Kia ora koutou e te whānau. We are well into the flow of Term 2 with students settled back into learning routines and enjoying the many co-curricular options available.
Winter sports is very popular in our kura and involves a large number of students. Well done to the 1st XV on their win last weekend against Menzies/Gore. This is their first year in the regional 1st XV competition and the strong start will give them confidence for the season. I look forward to watching our Senior A netball play Mt Aspiring College tonight in Wānaka and tomorrow I will head to Alexandra to spend time with our 10 other netball teams. It is a pleasure to watch our students compete because of their fair play, commitment and respect they show for the opposition, the officials, their teammates and supporters. Such opportunities do not exist without the efforts from our staff, parents and community, ngā mihi and thank you.
Rehearsals are well underway for this year’s school production of The Addams Family. There are over 50 students involved in the show supported by a number of staff. I know the team will be excited to perform to our community when the show is staged at the end of this term. All the best to the cast and crew over the coming weeks of preparation.
Our senior students are to be congratulated for a stunning Senior Formal on Saturday 3 May. They impressed everyone with their attire, their arrivals, mature behaviour and joy and respect for the occasion. Thank you to the formal committee and staff for making the evening an enjoyable and memorable one.
Today is Pink Shirt Day and at our assembly this morning I reiterated that ‘Bullying is not our Kawa’, Bullying is hurtful behaviour that is repeated, deliberate, harmful and involves power over others. We encourage our students to be courageous for themselves and their peers by reporting bullying to someone they trust such as their Whānau Teacher, their family, a senior student, a Dean or a counsellor. I also reminded students of the online Bullying Free CC reporting page that is on our website. https://sites.google.com/cromwell.school.nz/bullyingreportingsite/home
This can be used by students or families to report bullying behaviour and it is tracked closely and by our House Deans.
We farewell our Sports Director Greta Mason next week and wish her well as she heads to Dunedin to take up a boarding supervisor position at Columba College. We aim to have this position filled before the end of this term.
Hāpaitia Te Reo Māori – lift up and strengthen the reo. I will be running another 5-week Beginner Te Reo porogramme on Tuesday evenings from 6.00 – 7.00 pm from Week 5 this term. The course is open to all in our community. The focus is on improving confidence with the kōrero through conversation, some simple sentence structures, some games and some fun. I will share a link with families next week. Nau mai haere mai.
We will have over 140 students in Years 10 and 11 sitting online assessments on numeracy and literacy next week. This has been a learning focus over the past few weeks. These ‘Co-reqs’ are a requirement for achieving NCEA Level 1 and students will have another opportunity to sit them later in the year.
Mason Stretch
Tumuaki – Principal
