Welcome to Term 3

Welcome back to Term Three and after a cold wet day to begin the term, the sun and warmer temperatures at this end of the week have been a very promising sign of spring just around the corner.

Thank you for supporting your child’s return to school ready to learn and make the most of this important term. Term Four is generally full of activities such as camps, end of year events, and awards ceremonies, and learning can feel compromised during these weeks. It is really important that class time is valued by our students in term three to ensure a solid foundation to take into the coming year. For this reason, attendance is also crucial. Hopefully, winter illnesses will begin to disappear, which means that full attendance can be expected. Please ensure your child is at school ready in their classrooms for the first bell at 8.45am. Students are good at signing in when late, but it is a real concern when many are still signing in at 9.30 and, when most subjects have only four hours per week, that means nearly a quarter of a week’s subject learning has been lost because of one late start. Regular attendance is considered to be 90% attendance – missing fewer than five days across a term. We had 56% regular attendance in term two so, while we are not dissimilar to other secondary school in Otago, there is plenty of improvement that needs to happen! Attendance and Achievement go hand in hand. Absences mean learning is lost. In fact, a piece of research that I read a few years ago stated that the best predictor of NCEA Level 2 success is Year 8 Attendance. So even at earlier years, absences can affect long term outcomes.

We look forward to our Open Day next Sunday, 4th August. I encourage you to mention this day to friends and colleagues who may be looking at schools over the next couple of years. Our Open Day is a wonderful chance to have a look around, see and hear what we are all about, and spend time meeting our staff and experiencing manaakitaka.

Warm regards, Kate Nicholson