Kia ora koutou,
Term 2 is always an extremely busy term for senior students, and this year has been no exception. Assessments seem ever present (and can be viewed on SchoolBridge’s assessment calendar), winter sports season is in full swing, and our senior students are busy serving our community.
We have many of our senior students undertaking service and leading in our school community – in both formal and informal leadership roles. These range from those serving our special character, in sporting and cultural fields, and of course, our very busy and highly effective prefect team. A new service programme has been under development and will be launched at the start of next term. This will be led by Mr Piggin, the Service Prefects, and a student leadership team. You will hear more about this in due course.
In Term 3, Year 12 students will have the opportunity to apply for a prefect role. These are highly sought-after positions and with so many amazing young people at our school, there are always very tough decisions.
You will have noted that in the mid-year report, the new format outlines your child’s co-curricular, service, and leadership activities. The inclusion of these has been made because what young people do outside of the classroom is an integral part of their overall education and the creation of a well-rounded individual. As we seek to nurture capable young adults, it is important to recognise that wellbeing and academic achievement go hand in hand. Research shows that serving others is highly effective in building strong mental health and wellbeing. Involvement in physical activity and connection with others is hugely important too. There are many opportunities available, and these will be discussed further during navigation time. Please have a read through our website to see the range of activities available as part of our co-curricular programme.
Here is some information for you about recent events, clarifications, and changes to exam timings and study leave below.
Academic Excellence Evening
Our Academic Prefects, Sofia Bryan and Paolo Lecias, hosted the 2025 Academic Excellence Evening. It was held in SMCP’s Whare Manaaki this year with 130 parents and students in attendance. The evening shared information about achieving at the highest level and provided parents with the opportunity to meet with our HODs and the Senior Leadership Team. Hopefully, our attendees left knowing more about supporting learning at the highest level, and what the pathway to this looks like for Years 11-13, at Santa Maria College.
NCEA and Academic Integrity
Many students feel pressure to achieve high level results in NCEA, and this is often a good thing. However, on occasion this can lead to cases of academic misconduct. Honesty and integrity are two of our school virtues, and we have clear expectations for our students to live up to them, including when completing assessment tasks. We appreciate support from parents with this.
Assessment rules are made very clear to students and assessment conditions must be met as part of the requirements from NZQA for schools to be able to offer NCEA qualifications. Any case of academic misconduct is dealt with, in the first instance, by Principal’s Nominee, Mrs Leishman.
Mrs Leishman will run a session on NCEA during next term’s Parent Teacher Evening, if you would like to learn more about NCEA generally. It will be especially useful if you are new to the NCEA system.
Semester Changeover for Senior Students (Term 3)
Please be aware that the start of Term 3 heralds the changeover for senior students in single semester courses. This includes ALL Level 1 courses. This will mean that students may have different teachers and, in some cases, different subjects, for the second semester.
Derived Grade Examinations
In 2025, these examinations will take place in two blocks. The first block will be in Term 3, Weeks 7 and 8 for Year 12 and Year 13 examination subjects. The second, for Year 11 students, will take place in Week 2 of Term 4. This is to provide further teaching time for Level 1 Semester 2 options.
Study Leave Changes for 2025
Level 1 examinations begin a week later than Levels 2 and 3. As a result of this NZQA change, the dates for study leave will reflect this. Click this link for the 2025 exam timetable.
- Thursday 30 October: Year 12 and 13 study leave begins
- Wednesday 5 November: Year 11 study leave begins.
Please stay safe during this holiday period.
God bless,
Mrs Chris Sullivan.
