Principal's News 25 Years: Rebecca Clist, our head of Arts and Languages, started teaching at Otamatea High School in term 2 1997. On Wednesday staff acknowledged and celebrated Rebecca's 25 years' service at our school with a surprise gift of flowers and a gold watch - recognising the huge impact Rebecca has had on our school over this time. We look forward to having Rebecca here for many more years to come. Reports and Parent Teacher Interviews: Term 2 reports are being emailed to parents/caregivers today as pdf files. This is a change from previous years when they were sent as paper copies. Having read the reports myself, I am very pleased with the progress our students have made to date, particularly those who have had to catch up on missed work due to sickness. However, many students, particularly seniors, will need to put time aside these holidays to catch up on outstanding work. Please put Wednesday 3rd August into your diaries. We will be hosting our second parent teacher interviews at school this afternoon and I strongly encourage all parents/caregivers to attend. School Ball: Our school ball is on Thursday the 21st July in the school hall. The ball committee has been very busy fundraising, and getting all the props, decorations and catering organised for the big night. This year's theme is 'Hollywood' and I am looking forward to seeing our students and staff dressed up in the evening. Doors will open at 7pm & close at 7.30pm for all students, and the ball finishes at 11.30 pm. If your child is attending the ball, please remind them of the high standard of behaviour and conduct expected of them at this formal occasion. It should be a wonderful night. A huge thank you to Ms Meachin for all her hard work!

Consumers and Producers: Our year 8s held their Consumers and Producers event in the hall on Tuesday and were lovely hosts to all the parents, family and whānau that attended. It was a fantastic highlight to the end of their social science unit where students have learned about products, marketing, and how producers and consumers exercise their rights and meet their responsibilities. This event keeps getting better each year.

End of Term Assembly: Term 2 ended with a final assembly in the gym. I spoke to students about the importance of catching up on missed work over the break. We then had our inter-iwi haka and waita competition. The performances were certainly a step up from previous years and the commitment from students and staff was amazing. Thank you to our judges Joseph Kapea and Kamira Nahona for judging the competition and congratulations to Ngapuhi for being crowned this year's winners. Also a massive thank you to 100% Fergus Appliances in Maungaturoto for sponsoring our end of term GK prize, won by Billie Le Mesurier-Cowbourne. We appreciate your ongoing support.

Board Elections: The triennial elections for school boards across New Zealand are coming up next term. For the Otamatea High School board of trustees, nominations for parent representatives open on Friday 29th July at 12pm, and close on Wednesday 17th August at 12pm. Voting then starts, and closes on Wednesday 21st September 2022. For more information about these important elections, please click on this link.

Open Day: Our annual Open Day is coming up quickly next term - the 11th August. We have started promoting this day to our feeder schools so please mark this date in your calendars if you have children intending on coming to Otamatea High School next year. Open Day is a fun, interactive day that showcases many of the exciting subjects that we offer here, and is very popular with our visiting primary school students.

Ngā mihi
Dirk Smyth