From the Senior Leadership Team

Today is the last day of term 1 and we had a special end of year assembly to honour and farewell a number of teachers who are leaving us. Anna Alison is taking on a specialist teaching position at Blomfield Special School in Whangarei, Will Burnell has decided to leave the science classroom for personal reasons, and Jen Westermeyer is relocating to Auckland. We also say goodbye to Adam Blake who will be travelling overseas, and to Nazila Khan who will be away on maternity leave for 6 months. Philippa Randell who has been with us for over 9 years now, has decided to retire from her part time position, but we look forward to having Philippa back next term as a reliever. We also bid a very special farewell to our lead guidance counsellor Alexandra Smith, who is retiring after first joining us over 16 years ago. At our assembly we acknowledged Alexandra's huge contribution to our school over the years with the gift of a beautiful korowai. We wish these teachers all the best.

A massive congratulations to our year 13s and prefects who joined some of our staff at the annual Relay for Life event at Trigg Stadium in Whangarei last weekend. Despite a few showers and some flashes of lightning, the weather held off and for 18 hours our staff and students walked the track. Our students really lifted the mana of our school, performing the school haka for the survivors lap, singing our waita at the remembrance service, and winning the Best Team Spirit award for their fantastic attitude over the weekend. Thank you to Mr Blake for his hard work in organising this event. Our team ended up as the top fundraiser in Northland, raising nearly $15,000 for the Cancer Society, with Kate Cotching raising over $2,000 herself. What an amazing effort.

The main theme of Wednesday's assembly this week was about participation, and encouraging students to get involved in the wider life of the school as much as possible. We have so much going on at our school at the moment that there are little excuses for students not to be taking on at least one extra-curricular activity. Recently we have seen a new writers club (the Nook) created, with an increasing number of students now attending, as well as a new Dungeons and Dragons club. Well done to our silver DOE students for a successful tramp to the Kaimais last weekend, and to our kapa haka students for their noho at school on Friday night. Well done also to those students who participated in our annual triathlon event. A special congratulations to Molly McCartney and Harry Brown for winning the junior individual races, and to Morgan Bull and Denika Clooney for taking out the top places in the senior sections.  

Senior (year 11-13) students have been completing their goals for the year. Please discuss these with your child over the break. The rest of the year will go quickly and students need to be on top of all outstanding work when they return to school if they are to succeed. An analysis of our 2022 NCEA results showed that those who attended school regularly (over 90%) achieved by far the best results, whereas those with poor attendance struggled to pass. It may seem obvious but attendance is crucial to your child's success at school. Please do not keep them home unless they are genuinely sick. I am pleased to see that average attendance for the year is tracking at 87%, a vast improvement on last year when COVID contributed to high levels of absenteeism. 

SAVE THE DATE - Our parent teacher interviews are coming up on Wednesday 3rd May, starting at 1pm. I strongly recommend that all caregivers come along to meet their student's teachers, learn about what they are doing in class and discuss any concerns they might have. I believe it is important that our children know that we are in touch with their teachers and where possible, are on the same team when it comes to their education.  You are welcome to bring your child along to these meetings, but it is not compulsory to do so.

Today, at a special assembly, we presented our top scholars from 2022 with endorsement badges.  Students who gained a merit or excellence NCEA certificate endorsement were awarded a badge, as were students gaining excellence course endorsements in particular subjects.  These can be worn on their uniforms.  For a full list of 2022 endorsements, including those awarded to students who have since left our school and merit course endorsements, please click THIS LINK.  

A reminder that COVID is still circulating in our communities with a few students testing positive this week. Please remain vigilant, and remember that positive cases need to isolate for seven days. Household contacts can continue to attend school subject to five consecutive negative RAT results.

Please note that the first day of next term (Monday the 24th April) is a staff only day. This is one of the Ministry of Education's curriculum/NCEA development days that will be used to further develop our school curriculum. With ANZAC day falling on Tuesday the 25th, the first day of school for students will be Wednesday the 26th April. 

ANZAC Day is an important day of national remembrance and reflection in New Zealand and Australia, and it provides an opportunity for people to come together to honour the service and sacrifice of the men and women who have served their countries. Our school prefects will be proudly representing Otamatea High School and laying wreath at our local ANZAC ceremonies at Waipu, Matakohe, Hakaru and Maungaturoto on April the 25th.

"From the Archives"

As the term is ending, so too is the summer sports season and the move into the winter sports season.  Here are some sporting pics from the past.  Should we bring back the green and white kit?

Have a wonderful easter break, from the Archives team.