Start of Term 4 Newsletter
Principal's Message
Tēnā koutou e te whānau,
Welcome to Term 4.
WE WON!
Thanks to the power of social media and your votes, a brand new, purpose built basketball court sponsored by Court Kings is being installed next week. Additional sponsorship from Flava FM and NZ Herald will allow our students (and staff) to be ‘alley ooping’ in no time.
Timetable Update
This week we farewelled the seniors in preparation for their NCEA external examinations. We wish them luck and hope for a positive outcome for their exams.
We have decided make amendments to the Year 9 and Year 10 timetable. The Wednesday timetable will be aligned to the Monday and Friday times with school finishing at 2.45pm
Therefore, Monday/Wednesday/Friday will be on the same timetable finishing at 2.45pm. Tuesday and Thursday remain unchanged. Thank you for your support
The Importance of Education
We have had two and half years of disruption due to Covid-19 so it is important that we give our rangatahi the message of hope and support them to move forward with meaningful qualifications. It is our job as parents and teachers to reassure rangatahi that with focus and effort, they can be successful. So it is vital that we have strong home/school partnerships to enable wrap around support and encouragement for our students.
How can you help Senior School?
- Develop a partnership with your child’s Pouhāpai and school.
- Changes in your contact details need to be communicated immediately to the school.
- Ensure your child is at school on time, ready to learn.
- Have the necessary equipment to learn while at school.
- Teach your child to have pride in their appearance which includes wearing their uniform
- correctly.
- Support the school’s expectations.
- Monitor your child’s internet use at home.
- Maintain a healthy sleep schedule for your child.
- Encourage your child to be responsible and work independently.
- Manners. Manners. Manners. Respect is earned and manners is the first step to respect.
Also, encourage your child to read. If your child reads professionally edited content for around 15 minutes per day, every day, by the end of the year they would have been exposed to around one million accurately spelled words in grammatically correct writing.
ATTENDANCE – STILL OF GREAT CONCERN
Absenteeism continues to be one of our greatest concerns in Senior School.
- Attendance has fallen to 60%, which is concerning and making it very difficult for us to do our job. Students who are not at school are not learning.
- Students who miss two days a week are missing 4 weeks of learning per term.
- Students need to get to school on time. Too many students are missing period 1. We only have 3 periods a day, so a third of their learning per day is being missed.
- Every lesson counts! If you are struggling to get your child to school, let us know the reasons. We may be able to place measures to help.
IMPORTANT ATTENDANCE REMINDERS:
● Arrive by 8.45am Monday to Friday.
● Seek help from your child’s Pouhapai or Whānau Leader for attendance support by contacting us at: please send us an email attendance@sehc.school.nz, free call 0508 4455279, (Hillary) or text 022 508 5800 with your child’s name and Pouhāpai, and the reason for their absence.
UNIFORM
We expect all students to be in full and correct uniform when they are in school and travelling to and from school. Correct footwear is crucial for students to be able to access practical lessons, in particular science and technology areas. A reminder that slides, jandals, sports shoes and hoodies are not school uniform and are not to be worn at school.
MOBILE PHONES IN CLASS
Mobile phone usage is addictive. While we can understand that students have come to see their phone as a lifeline, as a result of Covid, this addiction is now having a serious affect on their learning. Too many students are watching videos, texting and on social media during class when they should be learning and completing their work. From Term 4, mobile phones will be banned in class [unless needed for assessment in some performance subjects]. If students refuse to put their mobile phones away, they will be confiscated and parents will need to collect them from school. Please support us to ensure your child is focused and gaining academic success while being present to the lesson.
LATENESS AND NON UNIFORM ITEMS
We will continue to monitor the gate for students who are late to school and/or not in correct uniform. Students will need a note from their parents/caregiver to explain their lateness/non-uniform, otherwise the school will contact you directly. If we are unable to contact you, we still send your child home with a letter seeking your support for the school’s expectations. Success for any person starts with the basic necessity to follow the guidelines, expectations, rules and laws of the land.
IMPORTANT DATES
Friday 4 November - School finishes for senior students (year 11/12/13 only)
Monday 7 November - NCEA exams start
Thursday 24 November - Teacher Only Day (MOE Accord Day)
Friday 25 November - Teacher Only Day (MOE Accord Day)
Friday 2 December - Year 13 Prizegiving/Graduation
Monday 5 December - Year 9/Year 10 Maraetai trip
Tuesday 6 December - Junior Prizegiving School finishes for the year.
Wednesday 19 April 2023 - Year 13 School Ball
Final Message
Finally, our refreshed Senior School website is a stunning reminder of the talent that exists within the Collegiate. The website refresh can enable all Senior School communication through this platform and allow whānau to access their child’s academic and attendance information in real time.
Not to mention new enrolments, lastest news and updates, and more importantly photos and videos of our amazing students. Come check us out at senior.sehc.school.nz.
What a year it has been. We are excited for what 2023 will bring, but for now we will focus on the senior students and their up and coming NCEA exams which start on Monday 7th November. We wish all the Year 11s, Year 12s and Year 13s the very best of luck and know we will be there encouraging and supporting them behind the scenes.
Kia haumaru, kia manawanui,
Kiri Turketo | Tumuaki