18 March 2024

Three highlights from Week 7, one in the arts, one cultural, the other sporting.

Philippa Boyens MNZM (class of 1980) spent the day with our school on Monday 11th March. She started the day with an inspirational speech the House of which she is the patron – Kārearea.  Of course, she travelled with the Oscar that she won for her work on Lord of the Rings: Return of the King – so many selfies were taken. She also reconnected with aspects of her school, stating that despite it being so long since she’s been here, she could still sense the same heart. Philippa devoted the day to working with our students and staff – leaving an hour after she was scheduled to leave. She was also treated to a restaurant quality meal thanks to the students in our Hospitality Academy. We thank Philippa for her time and for making such an impact on the people she worked with during the day.

FiaFia Night was brilliant as always. A sellout crowd in the BRPAC was treated to amazing performances from our Kapa Haka, Samoan, Tuvaluan, and Tongan groups – all of whom will be performing at Polyfest in Week 8. There was also a wonderful (non-competition) performance from our small Rotuman group as well. With all groups it was great to see the level of student engagement, and the diversity present in each, to see so many of our junior students involved bodes well for the future. 

I’d like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the countless hours of practice that our students put in, supported by family and whānau and those members of staff who devote their time to supervision of the groups. I’d also like to thank all of the tutors who are involved with each group – your dedication to our students is appreciated by all. For those interested, our Tuvaluan group performs at Polyfest on Wednesday 20th March, our Kapa Haka and Tongan group on Friday 22nd March, and our Samoan group on Saturday 23rd March. We wish all of our groups the best of luck for Polyfest – based on what was exhibited at Fiafia Night, they are incredibly well prepared.

On Friday night I had the privilege of watching our Water Polo team defeating Auckland Grammar School 5 – 0. The energy and camaraderie of the team was a joy to see despite the 7pm start across at Epsom Girls Grammar. Thank you to Alex Hill and Sadie van der Kraaij for their work in assembling, managing, and coaching the team.

Toilets

On the administrative side – We will be briefing our students to some changes with regard to duty and accessibility to toilets around the school.

We remind students that they are not to leave class to use toilets without first seeking permission. As you may be aware, some of our facilities have suffered from vandalism this year and we thank those students following the systems in place as a means of mitigating this.

Two of our largest toilet blocks C and D Block are being redesignated shortly – with C Block becoming a toilet facility to be used only by junior students (bronze ties only) and D Block being an area for the exclusive use of senior students (black ties only). This is to allow our junior students to have a space where they may feel more comfortable. Of course, other facilities around the school are for all year levels. 

Duty rosters will also be changed to ensure that staff are adjacent to these areas during break times, this with a view to restricting the numbers of students in the facilities at any one time – we are aware that some of our students choose to congregate in the communal spaces – staff will be present to discourage this practice to ensure that the toilet facilities are only used for their intended purpose.

Students will be advised of these changes during Levels Assembly.

Cellphones “Away for the Day”

The process to be followed by staff for ensuring that cellphones are “Away for the Day” was launched with them this week. This information will be made available to students during House Assemblies in Week 9, it will also be sent out to parents and caregivers. The process does not involve confiscation of phones by general staff, rather a clear process of verbal reminders through to escalation through the disciplinary system should the use of a phone become an issue of defiance by a student.

We intend to put the system into practice in the last two weeks of this Term, prior to it becoming a legal requirement for the start of Term 2. This will allow us to work with students and staff through any unforeseen issues that may arise.

Tabloid Sports Day

A reminder that Thursday 21st March is our Tabloid Sports Day – the first full school House competition for the year. It is an opportunity for students to dress in House Colours and accumulate as many points as they can for their House whilst participating in a range of activities. Our student Sports Leaders and their team have planned the entire day, including the securing of prizes from our community to reward participation and costumes. The forecast for Thursday is fine, so we look forward to every student getting involved.

The day will finish for students at 1.30pm, information regarding changes to bus schedules on that day can be found here.