Kia ora whanau,

It would be lovely to start one of these communications off without mentioning Covid but the reality is in 2022, this is very much still a significant factor in our daily lives. Our staff and students are continuing to do a fantastic job in the face of as much as 25% absenteeism for both students and staff on some days, but a united effort has meant that rostering home as per our Covid response has not yet been necessary.

Despite the trials and tribulations of reduced numbers, our rangatahi continue to progress with their studies and their results are continuing to track positively. Despite no physical lockdowns this year, we have coined the phrase ‘invisible lockdown’ with the teaching and learning process has been even more disrupted than in the previous two years when we moved into remote learning. We hope we will soon be given more guidance by the Minister of Education on our direction for the remainder of the year in relation to NCEA qualifications and the many external initiatives that secondary schools are still expected to deliver during these trying times.

Uninhibited by the challenges, our kura continues to operate with a semblance of normality. Our sports teams continue to take the fields, courts, pools, and tracks of Auckland and beyond, and our co-curricular groups are flourishing. Notable involvement and no doubt achievements on the horizon include in the Performing Arts our students competing in the Big Sing, Rockquest, the National Dance Challenge, and our Dance Show, ‘Continuum’, is up and coming later this week. Hot on the heels of this will be our Matariki festival when we host our neighbouring primary and intermediate schools and celebrate the beginning of the new year in the Māori lunar calendar. In addition, we also look forward to celebrating our school’s cultural diversity with our Cultural Week.

Our focus for the year is now on ensuring that the quality of teaching and learning is optimal and that our students’ behaviours are exemplary, to support this teaching and learning. To this end, we ask that you engage with your tamariki and ensure that they are set up to succeed by attending each day with the correct equipment, are on track with their studies, and are wearing their uniform perfectly and with pride. For those students needing extra support through these difficult times, please do feel free to contact our wellbeing team, Atawhai leaders, and deans who will be only too willing to help. We are proud of our school values, ‘Care, Respect, Community, and Creativity, and now more than ever, we all need to pull together and show a united strength.

Ngā mihi nui
CJ Healey