Kia ora whanau,
Firstly, may I start by extending huge amounts of gratitude to our staff, our learners and our wider community for the support received over Term 1. As we are all well aware this time has perhaps been more complex than any other in our lifetimes but the commitment to education, to community and to keeping the rhythms and routines of our school in full flow, despite so many obstacles has in itself been an almighty achievement.
We began the year with extraordinary NCEA and NZ Scholarship results, which is further testament to the work of our students and teachers – tino pai! Our results were not just in the mid 90%’s at Level 1 (94%), Level 2 (97%) and Level 3 (94%) but they were well beyond the National results and on average 15% higher than comparable Decile 10 results too. There were great increases in our endorsement rates and we also hit a school high for University Entrance too. It was perhaps in the field of NZ Scholarship, the platinum award for high school students, where we excelled with 55 scholarships being gained, including 6 Outstanding Scholarships from Iain Sweetman which ranked him second in the country. These results we believe were the 14th best of any school in the country, no mean feat when so many schools place such a premium and importance on success in this area.
I would also like to thank the community for their patience with our new uniform roll out. Our rangatahi look fantastic in their new colours and we look forward to our students reflecting the colours chosen, but not fully adopted by the school, over 10 years ago. We acknowledge that the process has not been entirely smooth with horrific Covid related delays and look forward to the last deliveries reaching our store by Term 2. Again, thank you for your understanding, particularly our parents and caregivers.
As we have hopefully passed the high point of Omicron we are starting to return to levels of normality. Students are returning to the sports fields, courts, tracks and pools and EOTC field trips and activities are being planned and will soon be back in action. This gives us great hope for the future and a level of excitement in being able to get out and about and support each of our students in their events as this is when they truly become our school and represent us with great pride. We will continue to be cautious in our approach but open to a return to ‘normality’ as soon as regulations allow.
We are all enjoying the new facilities opened recently in our Administration block, most importantly the Hauora/Wellbeing Centre. This critical area of our school plays home to our student support staff and now includes the following critical roles in our school: 2 Attendance Officers, a Registered Nurse, Physiotherapist, 3 Guidance Counsellors, a Medical Room Attendant and our 4 Youth workers amongst others. This growing part of our school is a commitment towards our values of Care, Respect, Community and Creativity and to our vision in supporting all of us towards “Personal Excellence for Global Success”. Our new strategic plan is now operational, and our focus is in the four areas of Hauora and Atawhai (A culture of care and wellbeing), Te rerekētanga, te tika, te whakauru (Diversity, equity and inclusion), Tino akoranga (Exceptional learning) and Whanaunagtanga (Connections, relationships and partnerships).
I am also pleased to announce that we are upgrading our sporting facilities at school to include 3 v 3 basketball, netball, tennis and hockey facilities over the upcoming Easter holidays. These will be welcomed additions to our school.
Our staff continue to upskill during our late start Professional Learning and Development mornings and our commitment to growth is clear particularly in the areas of Mana Orite and Matauranga Maori where guest presenters including Professor Melinda Webber and Professor Mere Berryman have presented thought provoking sessions that help guide, inform and educate us in areas that support our strategic direction.
Enjoy the well-deserved term break, enjoy family, enjoy friends and be safe.
Ngā mihi nui
CJ Healey
