Term 1 - Week 9

Tēnā koutou,

Last week we had over 100 students out across the motu (land) representing our school for  Summer tournament week.  It is an awesome opportunity for our students to compete against other schools in their chosen sport.  Our results for Summer tournament week and the annual McQuilken Cup & Standen Cup for Rugby can be seen in our Sporting News below.

On Wednesday morning this week we farewelled 24 students from our French sister school, Saint Marie du port, who had been visiting with us for the last week and a half.  It was a great opportunity for our students to share in a cultural exchange with a group of people from the other side of the world.  Thank you to all the host families and students who looked after these French students during the visit.  Thank you also to Christine Feuillade for organising the exchange.  We look forward to the reciprocal trip we have planned for 2026 to take some of our students to see their school and region in France. 

This week I was shared some interesting new research regarding attendance, or more to the point some stark statistics relating to chronic absenteeism (those attending for less than 70% of the time)

• Chronic truancy has doubled in recent years, pattern starting earlier in primary school
• Chronic truants are half as likely to attain NCEA Level 2
  
• Projected earnings for students who are chronic absentees at school
  -  $16,000/year by age 25 for chronic truants
  -  $65,000/year by age 25 for those without attendance issues 
  

A reminder, our stock of long-term loan devices has run out.  We are a bring your own device (BYOD) school and the students utilise laptops on a daily basis.  It is important that your child has a laptop and is bringing it to school every day.  With Easter on the horizon there are likely to be sales for this type of technology, so if your child does not currently have a device, please support us and your child by purchasing a device for them.

Our new model for Whānau interviews concluded on Wednesday this week.  Instead of closing school for the day, this year we held four separate afternoon opportunities for parents/caregivers to connect with our whānau teachers - three face to face opportunities and one online opportunity.  We are interested in hearing your feedback about this new model for whānau interviews.  Please contact [email protected] if you have feedback you would like to submit.

Extra Numeracy support : Students can purchase an extra resource to support them at home with studying for the Term 2 CAA exams. They can purchase either of the following two revision books from the office:
1. Numeracy Essentials - This is for learners who need support on their journey towards achieving the NCEA Numeracy CAA exam. It has Notes, examples and practice questions with answers. $16.95 
2. Numeracy Practice - This contains 40 sets of practice questions with answers. $9.95
Next term, we will be running Numeracy(CAA) revision sessions for year 10-12 students.

A further reminder for Friday 11 April (last day of term 1) - there will be no school buses to and from Taupo-nui-a-Tia College on this day.  Alternative arrangements will need to be made for students who usually utilise the bus service.  Apologies for the inconvenience this may cause.

Have an awesome weekend!

Ngā mihi

Ben Claxton
PRINCIPAL

Sporting News

ATHLETICS CHAMPIONS 2025 
 Junior Girls 1st - Haidee Milne 
2nd - Chevy-Chevelle Tito-Wilson 
3rd - Jayden Toia 

Junior Boys 1st - Pato Less 
2nd - Daniel More 
2nd - Hui Harvey-Rameka

Intermediate Girls 1st - Olivia Wilson 
2nd - Mollie Garlick
3rd - Makenna Giles 

Intermediate Boys 1st - Dante Minhinnick 
2nd - Harri Prestney 
2nd - Kian Weston 

Senior Girls 1st - Leah Kilmister 
2nd - Alex Milne 
3rd - Kayleigh McLaren 

Senior Boys 1st - Mattie Wade 
2nd - Daniel Morrison 
3rd - Julian Deneke 
3rd - Moritz Urban 
 
RECORD BROKEN
Zene Erasmus – Junior Girls Javelin 27.02m (broke her own record of 26.18m in 2024)


McQuilken Cup & Standen Cup
On Thursday, three of our Taupo-nui-a-Tia College Rugby teams competed at Owen Delany Park against other King Country schools—the 1st XV Boys, U15 Boys, and Girls 7-aside teams. 
We are proud to announce that all three teams won in their respective competitions!
A huge well done to our players for their outstanding performances, and a big thank you to our dedicated coaches and managers for their support.
Great work, everyone!