
14 April 2022
He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata! He tangata! He tangata!
What is the most important thing in the world? It is people! It is people! It is people!
Ngā mihi mahana ki a koutou katoa
I have chosen this whakatauki as it talks to the importance of human connection and relationships. This is what creates community and enables people to flourish. This has been particularly important this term as COVID-19 took hold of our country and has presented all of us with enormous challenges. Supporting our staff, our students, and our community has been extremely important as we have tried to ensure that our school year still offers as many opportunities as possible so that everyone can enjoy success.
As I write this, I am at home self-isolating as there is COVID-19 in the family. Based on our experience I can fully appreciate how challenging COVID -19 has been for our whānau/families that have had similar experiences and also having to cope with on-line learning would have been a challenge at its best.
While we did have to roster home year levels over two weeks through staff shortages we have now been able to return to our normal timetable. Student attendance has also risen from approximately 65% to just under 90% which is positive. While I would encourage students to have a good break, I would also like to think that those who have been away will use the time to catch up. Should the virus stay at similar levels to what they are now or fall further, then the posting of on-line learner next term will discontinue. On-line learning is extremely demanding on everyone and with attendance rates returning to normal, it is now time for students who do not have COVID-19 to return to school.
The current COVID-19 settings still place limitations on us and this will restrict us in various ways next term. For example, sport played outdoors will have no restrictions, and most school’s gyms will be able to cope with the 200 restriction. Music, Choirs and Kapa Haka are able to continue to practice, and different venues have started to welcome back students. However, there are still restrictions in place, we are unable to have full school assemblies and the school ball could not currently be held in the same way as it has been in the past. This of course could change with the next review of the Alert Level System. We will be watching this with interest.
Despite the challenges of COVID-19 and its challenges we manage to achieve a lot and I would like to invite you to review some of these highlights at our Term-in-Review page which can be found at,
As the borders begin to open we will able to re-establish our international students programme which has been in hiatus for the last two year. We have been receiving applications from overseas and as visa requirements are fulfilled we start enrolling students from several different countries. An important part of this programme is the homestay experience. If parents/guardians are interested in being a hosting an international student, please see the information below.
Congratulations to Sophie Ewens and Keya Parekh who won prizes in the recent Absolutely Positively Wellington Short Story Competition. Keya's tale, "Innocence of the Pure" won Most Imaginative Story, while Sophie's "A Letter, a Lighthouse and the Wind" won Best Story in the 13-18 age group category.
As we head into the winter term a couple of reminders.
Senior students, Year 11,12,13 will now be wearing their blazers. This will continue until the end of term 3. If a Year11 student has not yet got their blazer they can be purchased from NZ Uniforms. Please sort this during the holidays.
Please do not come down the drive to pick up or drop off students. I know the traffic on Bracken Road can be challenging but with the loss of our carpark, the building work and taxis picking up our Learning Support Students there is no capacity for extra cars.
Ngā manaakitanga,
Grant Jones
Homestay message