Principal's Welcome 

17th November 2023

Kia ora kātoa

This will be the penultimate newsletter for the year. Year 12 and 13 students are in the middle of their NCEA exams, and some may be close to finishing. Year 11 commenced their exams this week and will be confirming their subjects for 2024 in week eight. Prize winners from all three-year levels will be recognised at the Senior Prizegiving on Thursday 30 November. I always enjoy prizegivings as they provide an opportunity for us to celebrate the wonderful academic achievements of our students and for a significant number the thoroughly deserved gaining of university and school-based scholarships.

Three recent events have confirmed the exceptional students we have. Our school choir, Tira Waiata o Taurere, led by teacher Danielle Sigley, performed at the Armistice Day commemoration at the Auckland War Memorial Museum. The organiser thanked them with the following comments.

The choir sounded absolutely beautiful and moved the audience with their performance. I had people come up to me afterwards to share their stories and mention how stunning the choir sounded. Please also thank Yisen Peng for their beautiful work on the piano - It sounded really lovely, and they were professional and handled the instructions impeccably! It truly sounded beautiful as the Official Party were laying their tributes.

It is heart-warming when our students are so willing to be of service to the community.

The second event was the European Classics concert by the New Classics Sinfonia held at St Matthews in the City on Sunday 12 November. The lead conductor was Year 13 student Robert Liu. Robert has set his heart on a conducting career and has already competed internationally in this field. He is a name to watch for the future. A big thank you to the staff and students who supported Robert by attending the concert.

The third event was reported in the last newsletter but is worthy of another mention. The RAD (Raise Awareness for Dementia) group have been involved in both the Young Enterprise Scheme and Community Problem Solving. After a collaborative team showcase of RAD’s journey and an intensive interview session, RAD became the ‘National Champions of Community Problem Solving 2023’ and have been officially invited to participate in the international competition at Indiana University, Bloomington, United States, in 2024.

This is a wonderful achievement and having experienced the impact of dementia on my mother, I totally appreciate the value of the work they are undertaking.

Ngā mihi nui 

Gordon Robertson

Principal

Please click here for full newsletter.