Term 4 - week 4

Kia ora, koutou.

On Monday our staff attended a joint pōwhiri after school at Waipāhīhī Marae with Tauhara Primary staff.  We were able to meet representatives from Ngāti Hineure and Ngāti Hinerau, two of our local hapū.  They shared with us important information about what it means for them to be mana whenua.  As a school, we are committed to an ongoing reciprocal relationship with our whanau, hapū, and iwi, so it was great to be able to continue to build relationships with the awesome people at Waipāhīhī Marae. There are other marae close to our kura that I hope we will be able to continue to build relationships with as well.

On Thursday night we held our annual senior prize giving.  The beginning of the year was disrupted by industrial action, and our students and staff have worked so hard throughout the year to catch up on teaching and learning.  We were able to celebrate our senior students who received first place in their various subjects and also acknowledge students who received many other special awards.  This year’s Dux (the highest academic achiever for the year) went to Evelyn Hancock and the Proxime Accessit (the second highest academic achiever for the year) went to Haruka Petersen.  A massive congratulations to these two students along with our other award winners.

For the first time during a senior prize giving we also announced our Head Students for the following year.  Our Head Students for 2024 are, Oscar McDougall and Georgia Fox. Our Deputy Head Students for 2024 are, Angus Putt and Joannē Nortje.  These four students went through a rigorous selection process, so it is a wonderful achievement.  I also need to acknowledge all the other nominees who were involved in the selection process.  We are going to be well served by student leaders in 2024!

Below are some important panui (notices):

Accord Teacher Only Day
Friday 10 November - this the final full day of preparation set aside for the implementation of the new NCEA level 1 at the beginning of 2024.  Those sitting NCEA exams are still required to attend their exam on this day.  School will be closed for all other students who do not have an exam on Friday 10 November.

2023 Graduated Study Leave
In order to best serve the needs of our students, we will once again take a graduated approach to study leave at the end of the year.
Our focus for this will be on pathways and endorsements rather than solely credits. We need to ensure that our students have appropriate pathways for their next year at school and/or to transition to work/further education. 
Study leave will be granted when there is evidence that the student has achieved the desired outcomes for the year or has the skills to self manage towards these outcomes. Outcomes may include; numeracy/literacy, NCEA, pathways into future subjects, UE, subject or overall endorsements. 

For students who have been identified by their subject teachers as needing extra help to achieve their goals, the following will apply:
Week 5: Normal timetable; students in Groups 1 and 2.
Week 6: Collapsed timetable with workshops
Week 7: Transition


Ben Claxton
PRINCIPAL

We would like to thank the following sponsors for their generous support.
With their support we are able to reward the outstanding
effort and achievements of our students.