Kia ora e te whānau,It was fantastic to see so many of you at the Parent-Student-Teacher conferences this week.

The many conversations between whānau, students, and teachers helped lay the groundwork for a successful second half of the year. We’re currently working on developing our next strategic plan, and the PSTs gave us a great opportunity to share some of the themes that came out of our whānau survey and the hui held last term. I really enjoyed talking to so many of you about our strategic planning process and hearing what’s important to you.

The Education Review Office is currently reviewing the Phones Away for A Day policy, seeking feedback from students, staff, and the wider community about how it’s working in practice. I encourage you to share your thoughts with ERO by completing their short survey - see link provided in the ‘Phones Away For A Day’ item in this week’s newsletter.

Many of you know that I recently spent time in schools in Finland. While I was there, no national phone restrictions were in place, though new laws will take effect later this year. Sitting in classrooms gave me a front-row view of how distracting phone use was for students during lessons. Even during breaks, phones often took priority over face-to-face conversation. While phones are part of our world, so is the need for focused, uninterrupted time to learn, combined with plenty of opportunities to build strong relationships with other people. I believe we’ve made real progress at GBHS, now that phones don’t dominate the school environment. At breaktimes, I really love seeing students playing, talking, and laughing with each other.

The sun is shining, and hopefully it stays that way across the weekend. Have a good one.

Have a great weekend.
Fiona Barker
PRINCIPAL