Kia ora tatou This weekend there are several exciting events involving Taieri College students.  Tomorrow is our formal at the Dunedin Town Hall.  This year the theme is “The Great Gatsby” where attendees will take a step back in time to the 1920s.  My thanks to Monique Evans, as well as our Social Prefects, Jessica Coulston and Emily Hackfath for the huge amount of effort they have put in to making the 2017 Formal such a special and memorable occasion. I also wish our bands the very best as they perform in Rockquest over the weekend.  Students and staff were treated to several live performances on Thursday as the bands proudly showed off their talents during break times. Everyone has been practising very hard and I am sure they will give an excellent account of themselves. On Sunday and Monday, our Senior A, Year 10A and 9A netball teams compete in the Otago Secondary Schools’ tournament at the Edgar Centre.  I wish the girls all the best for the two days.  I am sure our Senior A girls will recover quickly from their night out at the formal and show up fresh and rearing to go on Sunday morning. This weekend is also is the official date for the annual World Vision 40 hour famine.  I congratulate all students who are participating in this worthwhile fundraiser.  For those students attending the formal, they do have the opportunity of completing a challenge at a later date. As of today we are officially half way through the school year for our Year 11-13 students.  It is an ideal time to reflect on how our senior students are tracking towards their particular level of NCEA.  Parents and caregivers should be inquiring into the number of credits being accumulated, and just as importantly how many Excellence and Merit grades are being attained. This can all be done by accessing student achievement data on our Kamar parent portal.  If you are unsure how to access this information, please feel free to contact the college. Noho ora mai Dave Hunter PRINCIPAL