Principal's Pānui
19 August 2023
At the beginning of the week, Korean culture – both traditional and contemporary – took centre stage at our annual Korean Night. The event was a sellout, with the capacity crowd enjoying a mix of traditional Korean music and dance, interspersed with K-Pop and Korean street food. The evening was organised by our Korean Group (led this year by Academic Prefect William Kang). The evening was hugely enjoyable, and planning is already underway for next year. My thanks as well to teachers Megan Lee and Cherry Nie for their work, the support and guidance they provided to our students ensured the success of the night. I’d also like to thank the large crowd that attended, your patience when the EFTPOS went down was hugely appreciated by all.
On Wednesday Massey High School hosted over 60 Head Prefects from more than 25 schools across the greater Auckland region. The event was organised by our four Head Prefects Matelita Elisala, Shane Leatupue, Troy Vujnovich, and Keisha Tautari and supported by the wider student leadership team. The theme was servant leadership, with workshops touching on other key areas taking place throughout the day. It was also an opportunity for young leaders from across Auckland to network, young leaders who over the coming decades will shape our communities. Finally, for our potential student leaders of 2024 it provided valuable insight into some aspects of the roles they are applying for. Special thanks to Hayley Garratt for facilitating the planning by our student leaders.
Recognition of Outstanding Effort
The quality of work being produced by some of our Year 9s this year has been truly outstanding. Indeed, some are now producing work of such high quality that our staff have rightly asked that it receive wider recognition. From next week we will start recognising the efforts of selected students as part of this Panui. A Principal’s award will accompany this (to be awarded at assembly).
Massey High School Debaters
Our MHS Senior Open Debate Team accounted for another heavyweight this week – defeating Mount Albert Grammar’s top team in their quarter final (they defeated Auckland Grammar School the week before). The team hear the motion at 5.30pm and have one hour (with no outside influence/information available to them) to formulate their ideas. Harriet Barter, Ava Garratt, and Kay Hooper put in a formidable performance, with staff using the term “slam dunk evidence”. Congratulations thus far for the team, and best of luck for their semi-final next week against AGC Parnell.
Digital Assessments and Devices
Our Year 10 students (and selected Year 11 – 13 students) had their first opportunity to sit the NCEA Common Assessment Activities (CAAs) in each of Numeracy, Reading and Writing in June. The CAAs are designed by NZQA to ensure that students have the foundational skills and critical thinking to support them in further studies, work and life. These new CAAs are intended to be undertaken by learners who have control of Curriculum Level 4 and are ready to work at Level 5. Students have 2 opportunities each year to complete these assessments. Should a student not pass the assessment in this round, they have another opportunity to complete the assessment in Term 4. The CAAs are marked externally.
Sitting a digital assessment is a very different (and in most cases a new) experience for our students. Indeed, from 2024 NZQA intend all assessments for NCEA be administered digitally (with only a handful of exceptions). Part of preparing for these assessments is for students to sit the assessments themselves, allowing them the opportunity of getting used to the feel of a digital assessment as well as experiencing exam style conditions. Be aware that for most students this is their first experience of sitting a digital assessment, so whilst not all students passed in this round, their involvement in the assessment opportunity helps to prepare them for Round 2 in Term 4 and for future digital assessments.
The experience of our Year 10 students this year, and the moves being made by NZQA highlight the importance of students bringing their devices (Chromebook or laptop) every day. With the planned nationwide move to digital assessments, digital literacy – the ability to seamlessly use technology in learning – becomes paramount. I’d like to take this opportunity to remind parents/caregivers that devices are strongly recommended for everyday use in class and for assessments.