Kia ora tatou Taieri College well and truly entered into the spirit of Matariki this week by hosting our annual Whanau Hui.  The evening provided an opportunity to connect with our Maori community and share in the wonderful achievements of our Maori and Pasifika students.  Ms Gemma Tuhega (our kaitiaki) did an amazing job of putting the evening together.  I would also like to acknowledge the contribution of our Kapa Haka tutors, Ana and Kopua Waititi.  Their passion and commitment towards our students was very evident and we are so fortunate to have people of their calibre leading our rangatahi.  Our Kapa Haka group performed with excellence and thoroughly entertained all who were present.  Adding mana to the evening was the presence of the Mosgiel Rotary Club.  As a college we were very grateful for their presence and I trust they enjoyed the festivities.  The Kapa Haka group’s stunning waiata and haka was rounded off by the lifting of a hangi and the sharing of kai.  The success of the evening was a true team effort and my sincere thanks to everyone who made the evening so successful. Our Year 7 and 8 students had an exciting sports exchange with Kavanagh College on Tuesday.  The frosty morning was warmed by a passionate mihi whakatau that welcomed the Kavanagh teams to Taieri.  Eventually (after a couple of very chilly netball games), the sun poked through and students from both colleges enjoyed a range of good competitive encounters.  For the record Taieri won 12 encounters, drew 1 and lost 1.  My thanks to everyone who competed during the day. Finally a message from our local police concerning students driving vehicles on restricted licences.  Across Dunedin local police are getting anxious about the number of learner and restricted drivers who are breaching their licence conditions.  If you are a parent or caregiver of a young driver I would suggest it is timely to have a conversation around their driving habits. Noho ora mai Dave Hunter Principal