27 June 2025

Kia ora e te whānau; Goodbyes are often mixed affairs as we look back on the fun times and forward to opportunities, but also realise what we are going to miss. Some people seem like permanent fixtures in our lives and some are fleeting visitors. This term we are saying goodbye to a few staff who are moving on to different opportunities. Simone Llewellyn is moving on to work outside of schools in the medical sector. Her support has been invaluable for so many students and it was lovely to hear a personal tribute from one of the many students she has worked alongside in Simone’s last staff meeting with us. Vanessa De Zilva from our Technology Department is returning to family in the UK. She has provided a firm foundation in DVC for our school and the multimedia approach in that subject area has flourished under her guidance. Also leaving us is Dinesh Fonseca, moving to Massey High School to take up the role as head of their Commerce Department.

Building for the future, we are about to embark on a very large project at what is currently the “back of the school”. The timing of the publication of the newsletter means that as you read this, there may well already be earth being turned over for this development. During next year we will be able to move into our new Science teaching block, with shiny new classrooms and laboratories. In the meantime, there will be some disruption. There will be some noise. There will be some mud. There will be some dust. And there will be some restrictions to access to the school from Stottholm Road. As a safety measure, the entrance to the school site at the bottom of the hill (between 42 and 46 Stottholm Road) will be blocked to pedestrian and student access as construction traffic and machinery will be using this area. This is not a permanent closure but is necessary in the building phase to keep our students as safe as possible.

It is now time for an academic break before the next big push. We are midway through a four-term year, but for our senior students, their assessments are no longer “creeping up” and are now very much with us. There will be school exams in Term 3 and only a few added teaching weeks in Term 4 before the NCEA external exams begin. In teaching time, the senior cohorts are truly weeks rather than months away from their final assessments.

As most of us look forward to the term break - to some well-deserved rest and recreation - many others in the school will still be hard at work. For the Production crew and cast there will be an awful lot of rehearsing, line learning, set making, costume sewing, scenery painting and all the Herculean tasks that get a show to opening night. They have put hours into this labour of love and, as a community, we look forward to seeing it all emerge into the limelight in Term 3.

School Production Tickets ($18) are available now: Click HERE to book online.
(Doors open 30 minutes before the performance start time. Refreshments will be available for purchase - cash only).

• Wednesday 23rd July 2025: 6.30pm
• Thursday 24th July 2025: 6.30pm
• Friday 25th July 2025: 6.30pm
• Saturday 26th July 2025: 6.30pm

What else can we expect in Term 3? Well, as part of a necessarily abridged list, we have our Open Evening (Wednesday 16 July: 3.30pm - 7.00pm), PSTs (Tuesday 29 July and Wednesday 30 July: 2.00pm - 7.00pm - Please note: school will be finishing at the earlier time of 1.00pm during PST days), a whole host of internal assessments, winter tournament week, 2026 course selection, enrolments for new Year 9s, and school exams. And the return of our Principal, Fiona Barker, from her sabbatical; it seems like a busy term to come back to!

For the last time from me, I hope that you enjoy reading the newsletter and seeing what has been going on in school.

While having a lovely break is important, staying focused on the goal at hand will also be necessary.
Chris Woodward
ACTING PRINCIPAL