Welcome Back
Tuesday, 28th January 2025 at 11:00am
Kia ora e te whānau, Happy New Year!
I hope that you enjoyed some rest and relaxation over the summer break. I am really looking forward to welcoming our new students and whānau to GBHS in just a few days and welcoming back all students shortly after that.
The initial NCEA results are out and I am proud of the continued achievement of our senior students with an 80% pass rate for Level 1, 86% for Level 2, and 85% for Level 3.
We are working on a full analysis of results, which we’ll share over the next few weeks once results are finalised.
There has been a lot of building and property work happening over the summer break, with classrooms in C, D and E block refurbished with new carpet and wall coverings. Our Wellbeing Space has moved to a new area which is bigger and more accessible for students and our 12 new classrooms have been finished and are ready to be used!
The design of our new Science block is well underway. Jasmax are the architects for this project and they have a lot of experience working in different education settings. The timeframe for this project should see ground being broken in the second half of the year.
Below is some useful information to make sure the year gets off to a smooth start.
Key calendar events
- Thursday, January 30th - Year 9 Orientation Day and Pōwhiri . A separate email with information about the pōwhiri was sent out to whānau at the end of last week.
- Thursday, January 30th, 11am-2pm - Senior Course Enrolment for any senior students who need to make changes to their chosen subjects.
- Friday, January 31st - Year 9 Orientation Day
- Monday, February 3rd - All students attend, the day starts with Form Period at 8.40am
- Thursday, February 6th - Waitangi Day: School Closed
Uniform
Demonstrating respect for our school by wearing the correct uniform is important and students in Years 9 - 12 are expected to be in the correct uniform each day. Our uniform has a wide range of items to choose from so all students should be able to find a suitable combination and we have plenty of uniform for students to borrow if they need to. As we head into the winter months, school jackets become an essential part of our uniform. Please make sure that uniform jackets are named so that if they are lost, we can quickly find the owner.
A reminder that socks should be plain black and any undershirts should be white. Please look on our website to find a full description of our uniform guidelines.
Phones
The cellphone regulations have been in place for a year now. While I know that the ‘Away for the Day’ guidelines are not universally popular, we saw a lot of positives throughout last year. Teachers have commented on the greater focus they are seeing in the classroom, and there are far more students being active at break and lunchtimes. The guidelines remain the same in 2025.
- If a student chooses to bring a phone to school it must be switched off and in their bag when the bell rings for the start of period 1. It needs to remain in their bag until students leave the classroom at the end of period 5.
- If phones are brought to school, they must be kept in a student’s own school bag.
- It is important to note that if students do make the decision to bring a cellphone to the school grounds, they do so at their own risk.
- The school is not responsible for any loss or damage caused to any cell phone. If phone accessories (including buds, airpods and headphones) are brought to school, they must also remain in bags throughout the school day. Cell phones should not be connected to smartwatches.
Any student with an exemption will be issued a pass through Deputy Principal Sandy Begg, this will be recorded on KAMAR and the student will have a physical pass.
A note for parents
If you need to get a message to your child urgently during class time, please contact Student Services (817-8173 ext 205).
We’re looking forward to a fantastic 2025
Ngā mihi nui
Fiona Barker
