10 May 2024
Kia ora Parents/Guardians
Our second term has started well and it was nice to see our students back again. I would like to extend a very warm welcome to our new students that have joined us this term.
PPTA Union meeting – this Monday, 13 May, 2024
The Post Primary Teachers Association (PPTA) advises that teachers will exercise their right to attend a Paid Union Meeting on the afternoon of Monday, 13 May 2024. Students will be released from class at 12:30pm; the school will remain open to supervise any students unable to go home. Should you require your learner to remain at school for the afternoon, please email: attendance@cloud.garincollege.ac.nz or phone the college: 03 543 9488. Students remaining at school are to meet after lunch, 1.30pm in the Gym. Please refer to bus information for the day at the end of this letter.
Congratulations to:
- Hector McNeilly for competing at the Hyundai Archery World Cup Stage One competition for Archery in Shanghai recently. During qualification, he shot well and seeded 24th in the mens compound. Exceeding the cutoff, he went into the first 1/64 individual match play round against an opponent from Mexico (ranked top 50 in the world). Then in the 1/32 round he shot against an opponent from Austria (ranked top 10 in the world), tying score they went into a single arrow shot off which Hector lost. (+- an inch between the arrows). The archer from Austria then went on to win that stage. Overall, Hector ended up with an event ranking of 17= or top 20 and a world ranking of 290… Well done!
Tait Francis, a former Garin College student, received a New Zealand Space Agency scholarship and internship to NASA this week at Government House in Wellington. Read this interesting news item re his internship here. Best wishes Tait.
We have three important school system reminders that we would like to emphasise today:
- Uniform
- Attendance
- Our continued phone ‘Away for the Day’ reminders
Uniform
We take pride in our uniform and our students look outstanding when it is worn well. It creates a sense of belonging and unity amongst our students, fostering a shared identity. A reminder that students wear winter uniform in terms 2 and 3 :
Seniors – long pants or a skirt, a tie, their blazer and a black vest or jersey. A puffer jacket or school jacket is only to be worn over the blazer if there is a need for extra layers due to inclement weather.
Junior students – uniform is much the same as their summer uniform, however, they must have their blue jersey underneath their puffer jacket or school jacket. The jacket is not a replacement for this if they are cold.
Attendance
Garin College is committed to ensuring that all of our ākonga get the most out of their education, and wants to support our students to maintain regular attendance.
Ākonga who attend school regularly learn more and achieve better results. Education Counts is a Ministry website and they state that attendance is linked to both student wellbeing and to attainment. Student wellbeing is a key priority of the education system. Our education insights studies confirm that attending school regularly predicts the best outcomes for wellbeing on average. The Ministry of Education is taking improvement in regular attendance very seriously.
As whānau you have an important role in ensuring that your child attends school whenever it is open, unless there is a good reason for an absence. Acceptable reasons for absence include sickness or serious family circumstances, such as bereavement.
It’s also important that you inform the school office before your child has an absence or appointment during the school day – thank you for your attention to this: attendance@garincollege.nz or phone 03 543 9488/1.
At Garin College we will continue to monitor absences. We are putting in place a stronger procedure to keep you informed of your student’s attendance. Please know that we are wanting to work with you and there may be times that our information and data gathering requires us to contact you.
Phone Away for the Day Expectations
We would like to congratulate our students on adjusting to the ‘Phone Away for the Day’ Expectations. Just a reminder that phones need to be in a student’s bag the entire school day, including break times. If students phones are out of their bag without permission, they will be asked to take them to the school office. For their first breach of the rule students may pick up their phone at the end of the day. Subsequent breaches of the rule will require parents to collect the phone from the school office.
We’re aware that students not having phone access during the school day is a challenge for parents needing to communicate with their child. Please understand that the School Office Staff are not responsible for the passing on and the delivery of every parent to child message requested throughout the day. With over 650 students, due to the sheer quantity of requests, this is not a service we can reliably provide. Please consider the following modes of communication with your learner.
- As a BYOD school, students regularly use their laptop throughout the day, email your child with a message
- Send a TEXT message or email that your child may read on their phone before school starts and after school ends
- Make arrangements with your child before that school day – your child could call, TXT or email after school
Urgent / crisis communications – where there is a need to contact the office to relay an urgent message or if there is a crisis that needs immediate attention, please do contact the School Office; when we are made aware of such a situation, this will be treated in confidence and managed carefully and professionally. We thank you for your support in these matters.
Scholarships 2025
I wish to remind parents of the opportunity to apply for Twinkle scholarships in Catholic Character, Academic, Arts & Performing Arts and Sport. We also have available Garin Financial and Hostel & Financial Boarding scholarships for those families that need some help financially in 2025. Visit Garin College Website for more information on Scholarship packs. Applications for Scholarships close on 6 September 2024.
Please keep an eye on our Garin College Calendar for school events throughout the term (select Calendar on the top ribbon of the Garin website).
Club Garin funding applications now require submitting one week prior to the next scheduled Club Garin meeting. Applications received after 4 June will be considered at the following meeting. Check this link for funding application and information.
Ngā manaakitanga
Jeremy Marshall
Acting Principal
Bus information for PUM – Monday 13 May:
The Garin Express will leave at 12:35pm.
Tasman Bay Christian Trust Bus will leave Garin at 1pm.
NELSON COACHLINES
As both Waimea College and Garin College are finishing at lunchtime, the following routes will run early:
12.35pm from Garin to connect with other buses at Waimea College
D100433
12.45pm from Waimea College
D100401
D100402
D100419
D100421
D100422
D100430
D100431
D100433
Note: All other routes will be departing at their usual time as they also transport students from primary schools.