Mrs Mortimer's reflections at Grey High/Māwhera

Tēnā koutou katoa Nga mihi nui ki a koutou As we all know we are back at Level 2. We are so fortunate to be here in the West Coast! This week has been a good week in terms of “getting things done” at school but we are looking forward to week 6 and being back at Level 1. Thank you again for all your support with our young people and making sure that we all behave in responsible ways to keep us all safe. I am now reflecting on last week and the great things that happened since our last newsletter. On Thursday we held our first of the year whānau hui for all Ngā Here Kahikatea rangatahi. The whare was full to the brink! It was a fantastic experience and I was so proud of all the rangatahi and the progress they have made. A massive thank you to Kylie, Joe, Gordie and the other kaiako who are making this work well for our rangatahi. Also ka pai to those who made the kai! There are many exciting things happening in Ngā Here Kahikatea including a planned hangi and te reo classes on a Saturda...

Tēnā koutou katoa Nga mihi nui ki a koutou As I started writing this newsletter during the weekend I didn’t have to factor in any mention of COVID 19. However, now I do! Thank you to everyone who is supporting us at Grey High in keeping all of our rangatahi, whānau and community safe. We will update you as soon as we hear any news. It’s a good reminder to ask everyone to join our Facebook page and download the free school app - Go to the App Store on your Apple or Android device and Search "SchoolAppsNZ' then Search Greymouth High - and when you do, check then regularly. Life in Level 2 does for the most part continue as usual, obviously making sure we follow the Guidelines set by the Government. So back to talking about other things. Last week at Greymouth High School was a full and fun one. Our first congratulations is to our Greymouth High School representatives who competed in the Coast to Coast last week. Callum Brown completed the Mountain Run with an amazing time of 4 ...

Waitangi Day at Arahura Marae — Mrs Sam Mortimer, Ms Aleta Chowfin and Mr Deane Milne (back row) Mr Bernard Adams and Ms Ann Kieran (front row) Tēnā koutou katoa Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou katoa What another beautiful week on the Coast! The weather and the people have all been fantastically welcoming! Thank you to everyone who has introduced themselves to me and said hello! Some of you may have seen the article in the Grey Star about my first couple of weeks or so being “crazy busy”? Well that has been true! This term my goal is to meet with all of our teaching staff individually to really try to get to know them and find out what they are most proud of in terms of Grey High and what they are working on this year in terms of quality teaching for our students. It is heartening to talk to our teachers and attend meetings where there is real excitement around creating a fantastic learning environment for all of our rangatahi. Last week we put on a morning tea for our teacher aides, Annette...

Tena koutou Tena koutou Tena tatou katoa No Plymouth, England ahau Ko Mortimer te whanau Ko Samantha toku ingoa Ka nui te mihi kia koutou For some of you it will be your second or even third introduction from me. I am going to try really hard not to repeat myself too much! But some of it will be! Firstly, I am Mrs Mortimer and I am your new principal. I was previously at Te Aroha College in the Waikato and I loved working there and I am sure I will love working here. Secondly, I am still very happy after being here about 10 days to be the new principal at Greymouth High School - which is a good start! And the staff have continued to make me feel very welcome as well as the students I have met - so thanks to all of you. I thought in this assembly I would talk a little bit about the ARCH values and what they mean to me. Akoranga - learning is at the heart of what we do at school. It is about us working together and all of us learning from each other. I have had to do so much learn...

Samantha and her family in Franz Josef — Sam with her daughter Iona, husband Paul and daughter Yolanda by Sam Mortimer Tēnā koutou katoa Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou katoa It is my pleasure to write this first article as Principal of Greymouth High School. I hope that all of you managed to have fun and find some time to relax over the Christmas break. As I was appointed in early December I spent a lot of December organising my handover to various members of staff from my previous school, Te Aroha College. I also spent some time talking with Andy England and other members of the Senior Leadership team trying to ensure a smooth handover. In January myself and my family spent two weeks touring around the South Island. We even managed to come to Greymouth where I met up with some of my new colleagues, spent an hour or so at Grey High and an hour with Andy as he packed. We had fabulous weather on our trip around, including while we were in Greymouth, and we were told by many West Coasters that...