From the Senior Leadership Team

What a fantastic week we have had! On Tuesday we had all teachers back at school after a well deserved break, and there was a real excitement in the staff room for the coming year. We have an outstanding group of new teachers joining our growing school, all of whom are passionate educators, and we will start introducing them to you in next week's newsletter. On Wednesday our year 13s attended their leadership training day and we were all very impressed with how motivated they all are to succeed this year, and how keen they are to be good role models to our younger students. Thursday began with a powhiri where we welcomed new staff and students to our school. Thank you to new Te reo Māori kaiako Matua Rene for his korero on behalf of the manuhiri. The day was all about ensuring our new students had time to themselves to settle into their new school, ask questions, understand their timetables, and to have a tour of the school. Our year 13s were magnificent on this day, supporting our new students and running some team building activities in the afternoon to help everyone get to know each other in a fun way. Today we had a day exclusively for our year 9s. With 30 new year 9s joining us it was a great opportunity for these students to get to know each other. It was also a reminder that they are now 'proper' high school students, and that we have high expectations of them this year. At assembly they were reminded of our WAKA values (Whanaungatanga - respectful relationships as if we were family/whanau; Ako - the importance of learning, not only in the classroom but in the playground and on the sportsfield; Kaitiakitanga - looking after ourselves and our environment; and Aroha - showing empathy towards, and caring for, one another); and of course the importance of everyone being in the Otamatea High School waka. The year 9s finished the day with a choice of fun activities, with the Scavenger Hunt in the library, and the swim in the school pool being the most popular.

Monday the 5th February is the first day back for the whole school. It is crucial that all students start the week ready to learn, with all the correct equipment and in the correct school uniform. See our website for full details on our uniform regulations and stationery requirements.

All Year 13 students were given two permission letters to take home for parents or caregivers to sign.  The first is for permission allowing them to sign out of school during their timetabled study classes.  The second is for permission to drive to school. Please remind them to return the completed forms to the Rongo.

First day for Year 7 and new students to Otamatea High School for 2024! 

Students and whanau were welcomed to OHS with a powhiri. Students then spent the day getting to know each other, their timetables and classrooms with some enjoying a lunchtime swim to cool off.

 

Provisional 2023 NCEA data has been released.  

Otamatea High School  is continuing to perform well compared to the national average. Congratulations to all students who achieved their academic goals for 2023. It is pleasing to see Year 11 and 12 students out performing the national average by such large margins and I hope they continue to do well this year as Year 12 and 13 students. An analysis of NCEA results shows that attendance is key to success. Students with high attendance rates directly correlate to those achieving well in NCEA.

2023 Results	NCEA L1	NCEA L2	NCEA L3
Otamatea High School	85.9 %	82.5 %	65.5 %
National Average	60.0 %	72.2 %	66.2 %