Kia ora,

I am hopeful that the extended long weekend provided students with a well-timed break, and an opportunity to recharge as we move into the second half of this term.

Tonight (10th June) approximately 430 students and 50 members of staff will be enjoying this year’s senior formal at the University of Canterbury Students’ Association.  I would like to thank Mrs Kerren Langdon, and Ms Jane Herman, our Year 13 and 12 Deans respectively, as well as the 20 member student-lead Formal Organising Committee for all of their effort and time they have put into organizing this event. 

We have a busy week coming up.  Our Diversity Council are running PRIDE week, where we acknowledge and celebrate with our rainbow community. Monday signals the start of Semester 2 for our senior students, where many of them will begin new courses for the second half of their academic year.  We wish them well during this transition and encourage them to continue to achieve their personal best in all that they do, both in the classroom and beyond.    From Monday to Wednesday a number of Year 12 and 13 students are competing in the District Round of the annual NZCT Chamber Music Contest and we wish them all the best. Alongside a number of students being out on EOTC we will also be holding our final combined assemblies for the term.    

MOE BUILDING UPDATE

Late last year the school had signposted that the new buildings set for redevelopment were to begin at the start of 2022.  The first stage of demolition has taken place, as has the relocation of the F Block prefabs to the fields. Unfortunately, further progress has been delayed.  We can all appreciate the challenges with COVID, and escalation of building costs, however, the school has voiced its frustrations in relation to the lack of progress to the Ministry of Education, seeking clarification of process.    The Board of Trustees has received a response from the Ministry of Education which they have written to be shared with our community.  This letter can be found on the following page.

  

COVID Update    

We will maintain a watching brief in this space and continue to keep all of the required health measures in place at school. This includes ventilating all of our learning spaces, so students are advised to wear all of the layers of uniform the keep themselves warm.  We would continue to appreciate families/whānau notifying us of new cases via the email: [email protected]     

We wish our students competing in the Smokefreerockquest Regional Finals on Saturday evening at the Ngaio Marsh Theatre every success. 

Ngā mihi nui

 

Jeff Smith

Principal