21 February 2025 Newsletter |
Kia Ora Tatou
This has been a week when the school has been very settled with minimal interruptions and students engaged in their learning programmes. It has also been a very busy week with events working with our community and also looking at new opportunities for students.
Whanau hui
On Wednesday evening we held our first whanau hui and it was a pleasure to welcome so many of our Maori students and whanau to the school and to hear from them as well as share some reflections of the changes during the last nine years. For example we have seen Maori akonga staying in education for longer and achieving higher qualifications. This has prepared them for careers and training beyond high school either with employers or tertiary institutes. We also have massive growth in kapa haka numbers and an increased respect and understanding of both tikanga maori as well as te reo.
We acknowledge that this is a journey and there is still work to do but when we work together we can achieve great things.
Southland Business Leaders meeting
Earlier on Wednesday I was invited to be a speaker at a breakfast for Southland Business. This follows a similar event I spoke at last year in Dunedin. This time I was accompanied by Mark van Asperen from Big River Homes. We spoke about the work which we do with Otago Polytechnic to provide the building programme which senior students attend two days each week. Following the presentation a number of organisations spoke to me to offer opportunities for our students. We have already started discussions as to how we can work together to broaden our students horizons to explore the varied careers in our region.
SNOB
Earlier this week a letter was sent to all whanau of Year 12+13 students outlining the expectations for students to be able to attend the Senior Night of the Ball (SNOB) In summary they are:
- Students to have a minimum of 80% attendance
- All debts for non curriculum activities are to be paid in full
- Demonstrated the school values of respect, excellence and perseverance.
Were the school has concerns that students are not meeting these expectations we will communicate with whanau in good time so that these issues can be addressed.
Athletics day
On Tuesday we will be holding our annual athletics day on the school fields. Whilst we expect that all students will compete in some events and help earn house points we do realise that some students may not be able to do so. Please do ensure that students who are not able to participate in the events do attend school as we do need plenty of helpers to support the events and organisation for the day. Attending school for athletics day does support positive attendance and is also a day to join the whole of the school community and support one another.
Parents, please do not condone your child’s absence by keeping or allowing them to stay at home for the day. Do send them to school and encourage them to be involved in what is typically a fun and exciting day.
Year 10 Camp
Preparations for year 10 camp are being finalised and I know that there is a great programme of activities set for the week. Once again I encourage all Year 10 students to attend this camp. For whanau we will help remove any barriers to participation. Please do contact either Mr Matsas or myself if finances are a cause of concern so that we can help overcome this difficulty.
We also have a great group of Year 13 students who will be joining the camp as ‘link students’ This is a great leadership opportunity and I encourage any Year 13 student who may be interested in helping to speak to Mr Matsas to see if there is an opportunity to join the camp.
Finally
Next week there will be some disruption as the first part of the accessibility project in D Block is completed and classes start to change. We will notify students the day before and we ask that whanau support us by checking the portal for room changes. This first part of the project has taken longer than expected as a result of design issues identified as the work progressed. We anticipate that the second stage will move much more smoothly.
We do now have an operational lift which will be accessible to students with mobility issues
Have a good weekend
Ka kite ano |
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