23 May 2022
Ko te pae tawhiti,
whāia kia tata; ko te pae tata,
whakamaua kia tīna
(Seek out distant horizons and cherish those you attain)
Ngā mihi mahana ki a koutou katoa
We are now three weeks into term 2 and with the month of June just around the corner winter will be upon us. The winter term is always interesting, firstly for obvious reasons, the weather is at its worst. For schools, this means students spending most of their indoors, students often coming to school wet, (please ensure that your student has a plain black jacket to keep dry), and a significant amount of uninterupted teaching and learning occurs. For our senior students this will mean that their assessment load will increase and there is an opportunity for many students to gain quite a few credits towards their NCEA through internal assessments.
Term 2 is also a lot shorter than the previous term being only ten weeks long. With Queens Birthday being June 6 and a mid-term break on June 7 students will have the opportunity to take a mini-break and have time to get over the winter illnesses and COVID-19 that are prevalent at this time of the year. Matariki on June 24 will also provide another welcomed break. While planning for Matariki is still in the early stages, we will probably celebrate it in similar ways as we have in the past, a pre-dawn ceremony on June 23, followed by breakfast and the science department providing telescopes for students, staff and whānau to explore the night sky. More information will be provided shortly.
Another good thing about term 2 is that winter sport has begun in earnest with the bulk of most competitions being played. At the moment many of our teams are still playing through grading rounds which can produce some lopsided results. However, these results should even out over the next few weeks as grading is completed. More information can be found at https://sports.newlands.school.nz/
We have had some changes to our staffing. Ms Te Morenga (Careers) has left teaching. Her replacement, Ms Valder will begin on June 13. Mr Corbett (English) also leaves teaching and will be replaced by Ms Leigh and the transition will be seamless. Mr Witts our Sports Director finishes on Friday after 10 years of service. We are currently interviewing for a replacement. I would like to wish them all the best in their new careers.