From the Principal 14 May 2021

Welcome back to Term Two.  This is always a busy term, with senior students now starting to facing having a number of assessments due for NCEA.  To enable students to get the very best outcomes in these assessments it does require them to be attending school with regularity as well as putting time into study at home.  I would encourage parents of senior students to work on making certain that study time is being managed and considered around other priorities that your young people have.

Mobile Phones

Mobile phones are a distraction for students and we are now requiring students to only use them before and after school and in break times.  If a student is found to be using a mobile phone in class we have asked teachers to remove the phone from the student and for a first offence, return it at the end of the period.  If, however, this does become an ongoing problem we will ask for the phone to be removed and handed into the office until the end of the day and you will be contacted in regard to this matter.

We would also ask parents to make sure you are aware of what apps your children have on their phones and what they are looking at.  Phones provide 24/7, ubiquitous access to the internet and if parents are not aware of what is happening, this can lead to major issues.  Students' ability to view online pornography and violence is a major concern for us.  We do everything we can to safeguard our systems at College to protect your children and prevent this, but it is up to students and parents to make sure phones are used responsibly.

Our Kids Online Documentary - June 9th

Please note that this Documentary will be held at 6.30pm on Wednesday June 9th.  This documentary is part of our information to whānau about the content that our young people may be accessing online, the harm it may cause and most importantly the support whānau can give to our rangatahi to make safe choices and know that they can seek advice or help when needed. 

Ngā Manu Kōrero 

It always makes me incredibly proud when I get the opportunity to see our students representing the College in sports and cultural events.  At the time of writing this I have not long returned from watching two of our senior students, Kaea Hakaraia-Hosking and Oriwa Jury, presenting their ten minute speeches at Ngā Manu Kōrero.  Both students were nothing short of outstanding in both their content and the manner in which they presented it.  The time and effort that goes into the preparation for this event is huge and I would like to thank both these students as well as Te Kahariki Waitai for their time and effort to take on this challenge of presenting at Ngā Manu Kōrero.  I would also like to thank Whaea Maha and all the whānau who have also contributed in helping these students get ready for this event.  

"Ka pu te ruha ka hao te rangatahi"