13 April 2024

Term 1 this year was the first uninterrupted first term in a number of years (I would like to acknowledge that our Science and Maths Faculties worked brilliantly through moves necessitated by our Science Block fire at the end of last year and in a way that ensured teaching and learning could continue). With our increased roll, there is a real buzz around the school and activities from sports through to cultural have their highest levels of engagement that we can remember. 

As a long Term 1 draws to a close, we can reflect on what has been a very busy last week or so.

Onehunga Sports Exchange

I’d like to thank our Sports Department for another superbly organized annual exchange with Onehunga High School. It was Massey’s turn to host, the day beginning with netball (a convincing win for Massey) and ending with girls rugby (unfortunately a resounding win for Onehunga). Overall, Massey triumphed, winning 4 of the 7 events on the day.

We were impressed with our student body as a whole (as were the visiting Senior Leadership from Onehunga) as they moved back to class at the end of interval and lunch, despite games continuing.

University of Auckland Māori and Pacific UE Success Initiative

This week we signed an MoU with Waipapa Taumata Rau University of Auckland which will see Massey High School being one of 12 schools across Auckland (including Mount Albert Grammar, Epsom Girls Grammar, Avondale College, and St Peter’s College) co-operating with the University with the shared objective of increasing Māori and Pacific UE success. 

What we learn across the next 6 years of this programme about improving UE rates for Māori and Pacific learners can be applied to all students – UE rates are declining across all student groups although educational outcomes are worsening at a quicker rate for Māori and Pacific learners across Aotearoa New Zealand. 

The objective of this agreement is to achieve UE parity for our Māori and Pacific students with a view to flow on improvements in retention and undergraduate pass rates when they are at University.

Upcoming Construction at School

Construction works begin on two areas of the school as part of the redevelopment/rejuvenation of buildings. 

The main Admin Block will be re-roofed, re-lined and refreshed (this building had been damaged in the floods at the beginning of 2023). This does mean though that our Senior Leadership Team have been busy this week packing up and moving to temporary offices. My team and I will be located in one of our classroom blocks until mid-September.

Also moving from Admin Block is our bursars office – they are moving into a building nearby, meaning that they are still readily accessible for students and parents. They are moving into the old Physio suite adjacent to Student Support.

Also commencing next week is the redevelopment of the ground floor of B Block – like Admin Block, this building suffered damage in the floods. The teacher’s workroom, and the toilet area, are being redeveloped. There will also be two new breakout rooms added that will be accessible from adjacent classrooms. These works are scheduled to be completed by the beginning of October this year.

If you are on school grounds over the holidays, please be aware of the construction crews on-site and the hazards that are associated with active building sites.

Attendance

As previously advised, attendance is one of our main focus points this year, it coincides with the Government targeting attendance as a priority moving forward.

We expect our students to have no more than 5% unjustified absence as a minimum. Some highlights from our attendance data this term are (taking into account justified/medical absences):

        83% of our students had 90% or above attendance.

        50% of our students have attendance of 99%.

Based on actual physical attendance only at school these figures drop to:

        55% of our students had 90 % or above attendance.

        50% of our students had attendance higher than 91.4%

It does show that vigilance around providing explanations for absences is paying dividends, with the top set of figures showing that many families/whānau are ensuring that the amount of unjustified/unexplained absences are dropping.

Regular physical attendance is still paramount though, as not being in class (even if for justified reasons) can have a significant impact on a student’s ability to meet deadlines or gain the highest grade possible in assessments. This will be of even greater importance through Terms 2 and 3 as assessments for Years 11 to 13 ramp up. For those that do need to be away at times (whether it be due to illness or other valid reasons) we remind you to provide evidence supporting the absence as soon as possible so that our records are as accurate as possible.

If you are going to be away – keep teachers informed as well if it is going to have an impact on deadlines and keep abreast of work as best as possible through Teams.

Phones Away for the Day

I’d like to thank our students for how they have responded to the launch of the new ‘Away for the Day’ policy. We acknowledge that it will take some time for students to adjust fully, but it is great to see groups of students engaged in other activities, or simply talking to each other while they have their lunch.

A reminder that the Government regulation becomes law on the first day of Term Two, meaning that students who choose to continue using phones at school between the hours of 8.30am and 3pm will be subject to the processes outlined in our newsletter dated 28 March 2024.

As mentioned previously, the recommendation is that phones simply remain at home.

Upcoming Events Next Term

• 9 and 16 May – Parent Teacher Meetings, students released early at 1:30pm.
• 15 May - Paid Union Meeting, students released early 12:00pm.
• 23 and 24 May - Year 8 Days.
• 10 June – Open Night. Two sessions available, 3:30pm to 5:30pm and 6:30pm to 8:30pm.  Students released early at 12:30pm.
• 11 July – Senior Ball.

From all at Massey High School, we wish our students a safe, restful holiday period. School resumes on Monday 29th April.