Principal's Pānui
16 September 2023
As we head into the final week of the term, our senior students are busy with their preliminary/derived-grade exams. For our Year 11 students, this is the first real opportunity to have a practice run through of the experience they will encounter later in Term 4. There is no substitute for the rigour of the process in terms of preparing them for the real exams to come. Just as important is the feedback they receive – the areas they did well in, and the areas that they need to develop further.
Parents and caregivers will soon receive a report on progress in the exams – this will provide plenty of time for conversations around support needed to take place, and also allow time for plans to be put in place by your child to work on the areas that need development – with that work able to commence over the upcoming holiday period.
Attendance
Our students have started receiving their daily attendance reports via their school email address this week. It is great to see some students already reaching out to have conversations with Deans or Tutors about their attendance. If we can encourage your child to check their school email regularly. It is better to work through any issues with attendance early on, rather than letting it build to a point where it seems an insurmountable issue which can then cause unnecessary stress. As a reminder, we are here to support as best we can – this includes providing support for genuine issues that can have a negative impact on attendance.
Rugby Tour to France
Bon voyage to our development squad that departed for France today (Saturday, 16 September). Nearly 18 months of meticulous planning and fundraising culminated with the squad boarding their flight. The squad is a mixture of First XV players who bring valuable leadership experience to the table, and some of our up-and-coming young talent. This is the first overseas trip since COVID, and for many it will literally be a life changing experience. The exposure to a very different culture, the opportunity to play overseas, the chance to experience new food and language, is one which will never be forgotten by these young men. I know that they will represent Massey High School (and New Zealand) and their families well.
I’d like to thank DP Jono Taura and AP Mark Jones for their work behind the scenes in getting the tour off the ground early last year. The amount of work required to plan a trip such as this is immense. I’d also like to thank the parents and caregivers of the young men going – they have provided support and encouragement from day 1. Finally, to the boys themselves - the fundraising has been a long road, but they have stuck to the task at hand admirably.
They will spend 3 weeks in France, travelling from Paris, through Thiers, Blaye, Beziers, Toulouse, and Mende before returning home. We have already heard feedback from some of the smaller towns they will be in with regard to the significant event it is for those towns.
It was wonderful to see so many family members at Auckland International Airport this morning. After the squad photo, the boys gave thanks to their families through haka.
Our Netball girls are currently beginning their preparations for their own tour overseas which will take place next year.
Principal Award
This week I’d like to acknowledge Rohan Mishra (Royal Road School). His teacher of Japanese Mayumi Yasuda remarked that of the 160 students she teaches, Rohan is a consistent standout in terms of his meticulous work and the effort he puts in during class (and for his assignments). He is a role model to others in the class, and recently produced an outstanding assignment at the end of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki Peace Unit. Mayumi commented that Rohan’s work was of such high quality and beauty that she found it to be very moving emotionally. She went on to describe it as a piece that will stay with her for a long time.