Assembly speech Thursday 4th February

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 learning in the last week or so trying to get to know all of the staff, students and “how you do things around here” at Greymouth High School. My brain has definitely been hurting with all of the information, and I make mistakes, lots of mistakes, especially trying to learn where all of the rooms are around school!! But I keep on trying. I will know where everything is very soon (hopefully!)

So, I challenge you to make sure that you all try your best in and out of class - we all find some things harder than others, I obviously find getting around the school difficult, but do your best and challenge yourself to do a little bit better each time!

Respect - I expect that everyone should treat each other with respect and kindness. That includes treating all students at school with respect and kindness and all staff members with respect and kindness. If a staff member asks you to do something please make sure that you do it. I also acknowledge the role of mana whenua Ngati Waewae in setting the tikanga for our area and I thank them for supporting myself, our Senior leadership team, staff and students.


Also I would like to add that if someone is looking lost or lonely, including me, say hi, ask them if they need some help or whether they want to come and hang out with you

Community - I am very proud that we are a school that is open and accepting of lots of different people from different backgrounds. Our school is for everyone and everyone has the right to feel welcome, be safe, and be happy. We want everyone to feel that they belong at Grey High.

Hauora - wellbeing is key to a great life and great school. I am at heart a health teacher and I really believe this! You need to look after yourself in all the four areas of wellbeing - physical, mental, social and spiritual and we also need to not only look after ourselves but also look after our other students and staff as well. If you have any issues or concerns, they will probably link back to your wellbeing in some way.

So, if you have any questions, concerns, or problems find someone to talk to. Please do it while the problem is small so it is easier to sort it. There are so many people here to help you - you have your mentor teacher, your dean, our guidance counsellors, and anyone else you feel comfortable talking to. Sort things out early while they are still little problems!

I’ve already seen lots of examples of students and staff demonstrating our ARCH values and I am looking forward to seeing many more.

Finally, have a brilliant year, make sure you come and say hello and if I look a bit lost please point me in the right direction!