Tēnā koe, Bula Vinaka, Talofa Lava, Mālō e lelei, Sanibonani,

Last week marked the passing of Kīngi Tuheitia Pōtatau Te Wherowhero V11. He is now succeeded by his own daughter Kuini Nga wai hono i te Po. We extend our support for the new Māori queen as she continues her father’s legacy of kotahitanga – bringing people together. 

This week 93 students have been competing at the annual AIMS sport tournament in Tauranga. We look forward to hearing about their experiences and highlights next week. 

During the week we had our Reading, Numeracy and Writing corequisite testing for Year 10 students. All students need to achieve a 20-credit co-requisite specific to literacy and numeracy skills to be awarded any level of NCEA. The co-requisite is a one-off requirement. AJHS offers this to our Year 10 students, so they have the opportunity to gain these credits before their transition to Year 11 at secondary school. 

Today we celebrated the incredible, diverse talent of many of our students in ‘AJHS Got Talent Show’ held this afternoon. This is an annual event that provides an opportunity for our students to showcase and share their abilities and passions in the arts. We had musical items, bands, dancing, acting and many other exciting acts. Congratulations to all those staff who organised this event, and to all those students who participated.  

Next week marks Te Wiki o te Reo Māori | Māori Language Week, with this year’s theme being ‘Ake ake ake – A forever language.’ Giving effect to te Tiriti o Waitangi is critical to ensuring the continuity of our students’ access to te reo and tikanga Māori, and having local curriculum to reflect local tikanga Māori, mātauranga Māori, and te ao Māori. 

Next Tuesday and Wednesday our teachers are looking forward to meeting students and their parents at the Learner Led Conferences. Also, AJHS is hosting our Whānau ki te Ako choir festival on Thursday evening, and the North Shore Science and Technology Fair on Friday and Saturday – both events are being held in our gymnasium. 

And finally, we will finish our amazing school term with our annual Year 9 Camp to Kawau Island for the last week. What a fantastic learning experience for our students. 

Thank you for your continued support e te whānau (families). 

Have a well deserved weekend. Take care. Nga mihi nui ki a koutou katoa. 

Cushla Shepherd, Tumuaki / Principal

Albany Junior High School