Lockdown learning in the Junior School has been varied and dynamic! It’s amazing to see the high quality of work being completed at home by our students. I’ve loved visiting conferences and hearing students talk about their learning and sharing examples of their work.

Teachers have also keenly shared examples of what their classes have been getting up to.  There have been live science demonstrations, fitness classes, dress-up days, fossil making, website design, short story writing and so much more!

Lockdowns continue to teach us many lessons. Perhaps the most significant learning is that our students have remarkable resilience and aptitude for new and different ways of learning.  Lockdown has shown us that our students have the capacity to be self-organised, self-motivated, and independent. They have demonstrated the key competencies of the New Zealand Curriculum.  

Lockdowns have forced us as educators to move away from traditional structures and investigate new ways of teaching, learning and assessment. They have given students a chance to prove themselves extremely capable of charting their own paths and being leaders in their own learning journeys. The periods of remote learning we have experienced over the last 18 months have given students the opportunity to develop a new toolkit of skills and strengths that they may not have otherwise been gained. The skills, experiences, and attitudes they have developed over this period will serve them well in the future. 

I’d like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the tireless work and commitment to ensuring high quality educational experiences and outcomes by our teaching staff and the support staff who work alongside them. I’d also like to thank you as parents, caregivers and whānau for your support of our home learning programme.  The support you have given to your tamariki as they have undertaken home learning has been so important.

We are hopeful that the new term will see us all able to return to school and resume learning on site. Until then, please stay safe! 

God bless, 
Courtenay Kilpatrick 
Deputy Principal: Year 7-10