Tena koutou katoa

At Assembly this week I spoke about , that as New Zealanders we are proud of our unique culture, often expressed  through our love of the All Black's haka, but that our culture is much richer than this. Te reo Maori and its regular use is an important part of who we are as a country and as a school community.  Te reo Maori is our taonga, our treasure , and as such it should be nurtured and shared by all New Zealanders.  Our support of te reo Maori is also an important part of our commitment to the Tiriti o Waitangi and its guiding principles.  While it  is often daunting to express ourselves in a language that is not so familiar to us, it is none the less important to take risks in order to continue to develop our understanding of te reo.   I have encouraged all of our students in this endeavour. It is important that we all find ways to participate in te reo  and there are many formal and informal opportunities to do so at the College, our mihi at tutor groups, our celebration of te reo through our National Anthem and waiata, as well as the whole school celebration of te reo and tikanga Maori through our haka. Students have been provided with the words of the haka and I would support and encourage them all to work to develop their skills in te reo Maori.  Arohatia te Reo Maori - Cherish the Language.

Our Open Day last Sunday was a very successful day and we again had an exceptional level of attendance and interest in the College.  It is pleasing to see such interest from families with students interested in attending the College which is  a positive reinforcement of what we are achieving as a school community.  We expect a very positive level for enrolment for year 7 in 2013.  Last year we capped our enrolment at year 7 and all indications are that we will be required to do so again.  I would encourage you to support any students who are interested in attending Verdon College to ensure that they return their application to the College as soon as possible prior to the 31st of August.  I would like to thank the PTA along with student volunteers and the staff of the College for making this such a successful day.

Our Parent– Teacher Interviews held this week were a great success.  It has been an extremely positive experience for the staff of the College.  We value and appreciate the on-going dialogue in relation to teaching and learning .  We find the communication with whanau invaluable in assisting us to best support your sons and daughters at the College.

God Bless

Jarlath Kelly