Term 3 Issue 5

Tēnā koutoua e te whānau o Whangaparāoa,

We have a lot to celebrate as we conclude Term 3. 

Our Year 8 Band, ‘Chaotic Blaze’ was awarded the title of National Champions on Saturday evening at the 2024 BandQuest National Finals! BandQuest is a competition for Year 7 and 8 learners from throughout New Zealand and is considered the 'gateway' to RockQuest. Beating over 300 other school bands is no easy feat, but it was topped off by guitarist Russel Leopoldo also winning the 'Killer Guitarist' Award. 

Our Dance and Cheer Squads have also had success recently with the ‘Unity’ Senior Hip Hop troop placing first in their division and National Scholastic winners! Congratulations to all our performing artists.

Continuing with the Arts theme, these holidays, our school is participating in the North Shore ‘In 2 Art’ exhibition at Mairangi Arts Centre. We have over 30 learners' work being displayed and judged, and the display is running all holidays. Do check out some of our learners' amazing art.

We currently have 14 senior learners travelling through Borneo as part of the World Challenge Expedition. The learners will complete a number of days trekking through forests and having homestays in local villages before completing conservation work in rural Borneo. We can't wait to hear the stories and experiences when the group returns.

The refresh of our school uniform for 2025 is progressing well. We have finalised the design of some of the items, and are awaiting the final few to come through for approval. We will share photos of the final uniform with you all, along with timelines for purchase when it is all completed and signed off. Currently, we are expecting the uniform to be in store at NZ Uniforms in January, but are hopeful to have samples in school this side of Christmas. I also wanted to reiterate that we will support families that need financial assistance through our normal channels. 

As we head into the end of the term, I want to reiterate the need for all learners, especially seniors, to remain engaged in their learning over the break. This is a short time in the period of a school year, but is probably the most crucial. For our seniors, teachers will be giving exam feedback and next steps to ensure each learner knows what they need to work on before their final NCEA assessments. Whānau, please support your learner through the breaks with this, and encourage them to remain connected to their studies.

To all our learners, I hope you enjoy a much-needed break, and remain safe and well. Term 4 is where we get to finish strong and celebrate all our learners' successes for the school year.

Ngatahi (together), Whakapono (believe) , Tutuki (achieve)

Ngā mihi

Steve McCracken
Tumuaki | Principal