We are now at what could be described as the business end of the year, particularly for our senior students and, once again, I would urge whānau to encourage their children to be at College and engaging in their learning.  For many of our seniors these are the final six weeks available to gain internal credits and for final preparation for external exams, so their participation and engagement is critical.

During Week 9 we will be conducting Derived Grade Examinations.  The results of these exams are extremely important because, if a student is unwell or unable to go to an exam, these are the grades that are used by NZQA to decide whether or not a student could be granted these external credits.

NPDL

During Term 4 a number of staff are planning to run various trials around reshaping teaching and learning to capture an experiment with Deep Learning to build student competencies in character, citizenship, collaboration, communication, creativity, critical thinking and cultural competency.  These skills are recognised as being critical for young people to perform well in future focussed education and employment.  We are really excited about this opportunity as it will continue to shape how teaching and learning will be delivered at Ōtaki College in 2024 and beyond.

College Leadership

With the departure of Marion Lumley, we have reconfigured the College Senior Leadership Team and I am pleased to welcome Dawn Hirschberg and Jess Torley into the Leadership Team.  Both Dawn and Jess are highly respected teacher practitioners and bring a number of skill sets to the Leadership Team.  Dawn, as Pou, Tohu Haikura, will now have a key role working with NZQA, focussing on the changes that will be taking place over the next couple of years in NCEA.  Jess, as Pou, Te Ara Poutama, is taking a leading role in supporting the development of New Pedagogies for Deep Learning in the College and her skills in change management, along with best teaching practice, will be invaluable in steering this major focus in the College.

Student Leadership

A huge congratulations to Rose Reynolds, who has been selected as the BoT Student Representative at the recent Board of Trustees Student Election.  We look forward to Rose's participation on the Board of Trustees' team and her sharing of student views on the ongoing governance of Ōtaki College.

Board of Trustees

Due to the fact that Katera Rikihana-Tukerangi is commencing in the position of teacher of Te Reo Māori in the College, she has resigned from her position on the Board of Trustees.  This means that a casual vacancy now exists.  Please see the advertisement regarding this vacancy on the home page of this newsletter.

Following is an outline of the day: