Principal News

Whenever I get the chance, I always comment on what a wonderful age intermediate children are.  

This may appear a strange comment, as the stereotypical 12 to 13-year-old student can be an individual who is pushing the boundaries,  generally making poor decisions and doing a lot of grunting!

The vast majority are, of course, fabulous people who are learning a lot about themselves and the world that they live in.  We have seen the best of these attributes from some of our students recently who have been recognised in leadership roles.  Congratulations go to all of the students who have been elected house leaders, but also to those who took the opportunity and applied but missed out.

This year, we are placing a greater emphasis on our house system and its leaders as we have defined the leader's role in the school with a focus on service.  I was very impressed with our first student-led assembly from the leaders of Mahuika, Rivah and Taylor, who did a great job as MCs.  They introduced Room 16 to the stage, where they wowed their peers with their drumming ability.  I am thoroughly looking forward to seeing our value of creativity being demonstrated on stage by our students in the upcoming assemblies.

Our school council has also gone through an election process in their classes, and leaders within the school council have been elected. I look forward to hearing the students' concerns at our monthly meeting. Congratulations to our school council members, and thank you for your service. Thank you also to Mr David Owen, who spends a considerable amount of time supporting the School Council and its endeavours.

When I see Tahuna students developing and taking so seriously their leadership role for the first time, I am reminded of their huge potential and just what great kids our students are. 

While on the topic of houses, we have made some changes to how house points can be collected. House points are issued for a wide variety of positive behaviours, including behaviour at house sports and being awarded a principal citation, to name just two. The results are displayed through our daily notices, and each week, the leading house has its flag proudly flying in the wind on our flag pole. It was wonderful to see a year 7 girl on Monday morning laughing and smiling with pride as she recognised her house flag up the pole. 

We are about to start our second rotation of school camps this week with some of our Year 8 classes going to Camp Columba and to Warrington.  I know they have some fantastic experiences planned and I want to thank the Year 8 team and all of the parent helpers who can provide this wonderful opportunity for the children.

Ka mihi

Simon Clarke