Principal's Comment

Kia Ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College,

Welcome back for Term two to all of our families and students. Term two is arguably the most important term of the year due to the fact that much of the internal assessment for NCEA is done during this term and in the junior school summative assessments are being undertaken to help to give a picture to parents and caregivers of how their students are tracking. On the Cambridge front, we have the first of our students sitting their  initial IGCSE exams in May. This was the group which was fast tracked from extension English in Year 10 and who are attempting the language paper.

Term two can also be challenging in terms of student and staff welfare as the winter chills begin to bite and some of us get the 'blues' with the darker nights and colder mornings. If that is happening for your student, please let the Deans know so that we can help to support you to get your young person to school. Helping to support your young person to manage the demands of increased academic pressure is less about avoiding the pressure than it is about helping them to develop the best strategies they can to help them manage their workload and the stresses that come with it.

If we hope to raise young people who can lead our community in the future, who can tackle some of the challenges that are in store for them such as the climate or economic and technical challenges, we must teach them that stress is a normal part of life and that learning how to deal with it is the key. Our student advocate Esther can be a great help in supporting students to find what works for them and School TV also has some great ideas for you to check out on the pastoral tab of our website.

I will be emailing the families of students doing the Cambridge course shortly with an update regarding timings of examinations and the options students have around when to sit these. Please be on the lookout for that letter.

Open day is next week so please remind any friends or family who are hoping to enroll their Year 8 students that this event is on and equally that applications need to be in as soon as possible to avoid dissappointment.

Thank you to all of the families who came to parent interviews on Friday and especially to those who left feedback with regards to restorative practices.

Have a great weekend

God Bless

Jo