Kia ora tatou The Maatangi Whenua competition is open to schools who are members of the New Zealand Geographical Society.  Teams must consist of three Year 11 students who are currently studying Geography in a Year 11 course.  A variety of questions and challenges of a geographical nature are distributed and teams are given an allotted time to complete them.  This week Taieri College were crowned regional champions after an emphatic display where they won the competition by ten clear points.  My congratulations to Mackenzie Archer, Laura Bungard and Samantha Turner for their excellent performance. My thanks also to Mrs Caruthers for her valued input. Bandquest is a Music competition for bands (three to ten members) younger than Year 9, with everything performed live; no pre-recorded or mechanically performed instruments /vocals.  Bands get six minutes to perform and can join songs together in a medley or write and perform their own songs.  Good luck to our students who are performing at Bathgate School this evening.  They have practised extremely hard for this event and I sincerely hope their hard work produces a pleasing result.  Good luck and have fun. Students have been reminded this week of the protocol of cell phone use during class time.  There will be times when cell phones may be used in class to browse the web, or to use applications as part of the learning process. These occasions will be well signposted by teachers and students will be able to use their phones accordingly.  However, what is not accepted is indiscriminate use of cell phones during class time, particularly the use of social media.  Our school rules around cell phone use are very clear.  Should a student be caught using their cell phone without permission during class time then the teacher will confiscate it and it will be stored in our office safe. Parents are then required to call in and collect the cell phone during which time a conversation will be held with a member of our Senior Leadership Team.  Cell phones can be very useful learning tools, but they can also be great sources of distraction.  Our intention is to educate our students into acceptable use of cell phones. Good luck to our senior students who begin their practice examinations next week. I wish them all the success they deserve. Noho ora mai Dave Hunter