28 June 2024

For some young people, the fear of failure can be enough to prevent them from handing assessments in, even if they are completed. Their mindset can be that if I don’t hand it in, I can’t fail. Rather than having confidence in what they have produced and submitting, they avoid accountability and in doing so, lose the opportunity to learn and grow.

This week, our Faculties have taken the lead (supported by data) and a huge amount of work has been done to support those students who may fall into the category described above – encouraging submission (as some had indeed completed but simply not submitted) or completion of assessments. Week 9 has seen students complete and submit assessments in Social Sciences, Science, Health & PE, and Maths (over 200 students from Years 11 through 13). English and Technology will continue this work in week 10.

Our students have responded brilliantly to this initiative, with many taking that final step to submit work – and finding that they have done enough to succeed. For many, it is hoped that this is the bit of confidence they need moving forward, and many more students will now go into the term break with tangible success behind them.

On another note, I had the privilege of joining Mr Hett’s Business Studies class to judge their marketing efforts for upcoming market days. The innovative products, and the well thought out marketing that accompanied them was great to see.

The Arts

As mentioned in the last Panui, the Arts feature heavily in the last few weeks of the term. I was fortunate to see our Sublimitas Choir perform at The Auckland Town Hall in The Big Sing. This is a choir that has grown from 44 students last year, to over 60 this year. They were (as always) superb – and whilst they didn’t pick up any awards this year (although Simeon Kim scooped another award for his piano accompaniment) they did themselves proud. A huge thank you to Choir Director Clare Martin, and to Nick Baldwin and Alan Motufoua.

I was also able to get along to the evening session of the NCEA Dance Showcase on Wednesday this week – it was a superb session showcasing the huge amount of work that our talented dance students have put into their coursework so far this year.

Next week is our Showcase, involving some of our contributing schools and alumni.

At this point, I’d like to acknowledge the huge amount of work done behind the scenes for these (and many other) Arts events – our Backstage Club (made up of students from all year levels) ensures that everything technical runs smoothly and professionally and to our Arts Coordinator Sue McElroy, Sue works tirelessly behind the scenes (and at front of house) to ensure that our events go well.

Sports

It’s been great to see a few different sports over the past couple of weeks. Our Hockey Boys had a superb win over Long Bay College at the National Hockey Centre. The way the boys played and supported each other was wonderful to see – this thanks to the superb coaching they receive, and the atmosphere created by their parents on the sideline.

Our girls rugby team marched on with an impressive win over Westlake Girls, again – the coaching they receive is second-to-none, and the growth they have shown since the beginning of the season is obvious for all to see. They adapted quickly to Westlake’s game based on pace, taking the pace out of the game by making all of their first up tackles.

Mr Walters and his year 9 Football Team were impressive in their 7-0 demolition of Green Bay High School – there are some talented young footballers coming up through the ranks which bodes well for the future.

The visit from Whangārei Boys High School provided a great opportunity to see our Under 19 Basketball Team in action. They played well, only going down to their opposition by 4 points (to put this in context, Rangitoto College played Whangarei Boys the week before – with Rangitoto losing by 3). `

Our First XV have had a few tough days at the office, a narrow loss to Whangarei backed up by a loss to Westlake Boys. Having said that, the core of the team this year is young, with many still in Year 11 and the benefits of their coaching becoming more apparent. As the NZ Herald stated, the score against Westlake was not a fair reflection of the play of our boys. 

As with our Arts, Sports at Massey High School depends on staff behind the scenes and I’d like to acknowledge the huge amount of work that both Nikki and Georgie put in, their presence at so many games does not go unnoticed by staff, parents, coaches, and students.

Ball

Our Senior Ball is rapidly approaching, and I addressed our Ball-goers on Thursday morning at a special assembly. Rather than provide the list of ‘do-nots’ our students have always responded well to the trust extended to them – for the Ball is a massive exercise in trust. Our proud record of exemplary behaviour (and compliments from venues) stems largely from the fact that our Massey students are simply good people. They listened well to the simple message delivered – honour the trust extended and think of the support of family etc. that has been provided. No doubt, our students will again ensure that we have a trouble-free Ball.

Matariki

Finally, we hope that all are enjoying their long Matariki weekend. It gives all some time to remember those they may have lost in their own way. As a staff, we marked Matariki with a Hangi put down by Matua Josh, Matua Scott, Whaea Danielle, Whaea Lisa, and students from Te Whare Āhuru – with kai being contributed by faculty areas across the school.

Enjoy the long weekend.

Ngā mihi