Dear Whānau,

It has been a lovely week of getting to know our new Yr 7’s and also welcoming back our Yr 8’s. We both feel very lucky to be working in the position we have for this term.

The appointment of a principal is one of the most important tasks our Board of Trustees will ever have to perform and will have a major influence on the future of our school and therefore the process takes time to ensure the best possible appointment is made. Whaea Mel and I both have over 20 years of experience teaching and leading at Birkdale Intermediate School, and have taught generations of whānau. Together, we have the interests of the students' learning and well-being at the heart of all of our thinking, and we are even more excited than ever to get into school every day to greet the children in our care.

The key to ensuring continued future success is, of course, in our work together as teachers, parents/carers and pupils to ensure that every child achieves their academic and personal goals, whatever they may be. We are grateful for the opportunity to work with our outstanding teachers, support staff and board to support and encourage our akonga.

So come in and meet us, or wave to us as you drive past in the mornings. Mel and I will be there every day to greet our students with a big smile at the gate.

Just a couple of updates:

Weather permitting, we have planned a casual BBQ/picnic for the 17th February. This will just be an informal opportunity to meet your child's teacher and get to know other parents. Our Board will be selling hotdogs and you just need to bring your own drinks. There will be another opportunity for a more detailed discussion with your child's teacher when we have our parent/teacher interviews. We will update you on when this will be.

Take care this weekend and keep yourselves safe. We look forward to seeing our students on Monday morning.

Ngā mihi nui,

Katrina Bush

Mel Robinson

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Today the whaanau from Ngaa Hua surprised Whaea Juanita with a beautiful taonga of appreciation for everything she does for our whaanau. Juanita is spending a year developing our localized curriculum for Aotearoa NZ Histories focusing on strengthening local history knowledge and appreciation.

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