Kapa Haka – Just Stunning

Our Kapa Haka students competed at the end of term in the regional Te Haka a Toi - Mataatua me Tākitimu ki Tauranga Secondary School Regional Kapahaka competition in the QEll centre in Tauranga.

They were just amazing and did our school, themselves and their Whanau proud. The whole school watched them live in the school hall and were held spellbound by their performance. Nga mihi to Butch, Donna, Keely and all of the tutors, parents, whanau and supporters that helped and supported our awesome Rangitahi.

We are so proud of them, and look forward to even greater things in the future. Our students are amazing.

Mike King

We were fortunate to have Mike King come to talk to our students and Whanau on Wednesday the 4th of August in the school hall, thanks to Melissa our SENCO – special needs coordinator organising Mike through Eastbay REAP who very generously sponsored his visit to the school, along with a free sausage sizzle for all students.

What an amazing man Mike King is, keeping our students completely engaged through an hour and a quarter talk, that made us laugh and cry at the same time. We can only applaud and stand in awe for the work that he does in the arena of Mental Health for young people. His talk was very pertinent to our Rangitahi, and there were some very important messages for them around keeping good mental health. Particularly around looking out for each other – which is something our students are amazing at.

The students raised just under $1000 for his charity through our own sausage sizzle and no-uniform day. Check out the article by Paige below.

Uniform

A big thank you to parents and students for their work around keeping in school uniform. There have been a small number of students who needed extra items of uniform, but overall the response has been very positive. Shoes still cause us a few problem, but by and large thank you to all for supporting us a school and keeping our students looking smart and a part of the school. Please if there are any issues please come and see me and we will get it sorted without fuss.

NCEA

The year is fast disappearing, with little over a term of school left for Senior students before their NCEA exams begin.

Please talk to your student about the importance of making a big effort over the next ten school weeks to complete all assessment work, study hard, talk to their teachers about what work they need to do, or difficulties they may be having, seek help and support, and make the most of the small amount of time left.

Books for Te Hāpai Ō

Please, if you can Te Hāpai Ō, our learning support centre is desperately in need of good reading books for our students. Generally, easy readers that have a high interest content and good pictures would be perfect. So if you can donate some books, please just drop them off at the office. We would very much appreciate it. Also we need to book cases to put them in, so again if you have an unwanted book case, please give us a call.

Communication

We are trying very hard as a school to ensure that we communicate well with you - our parents and whanau. We think this is absolutely critical for meeting the diverse needs of all our students. However we don’t always get it right.

Please if you feel that we are not getting back to you or not following up on our promises email me directly and I will follow it up for you and make sure you are contacted. My email is principal@edgecumbecollege.school.nz. As always don’t leave it too long, it is much better to deal with an issue straight away. My apologies if we have dropped the ball, but let me know so that I can rectify the situation.

Regards,

Mike Jackson

2021 Nineties Night Senior School Ball

A huge thank you to all our awesome senior school students for a wonderful Ball vibe on Saturday night. You all looked fabulous in your formal outfits and you made such efforts to present yourselves so well, arrive with such a positive attitude and really participate in the night. It was fabulous to see so many of you dancing the night away. It looked incredible and the event breathed life into our newly refurbished hall.

Acknowledgments

Our fabulous 2021 Nineties Night Ball Committee- we did it!

Parents and whanau for supporting our students to attend and participate and for coming to watch the arrivals – a special mention to Matt, Simon, and Raymond - Dads who supported us with the inside decorating of the hall, the photography area, and the outside lighting. Carol Bell for the massive effort made over a period of weeks to organise the catering for our ball. Faith, Haka, and Crystle for supporting her on the night.

Donna and the Edgecumbe Bluelight team provided security on the night.

The wonderful Prefects from Whakatane High School and Trident High School who joined us – you were so much fun!

The staff who supervised on the night judged and presented awards – a special mention to Mrs Elkington who managed the cloakroom area all night, and Mrs McKernan who facilitated the nominations and winners for the awards as Head Judge.

Rahera Fox – Photography – we can’t wait to see the photos! We will be posting some here next week.

John Whelan- DJ – awesome sounds Sir!

Jaimy- Photo Booth Fun- a fun addition to the event

Tui Party Hire – amazing advice, delivery service, and assistance – you are there for us every year and we so appreciate you.

Until next year….

Once we're all set up, you'll need to register so that you get parent-only communications.

Its very easy to use and free. You can fill in an absentee form, see previous notices and newsletters, go straight to Kamar to access your student's records, see our school calendar, and receive emergency notifications if necessary.

We are really excited to be hosting Kathryn Berkett on the 2nd September. Kathryn's presentations are engaging and humorous - you'll be laughing all evening and having lightbulb moments.

Tickets on sale soon - pencil in the date! In the meantime check out her TEDx talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrOddAuNau8