23 June 2022
"Ahakoa he iti he pounamu"
(although it is small, it is a precious greenstone) ,
Ngā mihi mahana ki a koutou katoa
This morning I arrived at the school at 6:00am along with approximately 150 staff, students and whānau so that we could celebrate Matariki. The fire was lit, the karakiha were delivered and the speakers were supported with carefully selected waiata. It was a special occasion, a time of reflection for the year that has passed, a time to remember those that have passed and a time to contemplate the year ahead for us. Matariki holds a special place in our school as it brings as all together for a single purpose. As Whea Tehani said,
“We Ngā Pou o Te Ao Mārama would like to thank you all for your contributions, big or small, to Te Ao Māori over the last year and beyond. Like the whakataukī "Ahakoa he iti he pounamu" (although it is small, it is a precious greenstone) , every little bit of effort contributes to the fabric of who we are as a kura and to the elevation of te reo Māori me ōna tikanga. For our ākonga Māori, this does not go unnoticed.”
Matariki is a time for us to celebrate.
Matariki can be seen in the centre of the photo above the treeline.
On 11 June we were able to celebrate one of the social highlights of the school year, the ball. Once again we were at Te Papa and this is a superb venue for such a celebration. Unfortunately, some staff and students missed out because of COVID-19, but over 340 students were able to attend. It was a fantastic night, enjoyed by all with many photos being taken to record the event.
Year 11 students can look forward to their semi-formal towards the end of Term 3.
Earlier this week we held the Business Challenge for 80 Year 11 students who take commerce. The students were provided with mentors and they had to develop a product from its inception through to presenting the idea and business plan to an external panel of business people. The teams were marked on a range of criteria and this year, the winning team consisted of Bayley Puha-Harris: CEO, Terupe Raka, Charlotte Conder, Sonali Sagar, Jared Young, Jordan May, Dhruti Keshaboina, Paphada Suphachaisakhon & Fien Verhoeven, and the project they developed was called O-Bags which seeks to reimagine the backpack market by making it more sustainable and improving the user experience. This is an excellent example of students learning in a context.
Anush Goel has spent much of this year on a special project, bringing a Ted-X conference to the college. Anush with a group of supporters arranged for student speakers across Wellington to present their ideas to an audience of 150 spectators on 2 June. Unfortunately, our own speaker, Russell Gill was not able to attend because of illness. However, Russell presented their speech at an assembly and it was both well-constructed and thought provoking. Anush is to be congratulated on producing such a quality event.
There is now only two weeks to go before the end of the term. Next week most of our Year 10 students will be attempting the Literacy CAA (Common Assessment Activity). This is a high stakes examination that will be held in the hall. Successful students will be able to gain credits towards the new literacy requirements for NCEA Level 1. Next year Numeracy testing will be introduced in the same way. The changes to NCEA are now well underway. The term will conclude with our Lyp Sync competition.
I would like to wish you all the best for the inaugural Matariki public holiday tomorrow.
Ngā manaakitanga
Grant Jones