Principal News

The end of the term is normally a time to reflect on and celebrate our success.

Te Taiopeka and our Pasifika group were brilliant as always at Polyfest. We have had success in all the winter sports competitions, and our dance groups continue to perform at the highest levels. The academic groups have also had considerable success this term.

I am so proud of all of our students and teachers who have found success this term. But the highlight for me was a simple conversation I had with a group of students working on their project in the science lab two weeks ago.

I asked them what they had learnt. It would have been very easy for them to say something along the lines of we learnt how to melt chocolate and make a new snack. They, however, could explain in great detail and taught me new things about what was happening to the state of matter and the chemical reaction that had taken place.

Very impressive, I thought to myself, so I asked them the very hard question: how did you learn that?

"Well our teacher took us through some experiments and taught us the basics of kitchen chemistry and the science behind what was happening in each experiment. We then had to come up with a new, cheap, tasty snack based on what we had learnt, which we did. We turned the idea into a prototype and shared it with an expert, who gave us feedback. We did some more thinking and iterated and improved our prototype, and that is what you are eating now." (They actually used the word iterated; it means to change and improve. Be still my beating heart!)

I asked them what each serving costs, and they quickly replied 68 cents. I thought that was a bargain for a homemade chocolate bar.

Not only did they meet the brief perfectly for a cheap, tasty snack based on a science reaction, but they also showed the ability to articulate the learning process, which is actually very hard and a lifelong skill.

This is our goal as teachers at Tahuna: to guide students not just to remember facts, but to actively apply their learning. When students take knowledge and use it to solve real-world problems, it triggers neuroplasticity—literally building and strengthening the neural connections in the brain that retain long-term understanding. By teaching them how to apply what they know, we are helping them wire their brains for lifelong success.

Simon Clarke

Principal