Kia ora whānau
It seems I spoke a little too soon about the spring weather last week – apologies for that, as this week has certainly been more like what we are used to. I hope the calving and lambing season has been manageable for our farming community despite the rain.
This week has certainly been busy with a number of St Peter’s groups away, representing our school at national and international levels. The Zespri AIMS Games have seen our Year 8 Basketball girls away in Tauranga, and what a time they have been having. At the time of writing this, they are due to play off for 3rd or 4th. This is an incredible achievement, given the 31 schools across the country that are part of this competition – well done, girls!
Also, in Auckland this week, Eli Puna competed in the Manu Korero National Speech Competition, ably supported by his family, eight of our students and our two staff members, Whaea Vanessa and Mrs Kelly. Eli performed very well on the day and can be proud of the way he represented himself and the school – kia kaha, Eli. I also want to congratulate these students on the way that they pretty much got off the plane on Thursday afternoon from Auckland and came straight back into school to help us with our "Hooked on Learning" parent evening that night. What an example of commitment – one of our three school values, and it was certainly appreciated by staff and students alike. A funny aside that this group will not be aware of, is that the airport staff have a standing joke regarding which group will be carrying the most donuts off the flight from Auckland. I was reliably informed that this ‘award’ was taken out by our travelling Te Ao Haka group on Thursday afternoon. Ka rawe everyone, nice job!
At an international level, has been the achievements of our amazing cross country runner Millie McFadzien. Millie competed in the Australia All-schools Cross Country Nationals in Yarra, Victoria from August 21st - 23rd. Of the 40 - 50 top competitors across New Zealand and Australian school aged students, she placed 14th individually, and her team took out the gold medal placing in the competition. What a stunning result and we congratulate Millie (also our latest student Board rep), on this most significant of accomplishments.
As mentioned earlier in this report, this week has also seen a hive of activity from students and staff around the Year 11 "Hooked on Learning," and course selection information evening held on Thursday evening. So many students took part in this celebration of learning, as well as the in-class subject displays, and all of the parents I spoke to found it a very enjoyable and informative evening. I would like to thank those students involved, as well as Mrs Ryan, who co-ordinated this very well supported event.
Option choices for students in Years 9 – 12 close next Thursday, September 19th, so please make sure those are in on time. Also, next Tuesday, we have our Sports and Cultural photos in the Hostel dining room. If you are one of the fabulous people who have given your time this year to support some of our teams and are able to make time in your day on Tuesday, please contact the Office to find out what time your photo will be and come in and take part.
Have a great weekend, take care and God bless.
Darren Jack
Acting Principal