Principal's Weekly Review 24 February 2023

Kia ora, 

Monday evening saw the first PTA meeting for the year.  It was great to see a number of new parents joining the committee.  We would also like to acknowledge the parents who have come back to support the school for another year.  The PTA is a very valuable component within our school structure, and I am appreciative of their contribution and their comment, as a sounding board in relation to current and future initiatives that the school seeks feedback about.  If you’d like to find out more about the PTA please contact Amanda at [email protected] 

Week 4 is now complete, and staff and students will be well and truly settling into the routine of teaching and learning.  This week, Year 9 and 10 students received their first Engagement Reports for the year, and Year 11 to 13’s will receive theirs next week.  Following this, Engagement Reports will be sent home each week, alternating between junior and senior reports.  We know when students are engaged in their learning, they give themselves the greatest opportunity to succeed.   

As we move into 2023 we welcome the opportunity to hopefully return to our broader context of curriculum delivery.     Learning beyond the four walls of a classroom is an important component of what we do here. The importance of    including authentic and enhanced learning opportunities is critical to support student engagement, and to potentially see the ‘bigger picture’ of what the learning means and/or where it might fit with their future aspirations.  Alongside class curriculum is the school’s co-curricular programme, which is also gathering momentum as the various councils and committees are under way, and students become involved in an extensive range of activities. 

As we near the end of February, we are reminded that New Zealand is vulnerable to a range of weather conditions.  Christchurch has certainly had some hot weather over the last month, and the cooler change towards to end of this week reminds us how rapidly a change can occur.  When weather conditions are adverse, we will do our best to inform the school community as quickly as possible.  If this is going to affect the school day; in the first instance information will be posted on the school’s website, followed by the school app.  In extreme situations we would also email and text message. 

In saying this, our thoughts are with the many communities up North as they recover and move forward from the recent weather events.  We are also aware that many people in our community will have personal connections in relation to this and we are thinking of you also.  Our school will be looking to ways in which we can tangibly show our support for those up North over the coming weeks.

Ngā mihi

 

Jeff Smith

Principal

 

 

Secondary Teachers Set Date For First National Strike - Thursday 16 March 

Last year teachers began negotiations for their collective agreement. At Paid Union Meetings at the end of last year, members agreed on a one-day national strike if they felt there was no satisfactory progress with their collective agreement.  As such all secondary school teachers in New Zealand will hold a national one-day strike on Thursday 16 March.  As no PPTA members will be available for teaching duties on that day it will not be possible to run normal classes.

For any students who do attend, supervision will be arranged.  Please phone the school office (on 352 6119) if you require supervision for your child.

 

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