9 August 2024

Kia ora e te whānau, Thank you to everyone who came in for our Parent/Student/Teacher Conferences this week. It is always great to see so many of you and to hear about the productive conversations that you have had with teachers. As many of you already know, the process for course selection in 2025 has already begun for students in Years 9 - 12. While many of you were able to talk about future courses with teachers at PSTs, don’t forget that our Careers Team is here to help you at any stage.

Two events happened this week that I really want to highlight. The semi-final of the U15 Boys’ Football Knockout Cup saw our GBHS boys go up against St Kents on Monday afternoon. Though our boys lost 4-3 after an epic 80 minutes of game time and 20 minutes of extra time, I thought they displayed amazing skill, courage and determination. The atmosphere on the sideline was great with a large number of students, teachers and families showing their support at the game. It was fantastic to feel the school spirit and the support for the U15 team.

Tuesday night saw the launch of a book containing a collection of photography by students in the Level 2 NCEA Photography classes. The beauty and creativity of the photography on display was outstanding and every single student in these classes was represented in the book. I love the fact that Visual Arts is so strongly represented in our school and that students have the opportunity to express their own thoughts and ideas in a way that we can all enjoy. I also want to pay tribute to Richard Kearney and the Visual Arts team for supporting the creation of this beautiful book.

Enjoy your weekend.

Ngā mihi nui, Fiona Barker PRINCIPAL