Principal's Welcome 

8th December 2023

Ngā mihi o te Kirimete me te Tau Hou

Season’s Greetings for Christmas and the New Year

This is the last newsletter for 2023. I will touch on recent successes and the Prizegivings but will also highlight priorities for next year with the 2024 Annual Goals. 

Our students continue to achieve highly at national and regional level. Recent highlights include Tessa McLaren, Isabella Farnell, Han Wang and Amelia Dunbar (Year 13) being placed second out of 185 teams from 61 schools competing in the NZ Engineering Science Problem-solving competition; the RAD Young Enterprise group being awarded ‘Junior Entrepreneur’ at the Indian Business Awards and our Junior Water Polo team runners up at the North Island championships.

Senior Prizegiving took place last week. It was a great occasion celebrating student achievement while appreciating the musical performances. Congratulations to all award winners. Over $550,000 worth of scholarships were awarded to Glendowie College students to support them in their tertiary studies. This is an incredible amount and a reflection of the work ethic of our students.

The Junior Prizegiving took place on Thursday. Again, the diligence shown by students must be commended. Many other students, whilst not receiving certificates, have shown the same application to wanting to learn. Photos of major award winners from both prizegivings have been included in this newsletter.

With inflation not being matched by Ministry funding and that only providing for the bare necessities, fundraising and donations are necessary for any improvements to occur. Your school donation remains crucial to help meet the school needs. If you have yet to make a 2023 donation it would be greatly appreciated.

2024 Annual Plan

The 2024 Annual Plan is developed from the 2023 – 2025 Strategic Plan and was approved by the college Board earlier this week. The priorities are:

Annual Goal One: Coherent Curriculum

The expectations for this goal:

• As the curriculum is refreshed, there is progress towards the implementation of a coherent curriculum framework.
• The Literacy and Numeracy requirements of the college are identified.
•  The NCEA Level 2 programmes are updated ready for 2025 implementation.
• Continue the implementation of the Year 9 and 10 curriculum components.

Annual Goal Two: A Positive School Community

The expectations for this goal:

• Our school values are expressed through our behaviours and interactions.
• Recognise the unique status of tangata whenua in Aotearoa New Zealand and know the histories, heritages, languages and cultures of partners to Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Annual Goal Three: Student Success

The expectations for this goal:

• Opportunities for academic success are enhanced.
• Promote Māori/Pasifika success.
• The co-curricular Arts programme is reviewed.

Have an enjoyable summer break. Keep safe and I look forward to seeing your children next year.

Noho oro mai 

Gordon Robertson

Principal

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