Principal's Pānui
17 February 2024
Tēnā tātou e te whānau whānui o Tiriwā,
The first couple of weeks back have flown in. Our Year 9 students, and those new to Massey this year have settled in well, with the numbers of lost students (and some staff) diminishing daily. Coming from Primary and Intermediate is a big enough change in itself with moving from class to class, this has been exacerbated by the room changes made necessary in the wake of the Science Block fire at the end of last year. Our students and staff have adapted well. We have had some good news on that front with more classrooms in the block being returned to us, the majority of Level 1 and 2 are now open. Level 3 is still on track to be handed back in the first week of March.
The past few weeks has also seen an influx of enrolments, with our roll now just over 1,800.
Full classes commenced following Waitangi Day. The next couple of weeks will see numbers in some classes settling as additional resourcing is allocated in response to the most recent increase in the school roll.
New students who have started at Massey High School since 2nd February will be formally welcomed by way of Whakatau at the beginning of Term 2.
With that in mind, I’d like to highlight the importance of Te Whare Āhuru at Massey High School. The overtly visible aspect is the role our students play in leading pōwhiri and whakatau – welcoming new students, new staff, and international visitors (this week a new cohort of Japanese students) to our Massey whānau. We are fortunate to be in the position where our ākonga within Te Whare Āhuru can take centre stage in these thanks to the leadership of Matua Josh, Whaea Danielle, Whaea Lisa, and Matua Scott here at school, and the support provided by their whānau. The other aspect though is the pathways it provides for ākonga and the role it plays in the overall fabric of our school. Our current strategic plan is explicit about continuing the authentic understanding and integration of Mātauranga Māori, Te Reo Māori, and Te Ao Māori into the Massey High School Curriculum. As such Massey High School remains firmly committed to the development and growth of Te Whare Āhuru.
Whānau meet your Tutor Evening
All whānau new to the school will be invited to our evening on Thursday 29th February. It will provide parents and caregivers of students who are new to Massey High School this year an opportunity to meet with Ākina Leaders and their child’s Tutor. A special newsletter will be sent out shortly with more details for parents and caregivers of all Year 9 students, and of any student new to Massey High School in Years 10 through 13.
Sports
Signups for sport is underway, not only for summer sports that have already commenced competition, but also for our winter codes. Numbers of students interested in rugby have increased dramatically and many of those students will be participating in a new initiative which will see rugby players participating in Wednesday morning sessions that allow students from Under 14s through to First XV, and our Girls teams training together. This session also allows our coaching staff to work with these students on goals, resilience, and other facets off the field as a collective unit.
If your child has not yet registered to participate in a sport this year, it’s not too late. We’d all like to see the numbers of students involved in sport (or indeed any co-curricular activity) continue to grow.
Polyfest 2024
Another aspect of wider school life that is also well underway is the preparation for Polyfest, already we have had our first Kapa Haka muster, and the Samoan, Tongan, and Tuvaluan groups are already well into their schedules for practices.
Scholars Assembly
We will be holding a scholars assembly to celebrate the success of the following students in the New Zealand Scholarship Examinations. Those students who are successful in gaining a scholarship are in the top 3% of their cohort across the country. The following students gained a scholarship in their subject area (their year level in 2023 indicated):
Aurelien Lopes (13) Scholarship in Biology
Harish Peddi (13) Scholarship in Chemistry
Simeon Kim (11) Scholarship in Classical Studies
Te Wiremu Hindman (13) Scholarship in English
Charlotte Murdoch (12) Scholarship in English
Gabe Wilcox (13) Scholarship in English
Lucy Ward (11) Scholarship in Geography
The top 0.3% of students across the country gain an Outstanding Scholarship. An achievement befitting its name.
Kilani O’Brien (11), an ākonga in Te Whare Āhuru gained an Outstanding Scholarship in Te Reo Māori – one of only 4 ākonga across Aotearoa New Zealand to do so - a remarkable achievement made all the more remarkable by Kilani achieving this scholarship at Year 11.
Our scholars assembly will also see the naming of our Silver Tie Prefects for 2024.
Cellphones – Phones Away for the Day
As mentioned in the last Panui, we already have a robust policy regarding cellphones in class. They are to be off, and away in bags whilst in class – the only exception to this being their use for educational purposes when mandated by the teacher. Phones Away for the Day is the name given to the Government regulations that require all state schools and kura to have student phone rules in use as soon as possible in Term 1 and no later than the beginning of Term 2.
These regulations require that schools ensure students do not use or access a personal phone while they are attending school, including during lunch time and breaks. This includes students who are on a school course or visit outside school grounds during school hours. Again, there are exceptions to this such as our already in place exception for use for a specific educational purpose within the classroom.
This means that we will be amending our exisiting phone policy, extending it to include interval and lunchtime.
However, we will not be banning phones completely – as we understand the importance of our students being able to contact home following an afterschool sports practice or rehearsal for example.
Instead, we will be continuing with the expectation that all student phones are turned off and are away in bags in class, with that expectation now extending into interval and lunchtime.
Over the course of this term we will be working with staff and students to implement this new expectation. This will include messages at assemblies, and through Hui Arotahi, as well as conversations with students who are accessing their phones whilst at school – these conversations providing student voice to inform the implementation process. Our Deans and SLT are formulating what responses to breaches of these expectations will look like. As a reminder, all schools must have this in place no later than the start of Term 2.
We are aware that some students may take time to adapt to not being able to access their phone at break times, support of whānau is valuable in this regard. This is also why we will be taking the time over Term 1 to allow students to gradually adapt to the new expectations.
Whānau support can also be provided through remembering not to phone or text your child whilst they are at school. Parents and caregivers are still able to contact their children through existing school processes i.e. via a call to reception.