Just when you thought we have things on an even keel and teaching and learning can progress as we would expect at school, along comes the uptick in COViD-19 community cases. This has hit us hard here at Kaipara College with many of our staff contracting the virus over a short period of time and about 25% of our student body also affected. We were left no alternative but to move the whole school into learning from home mode. To their great credit our wonderful students were able to move relatively quickly and seamlessly into learning from home with the support of their whânau. Each time we do this it seems to get a little bit easier and our students settle into their new routine more quickly. There is no doubt however that learning from home is more difficult for many of our students as motivation wanes more easily, distractions become more enticing and even doing work around the house can become an attractive option! It is heartening to see our online attendance increase everyday however, which may or may not have been influenced by a message from our Head Students reminding our seniors that attendance at the School Ball is dependent on having good attendance at school (including online school)! I would like to thank our community for their continued patience and support as we navigate these tricky times. Thank you also to those who give us feedback on what we do. We value feedback because it helps us in our quest for continual improvement.
I am happy to say that sports and other events have continued while we have been learning from home. Even though I have been unable to attend any recent games (due to, you guessed it, COVID) I have been impressed by the continued reports of the outstanding sportspersonship our students continue to show on the field, court and arena. The result of a game or event is important but so too are the teamwork, communication, commitment, collaboration, effort, perseverance, being open to learning, listening, striving for improvement, effort and fitness required to participate well. I am proud of the way our students conduct themselves both on and off the field or court or arena, and watching them play is a great pleasure. These days, as our parents and caregivers would attest to, sport is not just a weekend endeavour however, with many practices, games and events occurring throughout the week. This would not happen without the great commitment from families, coaches and teachers who give freely of their time, energy and expertise to allow our students the opportunity of the thrill of playing a sport. Thank you to those people, from all of us at Kaipara College.
We have many exciting events coming up at school over the next little while including our annual Open Evening on Monday, 20 June commencing at 6:30pm, where we showcase the great learning experiences that happen at school, to the community and in particular intermediate age students and their families. We are open for enrollments for 2023 from that time. I am also looking forward to attending our So despite the challenges the gift of COVID keeps on giving, Kaipara College is in great shape and is looking forward to continuing to celebrate and share our learning journey and successes with our community.
I look forward to meeting many of you out and about in the community supporting Kaipara College sporting and cultural events.
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These photographs show an example of tuakana teina during whânau time. Our Tu Rangitira students are hosting students from our Faculty of Special Education to share some learning.
Until next time…
