Kia ora everyone, I hope the week has been kind to you all, and you have managed to take a moment to enjoy the sunshine when it has showed. It certainly feels that the weather, though still highly changeable, heralds the new season of Spring which is exciting. As you may be aware, Tara Quinney is on leave for this week and next, and I will be taking up some of her roles in her absence, including the Principal’s newsletter comments here today.
This has been a hugely busy week with our Winter sports tournament teams away, competing in many different sporting fields. As I write this, teams are still playing, and by the time you get to read it, they will have concluded their games, and results will have been finalised. Already however, some very impressive results have emerged. The New Zealand Junior Rugby Festival team, who competed in Queenstown last week, acquitted themselves very well with Luke Davie gaining player of the tournament and both he and Mason Chittock, making the tournament team for that competition – well done boys! Our senior girls' netball team, after very narrowly going down to Marion College, are still playing off for 11th and 12th across the entire South island – a placing we have not been able to achieve for a number of years. Our senior mixed hockey team have also done very well, winning their games and at present playing off for 5th or 6th in the South Island – well done!!. We also have a number of students taking part in combined teams with other schools. Our football girls are competing with Northern Southland College, our football boys have joined with Māruawai players to form a team and our under 15 rugby boys have joined with Blue Mountain College and succeeded not only in taking out the entire division 2 South Island competition, but also were awarded the prize for the best all-round team in the tournament. This is decided by points awarded by opposition teams and officials. For us at St Peter’s, while we love to succeed and achieve at the highest levels, this last accolade really speaks of who we are as a school. Having had the opportunity to work in other schools, often with many more resources at their disposal, I can hand on heart say that St Peter’s kids are special. Our values of community, compassion and commitment are ever present in how students conduct themselves both in and out of school and we so often receive feedback from people new to our students, regarding how impressive they are when seen out in the community. With this in mind I want to recognise the huge amount of time and care that you as parents, our coaches and our staff put into our students, the teams they are part of and the values they live. This does not happen by chance but is the result of so many hours of invested time in so many ways. Thank you so much for all you do for our precious tamariki.
Ahead of us we have the AIMS games kicking off next week, and we wish students taking part all the very best and congratulate them on the hard work it has taken to get to this point. We also have a St Peter’s group travelling to Auckland to take part in the national Manu Korero Speech Competition on Sunday. The group consists of Whaea Vanessa, Victoria Kelly, Eli Puna, and a support group of eight other Te Ao Haka students. They will support Eli as he competes at this national level, after winning his section of the Otago/Southland competition earlier this year. This is the first time St Peter’s has attended such a prestigious event and we wish Eli and his support team all the very best for their competition.
Another exciting thing on our school calendar next week is the ‘Hooked on Learning Expo’ running from 5.00 – 6.30pm next Thursday, 12th September. Here, the Year 11’s get to showcase their learning from this year, and subject teachers will be demonstrating and talking about what their various subject choices contain for 2025. This is an awesome opportunity to come in with your young person and help them gather the information they will need to make informed subject choices for 2025. While the evening will be displaying some of the amazing learning our Year 11 cohort has achieved this year, the subject information is aimed at any student in Years 9-11 this year. Thanks so much to all those students and staff involved in the implementation of this evening.
The Life Education bus has been with us this week, where our Year 8 students have all been involved. We Thank Pip and her team for making this possible. I also note that Duke of Edinburgh kicks into high gear with the warmer months coming upon us and thanks to the hard work and dedication of two of our staff, Jacqui Thompson and John Ryan, many students take up the amazing opportunity to be involved in exciting outdoor adventures. This programme offers students who are 14 years or older, the opportunity to gain an internationally recognised qualification whilst supporting their learning and giving back to our community – so much a part of our school values. If you want to know more about how it works, I know these two staff members are always happy to answer questions and encourage new students to join.
Nga mihi nui everyone, thanks for your ongoing support of St Peter’s, and all the very best for the week ahead.
Darren Jack
Acting Principal