28 February 2025

It’s been a busy couple of weeks for all at Massey High School. To start with, the Company that provides our maintenance and cleaning was placed into liquidation on Monday 17th February which gave rise to problems not normally faced in a school environment. Our Grounds Staff were reemployed directly by the school meaning essential work could continue – they went above and beyond for the first few days as their maintenance work turned to cleaning – with a focus on student and staff toilets. We thank them for their adaptability, and we now have a much cleaner (no pun intended) temporary solution in place whilst we go to tender for a long-term provider of cleaning services. Accordingly, our ground staff have reverted to their day to day of ensuring our school is presented well for our students, including painting, repair of common areas, and beautification of the school environment. Many students would have noticed the new artificial turf area, and the new large capacity bins that are appearing around the school (students – please make use of these new bins).

As mentioned in the last Pānui, our Year 9 students (currently nearly 480 of them) are the subjects of some new initiatives designed to yield results in later years. The ‘How to High School’ programme has commenced. In terms of our whanaungatanga and our House competition nearly all of our Year 9s enjoyed a day at Parakai this week.

Thanks to the Jelas Trust (Judge June Jelas is a former student of our school), a day of water safety, team building, and fun was offered to all of our Year 9 students – remarkably at no cost to students and families. Each House had their own day, meaning that the approximately 120 students in each House had the opportunity to bond with each other, bond with their Tutors and Deans, and witness first-hand the leadership of our Prefect team. I’d like to thank Callandra Field, Morgan Page, and Robert Short for their organization – and to our Tutors, Deans, and Student Leaders who all ensured that the days were a memorable and enjoyable experience for our Year 9 students. It is important that our Year 9s settle into life at Massey and establish connections quickly as they are the future of our school. 

The timing of these days was deliberate. They were designed to generate enthusiasm for their new House as they head into the first full school House event of the year – Tabloids Day. Keep an eye out for specific information regarding Tabloids Day in the newsletter and across our social media channels.

We also held our evening for parents/whānau of Year 9 students and students new to Massey. This took place on the evening of Wednesday 19th February. It was very well attended. It was an opportunity for parents and whānau to meet the Tutor teacher of their child, and just as importantly familiarize themselves with systems used at Massey. We must never lose sight of the fact that our school is a school that thrives with strong parent engagement.

We also had a great turnout for the first whānau hui for Te Whare Āhuru – with parents of students across all year levels present.

For our senior students – we held our Scholars Assembly on Friday 21st February. Attended by our Year 3 students, supplemented by invited Year 11 and 12 students we recognized the highest academic achievers from 2024. These students included those who gained their Level 2 certificate endorsed with Excellence through to our students who were successful in gaining NZQA Scholarships (as listed in the previous pānui).

For our Scholars – we were fortunate to have three back with us (they are about to commence University) – Charlotte Murdoch, Ryan Fairweather, and Natanong Sen-in. We of course also had on stage those who successfully gained scholarship whilst in Year 11 or 12 last year. We also acknowledged those who have finished at Massey and are now across New Zealand about to start at different Universities. All served as inspiration for our current students in the audience, and it was great to hear discussion amongst them about their goals for this year. 

On Tuesday of next week, we will be holding a special assembly for Year 13 students (commencing at 8.40am). At that assembly we will be announcing our Silver Badge Prefects for 2025.

As we approach the halfway point of the first Term, we ask students to adhere to the simple message delivered to them in the first few weeks – do the basics well. Adhere to deadlines, ensure that conversations are all positive ones (by simply doing things like wearing uniform correctly, keeping phones away, and being on time to every class), and not to be afraid to ask for help or talk to someone if pressure is mounting.

Enjoy the weekend, and we all look forward to a great Tabloids Day next week.