Principal News

As I mentioned in the last newsletter, we have had our formal assessment week, during which your child participated in several formal tests.

After analysing the results, we couldn't be prouder of the efforts of your child and their teachers. We analyse data by year group, ethnicity, and gender in mathematics and reading. All groups showed a year's worth of progress, and many groups showed accelerated progress with more than one year's worth of learning.

Some of our most significant improvements occurred in Year 7 mathematics, Māori mathematics, and girls' mathematics. Thank you to all parents who have supported their child this year with their learning. For accelerated learning to happen, it really has to be a team approach.

It should be noted that this is just the results from one test, and although the progress has been excellent, I remind you that in mathematics especially, the expectations in the draft curriculum are significantly harder. Therefore, we anticipate a large number of children will have to be identified as working below the expected level. It should also be noted that from the draft to the final version of the mathematics curriculum, the expectations have become even harder starting in 2026, especially in Year 8. W The end of year report this year is compared against the draft curriculum so that you will have a comparison against the mid-year report comment and grade.

Another highlight for me since the last newsletter has been the success we have had outside of the classroom. Our athletes performed to a very high standard at the Otago Athletics Championship, and their behaviour was exemplary. Thanks to Roddy Scoles and our sports coordinator, Tom Hume, for your leadership in this area. Likewise, our end-of-year show was a showcase of the very best of our arts programme at school. The students performed with such skill and passion that it captivated the crowd for 90 minutes. Thanks to Morgann Price, Destiny Carvell and Anna Bowen and the whole staff for their work on putting together this event.

We believe in the holistic development of our intermediate-age students.  Academic, sports and the arts play a vital role. Engagement in these activities is crucial for building confidence, fostering creativity, and developing teamwork skills.

Kā mihi nui

Simon Clarke

Principal