From the Principal: 12 May 2023

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome all our students back to Term Two and thank them for the way that they are navigating the ongoing disruption which has been caused through the Government's unwillingness to acknowledge the Secondary Teachers' pay claim.  While I understand the annoyance that this industrial action can cause students and whānau, I equally understand the desire of our teachers to work towards better work and salary conditions.  To put this in perspective, the minimum wage in New Zealand is $47,000 and a first year teacher, after four years' tertiary training, which carries a student loan debt, is only $53,000, which is not a great incentive for anyone, let alone young people, to join the profession.  For New Zealand to move forward and build a strong future, the education of our young people is an absolutely critical part of the plan, but unfortunately we are seeing little commitment to this.  I only hope, moving forward, there is a change of heart and a successful claim is completed once sanity prevails.

This Newsletter is an opportunity to celebrate the successes of a number of our students who have participated in activities outside of the College.  As well as these successes we can now look forward to the Variety Concert, which will take place on Wednesday 17 May and we look forward to whānau supporting our local young ones at this event.

A highlight of the seniors' year is the College Ball and I wish to offer my sincere thanks to Anne Hagan and the Student Ball Committee for once again getting everything into place for this major event.  I look forward to seeing friends and whānau at the College welcoming our Ball attendees.  

In  a future Newsletter I look forward to reporting back on the College Sports Day and Whanganui Exchange, which are taking place in the coming weeks and our Ra Haka Day which is coming up in Week 7 on Wednesday 7 June.

Relievers and Students' Work Options

It is extremely important that students are coming to school with fully charged chromebooks because the majority of all teachers' work is on their class sites.  If students do not have chromebooks to access this it often means that they end up doing busy paper based work that is not always relevant to what they should be doing.  Your assistance with this would be greatly appreciated.

Board Chair's Transport Success

We would like to thank Penny Gaylor for her tireless work on gaining funding for an improved rail service to Ōtaki.  Her success was confirmed in a pre-budget announcement of funding for a fleet of hybrid-electric passenger trains in the lower North Island.  This will be of immense benefit to Ōtaki residents.  Thank you, Penny, for your perseverance and lobbying, alongside Daran Ponter, Greater Wellington Chair, which has made this all possible.