The government announced this week that they are making significant changes to the education system with the dismantling of NCEA. NCEA has been the predominant national assessment system for senior high school since 2002, but now it will be replaced by a foundation qualification in Year 11 (focusing on literacy and numeracy) and subject specific national qualifications at Years 12 and 13.

My sincere congratulations to the cast and crew of our 2025 College Production “School of Rock,” which played at the end of last week. It was outstanding entertainment that showcased the amazing talents we have in the Performing Arts across all year levels at the college. As well as natural talent, there was also an incredible amount of hard work and planning that took place.

We have enjoyed showing the college off to over 200 students and whānau over the past five days as part of our annual Taieri College Open Week. Our visitors have enjoyed watching the positive engagement between staff and students and exploring our excellent facilities. If there are whānau who weren’t able to make it during the week (especially given the frosty conditions!), they can contact our office and organise a tour at a time that suits.

We’re delighted to welcome back all our students, staff, families, and friends of Taieri College as Term 3 begins. I trust everyone had a restful break and is ready to get back into school routines. A special welcome to the families of new students who are beginning Taieri College this week, after shifting to Mosgiel during the holidays.

We extend our sincere congratulations to Sarah Evans (Year 13), who has been honoured as our 2025 tuakana (senior) Mana Pounamu recipient. Additionally, Cruize Douglas (Year 10) has been named the teina (junior) Mana Pounamu recipient. Both students are well deserving of these prestigious awards and will have them presented this afternoon at a function in Dunedin.

On Wednesday night, our Matariki Arts Showcase was a resounding success, thanks to our students' extraordinary performances. Musicians, actors, and dancers kept the good-sized audience thoroughly entertained over the course of almost 2 hours. The event was a true celebration of creativity and collaboration, reflecting the spirit of Matariki. A massive thank you to all the students who performed, as well as Toni Sutton and Brad Martin who promoted the initiative. A special mention to Nick Gazzard and his team for providing delicious kai at the mid-way point of the show.

One of our many talented school bands, “He Said She Said”, recently emerged victorious in the Tangata Beats section of Rockquest. As part of their prize, they got to participate in a full recording studio experience. Well done on this achievement and I am sure it will fuel the band's desire to go on to bigger and better success.

As we move further into the school year, it's important to remember the value of adopting a consistent approach to study and revision. NCEA is designed to reward those students who adopt regular study habits.

This week our Year 12 students had the significant opportunity to attend the Ryda programme. The Ryda programme is facilitated by Road Safety Education Limited (RSE) which is a not-for-profit and leading learning organisation operating throughout Australia and New Zealand.

Students across the college have been involved in a variety of differing activities during the week.

On Monday our Year 7 students explored a diverse number of sites across the greater Dunedin area as part of their Kaitiatikanga trips, where they experienced first-hand local efforts to protect the environment. Places included, Orokonui Sanctuary, Otago Peninsula and the Sinclair Wetlands.

Taieri College hosted the regional heats of Rockquest last weekend, and once again, our bands all performed with distinction. We had two bands (Scream and Freda Go) progress through to the regional finals, and also have Joe Smithies, who is in a composite band, progress through as well.

This week, our students across all year levels participated in presentations from “Attitude NZ.” Attitude has been delivering engaging, informative, inclusive, and inspiring presentations in New Zealand for over 25 years. They have collaborated with over 500 schools across New Zealand during this time.

I was privileged to be part of the rugby trip to Europe during the holidays and thoroughly enjoyed watching the boys play fixtures in London, Paris, St Marcellin, Turin, and Rome. The team won two and lost three, with all games played …

As we edge towards the first holiday break of 2025 we can reflect on a very busy first term. Our calendar has been strewn with camps, field trips, performing arts opportunities and sports exchanges. Providing co-curricular opportunities is a big part of what we do at Taieri College …

Lots of excitement is brewing as next Tuesday two groups of Taieri College students depart New Zealand for unique international adventures. Forty-eight students are travelling to Vietnam as part of a trip that will explore the rich, and at times tragic history of Vietnam.

Our first whānau hui of the year was held on Wednesday and it was pleasing to see a good turnout of parents and their rangatahi. The evening involved the introduction of Te Maio Tamati-Stirling (our Kaitiaki) to our whānau, presentations from Otago University, Otago Polytechnic and a speech from Darcy Sanderson. Darcy was a Year 13 student at Taieri College last year and is currently …

We are grateful to the parents and whānau who took the opportunity to come and talk with teachers during the week for our Parent-Teacher interviews. Whilst we use email as a regular contact with home, we still see it as being valuable to engage in a face-to-face conversation when we can.

On Thursday we held a special assembly to present our 2025 Year 9 scholarships. These awards recognise Year 9 students who have demonstrated outstanding ability in the arts, sports, or academic achievement. It was fantastic to see such a large group of parents and whānau in attendance and my thanks to those who joined us.

It was pleasing to see large numbers of students making the most of the excellent weather conditions that prevailed during our annual Athletics Day. After a false start on Wednesday due to heavy rain the previous night it was a relief to see blue skies on Thursday. Memorial Park is an excellent venue for …

My thanks to the staff and students for their company during the week at the second Year 10 Tautuku Outdoor Education Camp. Well done to those students who exited their comfort zone and tried some new and challenging activities.