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
With 12 school days left, our staff are determined to keep routine and normality as much as we can. The Year 8 students are hard at work learning dances and preparing themselves for the Year 8 Social. With this in mind, please check that your child is in the correct OIS uniform each day - no jewellery, makeup, hoodies or nail polish. If your child is out of uniform, they need to take a note from you to the school office to obtain a uniform pass.
This week the students have welcomed a group of new Year 6 students, enjoyed a performance from the Dunedin Orchestra and listened to our OIS speech finalists. I'm super proud of the mahi that all of our students have been doing with writing and delivering their speeches. A huge thank you to those students who delivered their speech in assembly and congratulations to the students who placed.
On Tuesday a group of OIS students went to Timaru to compete in the Caroline Bay Athletics Relay Event. Our boys team - Will, Boston, Lars and Olly got first and our girls team Sadye, Gemma, Laura and Neve placed second. A huge thank you to Kat Kawau and Richard Dukes who supported our students with this event.
Yesterday our Year 7 team went out and about exploring our local area as part of a Social Histories trip. They were exploring our local area and understanding the history of Oamaru. It was a jam packed day but I know the team enjoyed it. Thank you to our parents who supported the trip.
We will be having our Prizegiving and celebrating our Year 8 students on 14 December however, these events will look different to what has taken place in the past. We will let you know closer to the time what these events will look like. At this stage both Prizegiving events will be live streamed via our Facebook page.
I often find myself having conversations with students about Acting with Respect. This isn't just about how we speak to others but our actions. As we head into another week we are going to have a real focus on KINDNESS. Showing kindness can be as small as a smile, it costs nothing, but yet can make someone's day.
The challenge that I am going to be putting out to our students this week is to focus on acts of kindness, thinking about others before ourselves, and to stop and think before we say something that will upset others.
Today we had a a very special visit from the White Ribbon bike riders in conjunction with the Oamaru Police. They had a very important message for our students that we practice and promote respectful relationships.
A huge thank you to Nigel Holt and the team from the Rapid Response team for providing us with lunch today. Check out the wonderful work they do in our community via the link below.
Show case
We are looking forward to seeing many of you at the Showcase on Wednesday night. This will be held at OIS starting at 6pm. We ask that you bring a gold coin donation for entry. We are super excited to have this event running again after two years of not being able to due to COVID. All students are welcome only if accompanied by a parent. We would love to see as many of our families as possible.
Rebecca Meek