From the Senior Leadership Team

It is very pleasing to report that the PPTA has, as of Wednesday night, withdrawn all strike action. This means that school will be open each day for all students for the rest of this term. An independent arbitration panel will now get involved in an attempt to resolve the dispute, and will provide recommendations that will hopefully form the basis of a new secondary teachers' collective agreement (the previous agreement having expired a year ago). This process should take approximately 5-6 weeks to complete. If the arbitration panel is unsuccessful in facilitating an agreement, then further strike action could follow next term.

Next Thursday school will close early at 12.30pm and buses will run at this time. All secondary teachers in the region are attending a paid union meeting on Thursday afternoon to discuss the latest developments in the negotiations, including the arbitration process. The school has no control over these meetings as they are legislated under Section 26 of the Employment Relations Act 2000. 

A reminder that it is illegal to vape (or smoke) at school or on the school buses. We take a very strict approach to students who breach this law, which could result in stand-downs, or suspensions for repeat offenders. Please have a conversation with your child about this and ensure that your child is not bringing any vaping devices to school. Students found vaping on the bus will, at minimum, be banned from riding on the bus, and will have to find alternative ways of getting to school each day.  For more information on vaping, please see this link.

Congratulations to all of our students who get actively involved in the wider life of the school. To those who participated in the cross country this week, to our brilliant basketballers, football, hockey and netball players, our squash and table tennis players, our amazing DOE students, and to those who are currently completing defensive driving and fire extinguisher courses - ka pai! Students who take part in extracurricular activities develop valuable skills, grow their social connections, learn about time management, have the chance to discover new interests, develop a sense of identity, and gain self-confidence. These students usually do better academically as well. If your child is not participating in any extracurricular activities, please encourage them to get involved.

A reminder that we are still reviewing all of our EOTC (Education Outside The Classroom) policies this term.  Please click here to access our school policies. The username is 'otamatea', and the password is 'bickerstaffe'. Your feedback is welcome.

With the end of the term approaching we have been preparing mid-year progress reports for our students. If your child has recently enrolled they will not receive a report at the end of next week, but will get an end of year report in Term 4. If you would like an update on your student's progress next term you should attend our interview afternoon on Wednesday, July 26th. You can also email any teacher directly (email addresses are all in the staff section of our website) or request a dean's report, if you have any concerns about your child. The school holidays are an important opportunity for students to rest, play, recharge and earn money. However, it can also be a chance for students to catch up on unfinished work, make progress on assessments or carry out revision. This particularly applies to our senior students, whose examinations are going to approach very quickly.

The Mindshift and Tu Kaha Otamatea (TKO) programmes are well under way.  Both provide mentoring and motivational support for male students from years 7 to 11 with the goal of improving students engagement at school and overall success.

The TKO program was started six years ago by Nick Makea and was for boys in years 9, 10 and 11.  Following it's success last year the Mindshift programme was created specifically for boys in year 7 and 8.  Both programmes are now facilitated by Lance Nepia.   Currently we are able to offer 50 places to students which are all now allocated.

Every week students participate in both group activities and individual mentoring.  This term we were lucky enough to involve our year 8 & 9 students in Jujitzu. They are loving this activity and there has been a noticeable improvement in the students' self-confidence. 

In the science department, the juniors have been learning about heat transfer (convection, conduction and radiation) through the context of tradition Māori hāngi preparation and cooking. The photos below are just a couple of examples of the amazing work that our students have been doing. Later this year, we will be hosting a hāngi afternoon where students can participate in the preparation and cooking of traditional hāngi.  Keep an eye out for notices next term to see how you can support our students in this endeavour.