half the activities we plan for our students. This is particularly noticeable during the netball session, as we have so many teams entered. Many thanks to you all for your contribution to the running of our school programmes.

RESIGNATIONS for 2023

It is with sadness but delight for Lisa Parsonage who has won a position as a Pou Ārihi/Team Leader at Totara Grove School starting in 2024. Once again, we thank Lisa for her invaluable contributions to WIS as a classroom teacher and her involvement with the EPRO8 team. Lisa's achievements during her four-year tenure at WIS make us incredibly proud.
We thank David Kelly once again for all of his contributions to WIS as a specialist Maths and STEM teacher including his involvement with the EPRO8, Mathex, Otago Problem Solving, leading Maths over the many years and much much more. WGHS will be lucky to have such a dedicated teacher and we wish David the best.
It is with sadness that Monique Cassidy has decided not to return to teaching but rather stay home to look after her beautiful daughter. We thank Monique for four years of service while teaching at WIS.
It is with sadness but delight for Graeme Pulham who is finally retiring but will return as our IT support person
It is with sadness that Sarah King has decided not to return to teaching full-time, however, we will see Sarah back as our number 1 reliever.

It is with sadness that Tina Lumsden has decided not to return to teaching full-time. We thank Tina for her year of service and wish her the best on her learning journey wherever that may be.
We say goodbye to Ramiza Ali Learning Support Assistant who is moving to Australia. We thank Ramiza for the service she has given our students and wish Ramiza and her Whānau the very best living in Melbourne.
Our students have been very lucky to have had support from these very committed and talented nga kaiako. They will all be sadly missed.

APPOINTMENTS/CONGRATULATIONS

Izac Anderson has been appointed as a fixed-term classroom teacher. He is a beginning teacher, having had a practicum here at WIS and most recently taught at Manaia View School and Kamo Intermediate. Nau mai, haere mai.
Neke Adams has been appointed as Whānau Leader of Te Whānau o Waimirirangi. Congratulations Whaea Neke. We thank Matua Kara for this leadership, support and guidance over the last 18 months. Nga mihi ki a koe.
Grant Smith has been re-appointed as a fixed-term teacher located in the library. Grant is super excited about running the library programme and teaching our students the value of a literacy landscape. Nau mai, hoki mai.
Shannon Watson will be returning from study leave and will take back the whānau leadership of Te Whānau o Kauika 2024. Nau mai, hoki mai.
Kahukura Bentson and Maraina Pou will continue to provide release across our programmes. Nau mai, hoki mai.
Congratulations to Eden Rogers and Adam Heke who are having a baby (very soon). Eden will be taking 2 terms of maternity leave and will return in term 3 in her role as Tumuaki Tuarua.
Jeana Novaire is also having a baby and for the first 8 weeks during term 1 Jeana will not be in class but will be involved as a reliever, taking all the student photos, helping students to their classrooms, and will provide literacy and numeracy support for certain kaiako.

Finally, on behalf of the Board of Trustees, many thanks to all the staff/nga kaimahi. Thank you for sticking by your students throughout this year and greeting each one with a smile every morning. Thank you for creating an environment of safety and regularity in their days. Thank you for communicating with families beyond your normal working hours. Thank you for your empathy, patience, and perseverance. Nga mihi mahana nui kia koutou katoa.

I hope you all have a wonderfully restful and safe break during the holiday season. Mere Kirihimete me ngā mihi o te Tau Hou. Merry Christmas and have a happy New Year.

For current Year 7s your first day of school is Tuesday 30 January at 8:45. We will all meet in the hall to prepare for the powhiri for our new students.

Read on to find out about what great things are happening at WIS.

Mā te wā, na Hayley Read. Tumuaki/Principal of the best school in Whangārei with the coolest students (especially those who are demonstrating our school’s vision: mā te whanaungatanga, kā whai mātauranga te akonga, ka tū rangatira).

Ko te Angitu te Karauna o te Kaha Success Crowns Effort

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