Principal's Pānui
24 June 2023
With one week of the second term to go, we welcome all students back to school as the rostering home which was part of the PPTA Industrial Action is withdrawn. As you may be aware, the PPTA and the Ministry have agreed to an arbitration process. As a result, all industrial action has been withdrawn while this process gets underway. This means that all students are expected to be at school next week.
However, the Paid Union Meeting scheduled for the afternoon of Tuesday 27th June will still go ahead. As a result, Massey High School will close for instruction at 12pm to allow members to attend the meeting.
Big Sing
On Tuesday afternoon Deputy Principal Hayley Garratt and I attended the Big Sing at the Auckland Town Hall. This is a huge event in the calendar, with over 60 schools from across the Auckland region competing. Sublimitas performed 3 songs in their session:
- Sing On! (Piano accompanist – Simeon Kim)
- Wairua o Te Puna Aroha (Guitar accompanists – Alan Motufoua and Mr Baldwin)
- Aya Ngena (Saxophone solo – Iggy Palmero Epstein)
As a choir of 44 students, they outperformed far larger choirs – it was thrilling to hear later that evening that Sublimitas had won the Gala Performance Award for the best performance by a choir.
On Thursday we learned that Simeon Kim picked up the award for Best Piano Accompanist.
As well as the work put in by Mr Baldwin – special thanks goes to the Choir Director Clare Martin. I’d also like to acknowledge the leadership of our students as well – the choir leaders Tanzeela Ali (also Soprano section leader) Kenneth Li (also Bass section leader), and section leaders Neesha Davis (Alto section leader) and Tiki Iti Atkinson (Tenor section leader).
Winning the Gala Performance Award was deserved reward for the dedication shown by all members.
A video of their performance can be viewed here.
Whānau Hui/Pō Matariki
On Thursday evening we held our second Pō Matariki. My thanks to Whaea Danielle and Matua Josh for ensuring that this event went ahead. Our Te Whare Āhuru students organised, ran the various workshops on the evening, and assisted with the Hangi under the watchful eye of Matua Scott. A good turnout of Te Whare Āhuru whānau resulted in a successful and enjoyable evening. It was also great to see Matua Mitchell in on the night, he is due to return to us in November this year.
Sport
Last Saturday morning was spent watching the three home games in rugby – The Under 15s had a narrow loss against Mount Albert Grammar, although the game could have easily swung the other way with our boys playing well. Some handling errors being the difference between the two teams.
Mr Pisi’s Under 14s followed, beating Rutherford College. In winning, they reversed the pattern of the last few weeks which saw them controlling games only to lose or draw in the last few minutes. Motivation for this game was high, and the boys did well to put the game away.
By the time the First XV kicked off at mid-day, the weather had deteriorated markedly – wind, rain, and a drop in temperature made conditions difficult for both teams. However, Westlake Boys were quicker to adapt and took advantage of the errors caused by the slippery conditions. Our boys didn’t give up though, despite the half-time score and produced a far superior second half, a half which better represented the quality of the two teams. Our First XV showed glimpses that they are more than capable of reversing this result come the knock-out stage of the competition.
This Saturday will be spent watching our junior netball teams in action at Te Pai.
With one week left, I would ask that all students remember the high expectations that are in place at our school – for effort, uniform, attendance, and behaviour – and finish the term strong. I spoke to the Year 11s on Friday about using next week to clarify their current path to NCEA Level One, to review what they have done, see if there are assessment opportunities still available, and to confirm what is on the horizon. They have many avenues of support, but they need to take steps to reach out for that support if it is needed.
Nga mihi