COVID: We have been averaging about 85% attendance so far this term, which is close to our target of at least 90% attendance. COVID is still present in our communities which is keeping some staff and students away. Please remember to keep your child at home if they have any COVID symptoms. If you do need to pick up your sick child from school, you are welcome to take a free RAT (Rapid Antigen Test) with you.

Staff Only Day: During Monday's staff only day, our teachers were very busy planning for the extensive NCEA and curriculum changes that are being implemented nationally from next year. Our current year 9s will be the first cohort to experience these changes so teachers also spent time on Monday reviewing our year 10 courses to ensure that our 2023 year 10s are well prepared for these coming changes. It is my expectation that in future, all year 10s will pass their literacy and numeracy NCEA co-requisites prior to beginning their full NCEA programme in year 11.

EOTC: With so many events and activities having been postponed or cancelled last term it is great to see our students busy again with the huge range of Education Outside The Classroom (EOTC) activities currently going on. These include Duke of Edinburgh practice and qualifying hikes, the geography trip to Goat Island, paddleboarding at Kerikeri, the combined tourism/AltEd trip to Paihia as well as all the sports currently being played, including hockey, surfing, clay target shooting, unihoc, volleyball, football and netball. Today our year 13 hospitality academy students enjoy the day at the Manukau Institute of Technology (MIT) in Auckland where they will learn how to prepare and cook a range of dishes at the MIT facilities.

Library: Our library is now open! Having been closed since the end of 2020 I am delighted that our students once again have access to this amazing resource. School libraries have a positive impact on student literacy and learning outcomes and I strongly encourage all students to develop a reading habit. Young people these days are often so preoccupied with social media and the internet that reading is often the first casualty. There are so many advantages that regular reading offers, from making you smarter to improving general knowledge, vocabulary and writing skills. Please encourage your child to read regularly.

Bullying Free NZ: It is Bullying-Free New Zealand Week next week, from the 16th-20th May. This week schools across New Zealand will raise awareness on the harm that bullying causes, especially the rise of online bullying, and will help us focus on creating an inclusive school culture where everyone is heard and listened to, and feels they belong. Our prefects will be running Wednesday's assembly to promote this bullying free message, and to promote mufti day on Friday which is Pink Shirt Day. Celebrated annually around the globe, Pink Shirt Day began in Canada in 2007 when two students took a stand against homophobic bullying after a new student was harassed for wearing pink.

New year 7 and 8 rotations: All year 7 and 8 students begin their 2nd set of rotation subjects next week. By the end of the year, all of these students will have completed 13 week courses in drama, art, music, digital technology, hard materials technology, food (year 7s only) and graphics (year 8s only). In year 9 these students get the chance to choose their own semester option subjects.