Kia Ora Whanau
A huge thank you to all of our whanau for the fantastic start to
the term for attendance. We have an average attendance rate
of over 85% and this is improving each day. This allows each
student to get the best out of their learning programme because
they are able to connect with their classroom
teacher. Research shows us that the best type of learning is
done with the teacher there to guide, facilitate and support each
student in person. The students can also improve their
learning further by working with others to create a deeper
understanding. We therefore encourage all students to attend
school each day they can so they can keep their learning
moving forward.
This term brings a lot of excitement to our school as we move
into the winter months. The next five weeks are pretty straight
forward with quality learning being the focus and very few
disruptions, if any. Towards the end of the term (Week 9) we
have our traditional Sports & Academic Exchange with
Gisborne Intermediate, who are set to host this year. We have
the Technology Intensives Mid Year Programme (Week 10)
and we celebrate Matariki, the Maori New Year (Week 8) which
is a new celebration for the country this year. The Super 11
Inter-Intermediate Regional Competitions are restarting next
week and we are already organising our students to
participate. Some of these events have been missing for over
two years and we are very excited to have them back! The
winter sports season started recently and it is fantastic to see
so many of our students involved in these various codes. We
wish them all the best for the season.
This week I was able to visit Room 10 to see how their learning
was going, and it was great to get involved in their maths
lesson. All the students were able to share what they were
learning about and knew how to solve the practice
problems. The topic was Algebra and in particular they were
learning to identify patterns within a group of numbers and then
create a rule as an equation, so they easily could work out what
number came next in the sequence. What was especially
noticeable was the enjoyment of their work and how they were
working together to ensure everyone had an
understanding. Well done to all the students from this class
for their support of each other and hard mahi. Thank you to
Mrs Rhodes for her guidance, making the lesson enjoyable and
ensuring each student achieved success!
As always the doors are open to all friends and whanau and we
look forward to seeing you all throughout the term.
Nga Mihi,
Mike Webster