Kia ora koutou. Welcome to term three 2021. Recently we hosted a Report Reflection Evening and it was wonderful to see so many of our parents and whanau attend...
It was a great opportunity for teachers to meet with whaanau. Whaanau are always welcome at our kura and we encourage you to take advantage of all our events and see the amazing learning that is taking place.
We intend to have more of these in the future and at least one will be for Year 8 students and parents preparing for 2022.
We are always looking for different platforms to communicate with whaanau. We now have a Mobile App for important School messages. To download the app click this link: https://ngaruawahiahigh.apps.school.nz/install/
It is also available in the App Store and Play Store as “SchoolAppsNZ”. You can use this App to contact the school and leave an absentee message. You will also receive alerts from the school about important upcoming events. Please be advised that we no longer use School Loop for messages.
We are currently working on our new website and will let you know when this can be accessed. Once the website is launched we will share information with whaanau about how you can access your child’s learning, attendance and pastoral information through the Kamar portal.
If you have any questions about your child’s learning please feel free to contact your child’s hub teacher in the first instance. Our hub teachers have a relationship with the students in their hub groups and work with students as their advocate to help them navigate the academic and social aspects of school.
Last term our school hosted a memorial service for a past student Carlos Thomsen. A number of students and staff also attended his tangihanga. It was an honour for the school to pay our respects to Carlos by celebrating his life with his friends and whaanau.
Our students have had numerous opportunities over the past term. Many of them attended the Auckland Writers’ Festival where they had the opportunity to listen to famous authors and to talk to them. Our senior student leaders have also attended a workshop for World Vision in Auckland. The Graeme Dingle Career Navigator students organised house games of 6-a-side bubble football and pizza for all students to celebrate Youth Week 2021 as well. It was so much fun, and great to see team participation and encouragement. Senior Art students visited the Van Gogh Alive exhibition and Auckland Museum which was an incredible experience for all. Our Career Navigator students spent the morning at the Waikato District Council offices to talk with staff and discuss possible pathways for careers with the council and beyond. We have also had students attend Outward Bound for 21 Days and a student also went on the Spirit of Adventure, which is a sailing ship that travels around New Zealand for youth. We have two students booked for January of next year.
We encourage all students to take advantage of the many opportunities available to them at our kura.
A regional teacher only day will be held on Thursday the 12th of August. This is to assist with the planning of the new NCEA curriculum and the beginning of its roll out in 2022. Part of this new curriculum is to be aware of the cultural and historical events that have taken place, and are still taking part in our own community and to ensure that the context in which this information is being taught is relevant and accurate.
Progress on the new build and the refurbishment of the hall and south end of the admin block is on schedule and making positive progress.
Conversations have commenced around the planning for the school’s 60th anniversary celebrations which will take place in 2023. If you are interested in being on the planning committee for this event, please contact the school office and ask to speak to Claire Timms.
The lunches in school programme is a huge success. We are not experiencing the issues that other schools seem to be having that have recently been highlighted in the media. Our next step is to put in place the recycling of the packaging that is currently being used. We are investigating a number of options at the moment.
As a kura we continue to strive to improve all aspects of teaching and learning for our students. We would like to thank you for your continued support in our journey.
Kahui Ako
Many whanau may have heard of this term Kahui Ako. Basically what it means is that schools in a local area meet and discuss common goals across all of our schools. Our Kahui Ako is made up of the following Kura: Ngaruawahia High, Horotiu Primary, Waingaro Primary, Te Akau Primary, Ngaruawahia Primary, Waipa Primary and Glen Massey Primary.
Ngaruawahia High recently hosted a Powhiri for David Bradford, ex-principal of Ngaruawahia High. David has been appointed to Lead our Kahui Ako for the next eighteen months. We will also be inviting Early Child Education centres to join our group.
One of the outcomes that Kahui Ako want is a seamless transition of students through their schooling journey. I will continue to update whanau on our progress.
Ngaa mihi,
Chris Jarnet
Principal - Ngaruawahia High School