Term 2 - Week 1

Tēnā koutou,

Welcome back to Term Two!

Term Two is only nine weeks long, but there is a lot to look forward to from a school-wide point of view.  Below is a snapshot of some of our events in Term Two:

• School X Country is on Wednesday 7 May (week 2).
  
• Pink Shirt Day is Friday 16 May (end of week 3).  Like last year, we’ll be encouraging students (and staff) to wear pink on the day.  Pink Shirt Day is about working together to stop bullying by celebrating diversity and promoting kindness and inclusiveness.
• Our school production, Mamma Mia kicks off in week four.  Students and staff have been working tirelessly on the production!  If you haven’t booked your tickets yet, see our facebook page for the link.  I’ll be heading to opening night on the Tuesday. 
• Youth Week is also in week four and includes various lunchtime activities for the students to get involved in.
• The reading, writing, and numeracy common assessment activities (CAAs) will take place in week five.
• Loves Me Not (promoting safe relationships) for Year 12s will take place in week six in preparation for the ball.
• The school ball itself is on Saturday 14 June.
• Swimming Sports are planned for Thursday 19 June (week eight).
• Spirit Week is in week nine and involves a cultural day, physical day, and a talent day.
• Our Kapa Haka rōpu will leave for a trip to the Cook Islands (Rarotonga/Aitutaki) in the last week of term.
  

The beginning of term provides us with an opportunity to revisit our behavioural and learning expectations with the students.  In assemblies this week we reinforced these expectations with the students. The presentation we used can be viewed here. It would be helpful if you could view the presentation and reinforce these expectations with your children. It’s important that our school community understands and supports the messages we are trying to promote to our students. Thank you in advance.

Attendance information for sport and cultural activities
As part of achieving our school wide goal of more than 50% of our students attending regularly (90% or better), we will once aging be monitoring attendance of students who are representing our kura in sporting and cultural activities.
We will be following the guidelines outlined by New Zealand Secondary School Sport which states that a student's attendance needs to be at a satisfactory level to guarantee the opportunity to participate in sports and cultural activities.
The following process will be followed:

• The attendance standards for playing and representing the college in sports and cultural activities will be clearly explained to the players, coaches, and support staff by the TIC or sports coordinator at the start of the season.
• Attendance of the players will be monitored by the TIC of the team who track attendance throughout the season on a fortnightly basis.
  
• If a student's attendance drops below 80% during the season then a discussion will occur and if necessary they may be referred to the DP in charge of sport. The consequence may result in a stand down from participating for a period of time.
  
• At this stage the situation is explained to the caregivers so the whānau have a chance to support the student to improve their attendance.
  
• If a number of players in the team or cultural group have attendance that is below a satisfactory level then the principal may withdraw the group from participating in the upcoming game or event.
  

A reminder from the last newsletter from Term One - as we head into the winter months, it is timely to send out some reminders about our uniform expectations.  The link to our uniform regulations can be found here.  Importantly, please take note of the jacket and sports hoodies section.  Jewellery is also another section to take note of.  For health and safety, we do not allow large hoop earrings.  Keeping our uniform standards high takes a village, so please support us by ensuring you are aware of our uniform regulations and ensuring your child meets our standards.  The link to the Argyle website to see our uniform options can be found here.

Ngā mihi

Ben Claxton
PRINCIPAL

Sporting News by Tremains

Winter Sports 
All the best for our winter sports teams for the season who have started this week and next. 
A massive thank you to our coaches and managers for the time and effort they have put in and will continue to put in over the season. 
 
School Cross Country – Wednesday 7 May 2025
Period One and Two classes as per normal.
Lunchtime – use this time to get changed in the gym. Bring your gear out to the bottom corner of the athletics field.

1.40pm – First race starts    
Senior Boys – approx. 6km – 2 full laps
Junior Girls – approx. 3km – 1 lap

2.05pm – Second race starts
Senior Girls – approx. 4km – Waikato St, Huka St, Rickit St, Opepe St + 1 full lap
Intermediate Boys – approx. 4km – Waikato St, Huka St, Rickit St, Opepe St + 1 full lap

2.30pm – Third race start (roll check race briefing)
Junior Boys – approx. 3km – 1 full lap
Intermediate Girls – approx. 3km – 1 full lap
 
Upcoming events:
Clay Target- Thursday 8th May- Taupo
BOP Interschools Schools Motocross Championships- Friday 9th May - Awakaponga Motocross Track