The Bulletin
Term 3, Issue 3
Dear Parents & Caregivers
Despite still being in lockdown, there is plenty of good news to report.
I hope you are finding the time to juggle work, children, school work and running a home. I also hope that you are managing to squeeze some time in there for your own wellbeing. Our Guidance department has come up with some helpful hints and resources just for parents and caregivers. CLICK HERE for more information.
We really appreciate the great job you are doing in supporting your children in their learning. From all that I have been reading lately, two important things that help are routine and positivity. We all thrive when we have some structure in our day and young people are no different.
Keeping positive about the future is also really important for our students. It's a worrying time for the seniors, in particular, so close to the external exams. However, as I have been repeating, it will be okay! We won’t let this disruption get in the way of students' progress towards their goals.
The Ministry of Education and NZQA have announced another set of changes to take the pressure off students and to ensure that no one is disadvantaged by the lockdowns:
NCEA Changes
Changes to NCEA External Assessment Dates
The Ministry of Education has agreed to change dates and processes around some assessments across all of New Zealand, including end of year exams and portfolio submissions.
The dates for end of year NCEA and NZ Scholarship exams will be delayed by two weeks, to run from Monday 22 November until Tuesday 14 December. Due dates for portfolio submissions will also be pushed back by two weeks. These two changes will give students and schools more time to prepare for the end of the year. See NZQA for the new exam timetable
Yesterday we were also advised that future changes, such as those put in place last year, have been approved for this year:
Learning Recognition Credits
For every 5 credits students earn, they will receive 1 learning recognition credit, up to a maximum of 10 credits at Level 1 and a maximum of 8 credits at Levels 2 and 3. However, last year very few students needed these extra credits, they achieved their NCEA without them. My key message is don’t rely on them and keep working to the best of your ability.
Certificate and Course Endorsements
The threshold for a certificate endorsement at Merit or Excellence is reduced from 50 down to 46 credits at Merit or Excellence.
For subject endorsements you will need 12 credits at Merit or Excellence level rather than 14.
University Entrance
Currently, 14 credits in each of 3 University Entrance approved subjects are required. This has been reduced to 12 credits.
For full details about these changes, please CLICK HERE.
Year 10 Subject Choices for 2022
The Careers Department recently delivered a Careers Education unit to Year 10 students during their weekly Health lessons. Students are invited to select their subjects for 2022 online. The deadline for submission is Thursday 16 September 2021. Please CLICK HERE for more information.
While lockdowns provide challenges, I continue to be impressed by the work of our staff, and the commitment of our students. Our student leaders have been doing a fantastic job of creating fun ways for all students to stay connected. This is a testament to their leadership skills and we are extremely proud of their positive and caring attitude.
Finally, my wellbeing tip is to find things to be grateful for. It's easy to list the things we can’t do, the frustrations and the missed opportunities. However, there are always things to be grateful for. For me, these are:
My daily walk.
My family who are all safe and healthy.
The culture of our school, which has enabled us to be successful in the online environment and has reached out to support those who are finding it hard.
Kia Kaha,
Michael Williams
Principal
Gabby is Attitude Award Finalist
Congraulations to Gabby Wright who has been selected as an Attitude Award finalist! Umpiring netball from her wheelchair, Gabby has worked with Auckland Netball to develop an adaptive version called 'No Limits Netball'. She has also been working with the Attitude Program on the ‘We Participate’ video campaign, which is aired during the 9am Attitude Paralympics highlights package on TV1 every morning. WATCH HERE
Education Perfect Science Championships
The results are in for the Education Perfect Science Champs! Pakuranga College came in 6th overall out of 524 NZ schools. Congratulations to John Yang, who gained an Elite award and placed 31st across all of the schools entered in NZ and Australia! Also, to Nijaya Senarath- Dassanayake who was awarded a bronze and Katie Ellis who gained a credit.
Student Leaders Step Up
From Instagram takeovers to baking and art competitions, our student leaders have been doing an amazing job of providing encouragement and lots of fun ways for students to stay connected during lockdown. This is a real testament to their growing leadership skills and we couldn't be more proud of them. Keep up the good work everyone! SEE MORE
Staying Active in Lockdown
We all know it's important to stay active and our students have been finding fun ways to do this during lockdown. Some of them have taken on the College Sport Stay Active Challenge, which assigns a new workout each day. Others, like our junior Health & PE students, have been racing staff and each other to complete the 353km distance from Pakuranga College to the Sky Waka gondola on Mount Ruapehu!
Climbers' Debut Gets Results
Congratulations to Tyler Gamble and Harrison Wing, who represented Pakuranga College for the first time in the Auckland Rock Climbing Competition before lockdown. Tyler took 19th place (Year 11-13 division) in top rope and 3rd in speed climbing, which placed him 7th in the combined score for the day.
Mahuru Māori
Triple P Free Online Programme
The Teen Triple P online programme is a 6-module course that guides parents through challenges they may face with their teens.Triple P is offering free online codes (logins) for this course to parents who are wanting support during lockdown. If you would like one of these, please request one HERE.
Upcoming Events
- Māori Language Week/Te Wiki O Te Reo Māori - 13th to 19th Sept
- Deadline for Year 10 Subject Selections - 16th Sept