Principal's Message

We enjoyed a very special Academic Blues Awards evening on Tuesday at Toitū. Our Blues Awards recipients and their parents and whānau were treated to an inspiring speech by alumni Professor Deidre Brown, who works in child psychology at the University of Otago. One of Deidre’s key messages was about being adaptable and flexible when the pathway to your goal doesn’t follow the direction you expected. I guess many of us know friends, or maybe even ourselves, where the straight line towards the goal often meant we missed out on the rich tapestry of opportunities and experiences discovered by veering off the main road into side streets and cul-de-sacs. I thnk it is important to remember that God does have a plan for every one of us. If we trust in Him, we will end up exactly where we are supposed to be – even if it wasn’t on our original map.

In this week’s newsletter, you can see some photos and the names of the students who performed particularly well in 2022 NCEA and gained an Excellence Endorsement. Our Year 11s were an outstanding group last year and 40.7% of them gained an excellence endorsement. Combined with merit endorsements, a huge 73% gained an endorsement. These results were far beyond those reached in the last five years with the 2018 cohort coming closest at 37.8% and 67.8% respectively Congratulations!!

Another highlight in our 2022 results, was our UE pass rate of 83.5%. In the last three years, our UE results have been very pleasing and significantly higher than both decile 8-10 (13-15% higher each year) and national (approximately 30% higher each year). Once again this year, our males at all levels and our Pacific students at all levels, deserve acknowledgement for strong results particularly when compared to their peers in other schools.

All our blues recipients were brought up on stage at yesterday’s assembly so our younger students can see what is possible. I also reminded those who were being celebrated, that they have had the opportunities to grow and nurture their gifts, and to remember that service (manaaki) would be a thoughtful way to show gratitude for these gifts.Many of these students are already involved in tutoring and mentoring younger students.

This weekend we remember the late Tracy O’Brien, recent principal of our college, who passed away four years ago this Sunday. Tracy is still fondly remembered by the many staff and students who knew him.

“Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace. Amen.”