Principal's Message
Our Purpose: To prepare students to be active participants who will contribute to their community.
Tēnā koutou katoa, Malo e lelei, Talofa lava, Bula vinaka
We are well and truly in the swing of a new term that may be one of the busiest yet. Children will be working hard this term not only in the classroom but also participating in a range of different activities; technology, Kapa Haka, choir and Pasifika groups that have performances, and winter sports just to name a few.
Our winter sports programme is well underway. Over the next couple of weeks, if your child has trialled for a James Hargest team, they will be finding out if they made a team. We have had many trials taking place, and it has been excellent to see a large number of students taking up the opportunity to get involved. Unfortunately, not all children can be selected for the teams that they have trialled for. While we celebrate those students who have gained a position in a team, we must acknowledge the feelings of disappointment with our children and give them an opportunity to share how they are feeling.
As we know in life, whenever we put ourselves out there to trial or be selected for an opportunity or sports event, not everyone can have a place. We must acknowledge this with our children and the feelings that can come with this. It is perfectly normal to be disheartened when we don’t get something, and I am sure that we have all experienced this, however, we must keep trying and keep putting ourselves out there to try new things and push ourselves out of our comfort zone. I believe that these experiences hold an incredible opportunity to see who we are as a person, and how we handle disappointment. Stepping out of our comfort zone takes courage, and being challenged also boosts your confidence and helps develop self-esteem. It also helps build resilience within your child to take a knock but to get back up and try again.
Options Programme
This week has certainly been a buzz of activity with students starting their first options activity. Our options programme is an opportunity for students to opt into an activity that they are interested in. We have many different sessions happening for both year 7 and 8 students: debating, cafe club, mountain biking, music & movement, digital music, community spirit, lego cultural activities, craft club, cartoon drawing, sports coaching and writing a children’s book along with some others.
Wear Something Pink Day
Next Friday our students are encouraged to ‘Wear Something Pink’. This is a nationwide campaign to raise awareness of Bullying. Pink Shirt Day is an anti-bullying movement that celebrates diversity and creates environments where all people can feel safe, valued and respected. Each year, workplaces, schools, organisations and individuals join the movement to make a stand against bullying. I encourage you to also wear something pink to your workplace on Friday 17 May, and stand with your child and us in celebrating diversity and STAMPING out bullying in our community.
TikTok and Snapchat
A number of our students are using the platforms TikTok and Snapchat to watch videos, communicate with others and upload videos. Like all social media platforms, it is essential that as adults we have a sound understanding of what our children are doing online, who they are connecting with and how much time our children are spending online. There is much content that children need to learn to negotiate and it is up to all of us to teach them the life skills to be able to do this safely.
Have a safe weekend.
Rebecca Meek
Tumuaki