2021 Term 2, Week 6,










by Emily Westacott


From the principal: 2021 Week 6, Term 2

MRS SAMANTHA MORTIMER — JUN 11, 2021



Tēnā koutou katoa

Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou

Welcome to Term 2 week 6.

Support staff week 2021 - 8th - 11th June

This week is support staff week. I would like to thank, on behalf of our teachers, all of our support staff for the amazing things they do for our school! I know that I couldn't do my job without their "support"! They keep our school running smoothly. You name it, they do it, often behind the scenes. From sorting the finances, doing the admin, looking after our students, teachers and whaanau, running the library, technician support, fixing things, making the grounds look great, cleaning, I have to add organising my life, and I could go on and on!

We have morning tea arranged for next week and I'm very much looking forward to catching up with them all. Thanks to our volunteer teachers who are doing their jobs during the break so our support staff can enjoy their morning tea in peace!!

Dr Ashely Bloomfield

At the SPANZ (Secondary Principals Association New Zealand) conference last week in Blenheim the highlight for me was listening to Dr Ashley Bloomfield speaking to us via zoom. The zoom part was a bit disappointing but that was ok! He talked about what he had learnt about leadership in the past year or so and his ideas really resonated with me. In briefing on Friday morning I passed on my thoughts to our staff.

As leaders in school, myself and our senior leadership team, but also our teachers as leaders in their classrooms, need to continue to develop the following areas:


Kindness - being kind to ourselves and others


Humility - being prepared to say that if we don't know, taking ownership when we have done something wrong and knowing that it is ok to change our minds when we find out new information


Compassion - remembering that behind every situation there is a person and their whānau


Failure - the only failure is if we don't openly review what we do and adjust our practice from there if needed


Being positive and our best selves

Angus and Sonja McFarlane

On 2nd July we have a staff only day with Angus and Sonja McFarlane on “Culturally Responsive Learning and Teaching: A Promise for Schooling”. We will be looking at The culturally responsive classroom, Putting theory into practice and creating a A Framework for Action.

I was very pleased to read that Professor Angus Macfarlane was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the Queen’s Birthday honours for his services to education, psychology and Māori. Congratulations! Have a look at the article below for more information.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/pou-tiaki/300323021/queens-birthday-honours-professor-angus-macfarlane-a-role-model-for-rangatahi

Blue Light Bootcamp

Finally this week I just want to highlight the Blue Light Bootcamp which started in week 4 and continues for 7 week. We want to say thanks to a number of people.


  • personal trainer Marty Greaney
  • the Westland Recreation Centre
  • Mr Rowan Haigh, Mrs Alex Gillam 
  • and Tracey Wratt, Paul Gurney and other Police officers

The Blue Light Bootcamp objectives are to:

  • Expose students to a range of fitness activities and skills.
  • Improve overall fitness and well-being (healthy body, healthy mind).
  • Expose students to nutrition information so they can make informed lifestyle choices.
  • Improve the relationship between young people, their families, the Community and the Police.
  • Introduce young people to support systems that will help them develop positive personal, teamwork and social skills.
  • Expose students to situations that require goal setting, self-discipline and perseverance.
  • Improve student’s confidence in themselves and their bodies

We are looking forward to catching up with everyone and celebrating their successes.

Article in the NZEALS journal

I had an article published in the NZEALS (NZ Education Administration and Leadership Society) journal this week about my journey to becoming principal at Greymouth High School and the first term or so. It’s an easy read and says lots of good things about Grey High so have a look!

https://nzeals.org.nz/ll-article/leaders-in-action-2/

“Whāea te iti kahurangi - strive for success”

Ngā mihi nui

Samantha Mortimer

Principal

https://mrsmortimerreflectionsatgreyhigh.blogspot.com/





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2021, Term 4, week 5

Image
Year 13 Prize Giving speech, by Principal Samantha Mortimer MRS SAMANTHA MORTIMER — NOV 17, 2021 Tēnā koutou katoa Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou Well 2021 - that was a whirlwind! I have loved my first year as Principal here at Grey High and cannot thank the whole community enough for making me feel so welcome on the coast. I am sad that our whānau can’t be with us in person today but hopefully technology will enable you to feel a little bit like you are! Rangatahi/students Firstly, I need to talk about you, our amazing rangatahi. You have blown me away with your kindness, respect and the ability to get on with things. Demonstrating our ARCH values of Akoranga Respect Community and Hauora And this is something that we should all strive to do. Do we all get everything right? No, but I am very proud of how you have all developed and grown this year even when things were tough. I’ve not only loved seeing you around school but also in the sporting arena, on the stage and at various school event
Read more

2021 Week 1, Term 1

Image
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
Read more

2021 Week 4, Term 1

Image
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
Read more