Principal's Weekly Message

Kia Ora Whanau  

The school is certainly a hub of activity at the moment with a lot of co-curricular activities and engaging learning occurring every day. Currently there a number of trials for the school’s AIMS Games teams, which occur on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The selections will be finalised in the coming weeks, which is when practices and fitness training start to happen. This information is on the school Facebook page and sports website, so please ensure you discuss with your child where they need to be and when. The rehearsals for our production “Rock Bottom” are in full swing and the song items sound amazing. The set is almost finished and looks outstanding, and will no doubt add real authenticity to the show. Tickets go on sale at the office on Monday - get in early!!  

I had the privilege of popping into to Room 15 in Te Whanau o Wainui te Whara this week and observed them in action. At the time they were participating in a healthy and active game on the courts, which is part of the Physical Education Programme. All the students were having fun and participated in a very positive manner. They then returned to their classroom and continued with their research projects. The class are focussed on Rongoa or traditional Maori Medicine, which is part of their inquiry learning around Matariki. Students spoke with excitement about the medical properties of the Kawakawa and Harekeke plants. A great theme to be learning about as it brings our local curriculum into a focus. Well done to the students for sharing their learning and to Mr Ben Macdonald for his creative programme.  

Being present in the classroom all the time increases a student’s ability to take up opportunities both in and out of the classroom, and develops their learning in a meaningful way. When a student misses a day of school, it can take up to three days to catch up on previous learning. This can cause undue stress and anxiety about returning to school for the students and may disadvantage their confidence in their learning. While there are some very acceptable reasons to not attend, every effort should be made to return as quickly as possible. If a student misses just half a day a week (which is a 90% attendance rate), it still means missing 20 days a year, which is four weeks of learning. Thankfully our school attendance in 2023 is a huge improvement from the previous year. It is great to see whanau support us with encouraging their child to be where they need to be. Thanks for being part of the solution to a positive learning experience. Last week the top class for attendance was Room 23 and the class with the biggest improvement on the previous week with an increase of 10% was Room 4. A huge well done to these classes for a great effort.  

Mike Webster  

Principal