Principal's News

Welcome back for the final term of what has proven to be a very long, yet busy year. There are only three weeks of regular school left for our senior students, culminating in our senior prize-giving on Friday the 4th of November. Final reports for these students will be issued on this day. NCEA examinations then start on the 7th of November. Those students who have passed or who are well on track to pass their NCEA this year, will be granted study leave at this time. All other seniors will be supported at school over the following weeks to catch up on outstanding work, and to complete additional standards.  For our juniors, there are only eight weeks of school before end of year camps and activities. Year 9s and 10s will also have end of year examinations during this time, so it will be a busy start to term for everyone, particularly for those who have missed a lot of school through absenteeism.

Musical Talent: Congratulations to Maggie Burke, one of our talented year 10 students who is a member of the band "No smoking after 3.15". They recently released their first single "Never Ever" and it sounds amazing. You can check them out on Youtube by following this link.

Netball Umpiring: The Whangarei Netball Centre (WNC) Umpire development team recently acknowledged the achievement of some of our young umpires. All four of these girls have given up their Saturdays developing their umpiring skills and working closely with the WNC umpire coaches. I would like to congratulate these girls and note their achievements this season. Sue Robertson from the WNC has given high praise for their efforts: "These four girls have represented their school with honour, reliability and resilience. They have volunteered their time to grow their skills with great results. They are a credit to themselves, their team, and their school". Congratulations on your achievements girls! Leayah Buxton (Zone Theory exam pass), Pyper Buxton (Junior Award and Centre Award), Stevie Ray Rawaho Ball (Junior Award and Centre Award) and Zoey Smythe King (Junior Award and Centre Award).

Cellphones at School next year: I have sent an email to all parents/caregivers as part of our consultation on a proposed schoolwide cellphone ban for all year 7 to 10 students from the start of next year. I welcome your feedback on this. At the moment cellphones are banned from all timetabled classes but are allowed on the buses, before and after school, and during break times. Unfortunately many of our students lack the maturity to manage the responsibility of owning their own phone, and it can be a massive distraction for students who should be focusing on their schoolwork. I strongly recommend that parents hold off getting their child a cell phone until they are at least 14 years old. If you think your child is ready to handle a smartphone, it is important they understand that you are still in charge. Parents and caregivers should know their child’s password, establish clear rules, and explain what will happen if those rules aren’t followed. Having everyone on the same page will make giving your child a phone much easier. The proposed ban is designed to encourage students to focus more on their lessons, to socialise better, to reduce social media use, and to reduce online bullying and online image abuse.

Vaping: The Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Vaping) Amendment Act 2020 (the Amendment Act) prohibits smoking and vaping in schools, including on school buses. This means we are a smokefree and vapefree environment at all times. The board and I have a responsibility to take all reasonably practicable steps to ensure that no person smokes or vapes in any part of the school premises, whether inside or outside, at any time of day. This applies to everyone who comes onto the grounds, as well as in the buildings. Unfortunately we continue to see some students bringing vapes to school. Please be vigilant with your child to ensure that these are not brought to school. We will be taking a very tough stance on vaping this term, which may result in students being stood down or suspended if they continue to breach this law. 

Board Elections: We have four new board members joining the school board this month. We welcome Sophie van Harlingen (student rep), Bruce Alison (staff rep), Matthew Browne and Daniel Alcock (parent reps) onto the board and I look forward to working with the new board to continue to progress the goals of our school.

Chromebooks 2023: A reminder that all year 10 to 13 students will need to bring a Chromebook in a hard shell case to school each day from the start of 2023. We encourage you to support our amazing local supplier 100% Fergus Appliances for your Chromebook purchase, but we have also partnered with PB Tech and Cyclone who have some good deals available. See our website: Our School => Student Chromebooks for more details.

Volunteers Needed: We are looking for volunteers to help us as reader/writers for the end of year NCEA examinations from Monday 7 November to Friday 2nd December. Volunteers won't be required every day during this period. You will be required to read and/or write for students who have special assessment conditions when completing their examinations.  You will be trained to undertake reader/writer duties by the school. You will also need to complete police vetting (done by the school).  Please get in touch with Caroline Foubister if you are interested at caroline.foubister@otamatea.school.nz

Policy Review: Each term a number of school policies come up for review, as part of our triennial review programme. If you wish to provide any recommendations on these policies, please click on this link, The username is Otamatea, and the password is bickerstaffe. We value your feedback.

Dirk Smyth
Principal