Kia ora e te whānau,
Term Four is always a time of farewells and celebrations in any school. Firstly, I would like to congratulate the twenty-one students from our school who graduated from various SIT tertiary pathway programmes. A special mention to Bryn Talbot, who was the top student for the Go-Karts programme across all schools and campuses. Congratulations also to Lilianna McGregor and Lily Wiegersma on their Rotary Young Achievers Awards. Congratulations also to our students and staff who participated in the Queenstown Marathon, as well as to Millie McFadzien on winning the Regional Young Enterprise Scheme.
Recently we also had Year 10 Camp, which was a great success. Thanks to Mrs Brenssell, who organised the camp, and the staff who helped out: Miss Cowan, Mrs Grogan, Mrs Thompson, Mr Byars, and Mr Ryan. A special thanks also to the parents and volunteers who went along and made the camp possible. These opportunities take a fair amount of planning and energy to make happen. Without the support of parents and volunteers, we would not be able to offer school camps.
As we prepare for 2026, there are a few changes to the structure of the timetable as well as some staffing changes. We will be moving to having two short assemblies a week, Monday and Wednesday. Both will be twenty minutes long and will not impact learning time. Based on the feedback we have received from students, whānau, and parents, we will not reintroduce the extended whānau period; rather, there will be year-level-based learning happening.
We will welcome Miss Evita Evasco to our staff in 2026 as a permanent English teacher. She joins us from the West Coast, having previously taught English in the Philippines for many years. Our deans for 2026 will be the following:
Year 7 – Victoria Kelly
Year 8 – Lou Dickson
Year 9 – Jacqui Thompson
Year 10 – Will Byars
Year 11 – Gabrielle Brenssell
Year 12 – Brendan Terry
Year 13 – Lou Grogan
I wish to thank those who have responded to the various surveys that have been sent out this year to gain feedback from students, whānau, and staff. The School Board is currently working through the last phases of developing our Strategic Plan, which will be in place for next year. Once this is completed, we will share this with our community, as it will guide the direction of the College.
I would also like to draw your attention to the celebration of Miss Prue Scorgie’s 50 years of teaching at St Peter’s College. This will be celebrated on Saturday the 28th of March at the Croydon Lodge. Tickets for this event will be on sale early next year along with all the relevant details. If you know of former students and staff who may be interested, please inform them of the date so they can start making arrangements if they choose to attend.
As you will all be aware, there has been significant coverage across the media and social media around the government's decision to remove the requirement of schools to give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi. The NZ Catholic Education Office has come out strongly on this issue and made it clear that, for Catholic schools, we will continue to give effect to the Treaty in our schools. Our School Board has affirmed this, and we will continue to prioritise this along with the Minister’s priorities around raising achievement and improving attendance. Regular attendance at St Peter’s has increased in comparison to 2025 every term so far this year, which is great to see.
You will also be aware of receiving an email over the last weekend regarding attendance. These will be coming out weekly and are an easy way for you to be aware of your child(ren)’s attendance and can then communicate with the office, whānau teacher, or dean around any errors in attendance coding. This simple process will also help to strengthen the school–home partnership to best support our young people to become the best possible version of themselves.
Charity fulfils the Law.
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