Principal's Panui - 24 October 2025

Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa 

New Administration Block - Grand Opening

There are some that thought that this day would never come. As a school we have a lot of people to thank for their trust, belief, support or expertise. 

Arriving here from a seed of an idea more than 15 years ago does feel like a mountain conquered. Lots of little steps and then sliding back down a scree slope, to find another way to the desired outcome. 

I would like to firstly thank all the former boards of trustees dating back to the mid 2000’s for your absolute support. There is every chance I wouldn’t still be here if they had not been here to support me. From then on the various boards have prioritised the right building projects at the right time. We have moved our way strategically toward having this beautiful front of house administration building that reflects the warmth and wairua that sits behind it. 

The project required the bravery and the foresight of our most recent School Board to be willing to see our working capital get run right down to a level that made us nervous. A risk that had to be taken to get us to where we needed to be for the future proofing of our school and for the benefits of current and future students and whanau. 

Just over a year on from breaking ground on the new administration building we can take residence. The new building provides a fantastic gateway into our school. T

The biggest thank you and acknowledgement must go to Donna Johnston. She is a former BOT member, with her and husband, Carl having had three students through our school.  It is her architectural design work that has fully captured the vision of what we had for this building and how it would sit on the site. Labour of love and then some. 

Alongside her is our business manager Judy Copas whose careful management of finance over many years has allowed us to build up the financial reserves that meant we could save the money to spend $3million without any direct financial outlay or contribution from the Ministry of Education. We have had some moments of needing to take some deep breaths but like with anything worth having, you probably will have had to put some skin in the game. 

To our former International Student Director, Miriam Sprague, we appreciate how hard you worked to bring in the dollars through the Mahi that you did. I hope you can see that without you helping generate budget surpluses this doesn’t happen. 

Big thank you to Maynard Marks for their project management. Finally, to Wilkran Construction it was a pleasure to work with such a well organised and professional construction firm. The proof of the quality of people who worked on the project is clear to see in the outcome.

I am pleased that Sheena, my PA, gets to come to work in an office that she deserves to be able to work in. I may have left her to last. She may not have raised the money or designed the building, but everyone around here knows that stuff gets done because she is organised, looks out for me and the school. 

Design and consent work for the upgrade of our school’s original administration block into a Student Services centre has been completed and by the end of this year the required refurbishment will be underway with an expected completion date some time in Term 1, 2026. This was the ultimate goal and we are we within touching distance of transformational spaces to support our students and whanau in the way that we want to.

Strike Action 5 November - 1.15 to 3.15pm

At this stage we also expect NZPPTA members to strike from 1.15 to 3.15 on November 5. This means that Y9 and 10 students are affected and there will be no scheduled classes for the last period of that day. We can provide supervision for a small number of  students, but you will need to register your intention via this form, to ensure that we have enough non-union members to offer adequate supervision. Please note that exams for Y11-13 students will run as normal in the afternoon.

013 and 014 Buses on the afternoon of 5 November

Our bus company is not able to run at the earlier time of 1.15pm. This means that on that afternoon all students who would normally catch the 013 and 014 bus will need to find alternative transport home.

We understand that this is inconvenient for parents and caregivers and we thank you for your continued support.

What's Coming Up?

30 October - Senior Prizegiving 6.30pm School Hall and last day for Y11-13 students.
31 October - Y13 Leavers' Lunch04 November - NCEA Exams commence
21 & 24 November - Junior Exams
05 & 08 December - Wider Living Days
10 December - Junior Prizegiving and last day for students

 Gary Moore