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Finishing Term 1 and key things for Term 2

Dear Parents/Caregivers and Students,Teenaa koutou,I hope that everyone had a great Easter break and took some time to enjoy what feels like the last of the golden weather. There are a few important items to bring your attention to in the last weeks of this term and in looking ahead to the start of Term 2.- Crazy hair day – last day of term- School production – For Today- Cell phone procedure- Uniform policy update- SchoolTV and extra resources- Ka pai @ Cam HighFor future reference, we aim ...

Home Stretch for Term 1

Kia ora koutou, Good morning everyone, In today’s communication:· Parent evenings and a welcome to visit S Block· Summer tournament week· Sports and Arts success· Uniform and cell phone reminder· How to Realise Your Potential and the importance of attendance and upcoming assessmentsJust a reminder that all of our communications and coming events are stored on the school website https://www.camhigh.school.nz/communications-and-coming-events/. Have a great weekend everyone. Ngaa m...

Underway with the first 5-day week

Kia ora e te whaanau,Dear Parents/Caregivers and Students,There is a lot happening on campus and it is great to see the energy our staff and students are bringing to make so many opportunities open to the students at CHS. Today, I want to share with you some of the major upcoming events (attached) so that you can put them into the family calendar.Taima Koorero – Time to talkNCEA overview evening (targeting Y10 and 11)Athletics and House DaySchoolTVNgaa mihi Greg ThorntonPrincipalCambridge...

Welcome to CHS

Kia ora e te whaanau, Dear Parents / Caregivers, Welcome back everyone and an especially warm welcome to the new members of our Cambridge High School community. We held a wonderful poowhiri today for all new staff and students to CHS. A particular highlight for me was our staff and senior student leaders joining together to perform the haka poowhiri for our incoming whaanau. We then followed this up with connecting the new students with the key people for them this year (their student leaders an...

Winding Up 2023

Teenaa koutou,Dear Parents/Caregivers, and StudentsIt is the first of de ember, the sun is shining, and we have finished the last of the NCEA exams this week – summer is definitely on its way!  Before then, however, we have some great things to cover with our students: 4-5 DecemberThese are normal school days, with ongoing learning in classes.  Our Junior Executive have done a great job this week of running activities for students.  This week, Monday is a scavenger hun...

Senior Prizegiving 2023 - recording now available

Kia ora e te whaanau,Dear Parents / Caregivers,Congratulations to all of our prize winners, performers and student leaders. Our senior prizegiving was a wonderful night of celebration and a great showcase of the talented students we have at Cambridge High School.For those of you that couldn’t make it or have friends and family who would like to see the moment your child shines, have edited the footage and stored the video on our YouTube channel. Here is the link.I want to thank the following p...

Prizegiving season and other news

Kia ora e te whaanau, Good afternoon Parents/Caregivers, I am writing to you from the middle of our prizegiving season, with our Maaori celebration, Sports Awards and Arts Awards evenings this week. Next week we will have the final assembly (during period 2), senior prizegiving on Tuesday and Year 13 graduation ceremony on Wednesday. It really is a wonderful time of the year when we can acknowledge the incredible success of our students and the hard work of CHS staff and our community in providi...

Wrapping up Term 3

Kia ora koutou,We have arrived at the end of Term 3. Spring is in the air, senior students are back on site and Spirit week is going really well. I hope that our senior students have received valuable feedback after their exams and are well-positioned to finish their portfolio and practical work. They now have a good opportunity to work on that feedback and prepare for a strong finish to the year in Term 4. I hope that you can also manage some downtime as a family over the next couple of weeks a...

Tournament week success, prizegivings and assessment week

Teenaa koutou e te whaanau, Dear Parents / Caregivers,What a great week we had last week with the winter tournament week. Students representing CHS and our community incredibly well across the country, both on and off the field. I was fortunate to be able to join the girls hockey team, boys 1st XI football (both in Auckland) and the boys hockey team in Wellington. We can be incredibly proud of our students’ achievements and their behaviour across the week. I also want to take this opportunity ...

Term 3 - Mid-way Point

We are now halfway through Term 3 with only a short period of time before we host the end of year celebrations and senior students leave for their NCEA external examinations. There is a lot happening around here that I wanted to update you on in this communication.Term 3 outlineStudy resourcesProperty updateUniform successAlumni international cycling successRegardsGreg Thornton...

Welcome Back to Term 3

Nau mai, hoki mai. Welcome back everyone. I hope that you enjoyed a good break and managed some time out.A few things to bring to your attention today, as we look forward to the busy term ahead.Major events for Term 3Uniform updateIndustrial action updateNgaa mihiGreg ThorntonPrincipal...

Uniform expectations update and survey reminder

Teenaa koutou, Dear Parents / Caregivers,Uniform reminder and feedback opportunity for CHS uniform reviewWe have been warning students this term about wearing their uniform correctly and it is looking really good out there. For the warning we have been confiscating items or putting students into loan items. Next term, we will confiscate the items and issue detentions to students who continue to wear incorrect uniform items, as it becomes an issue of disobedience. Please see the attached flowchar...

Paid Union Meeting details for Wednesday

Good morning everyone, Morena ki a koutou, This is just a reminder that Cambridge High School will close early on Wednesday to provide staff with sufficient time to attend a Paid Union Meeting. This meeting is a legal provision and an important meeting to hold in the current phase of negotiations. So that you are aware, we have amended our bell times slightly here, compressing lessons and break times to get as many classes as possible completed before school closes. The following is the outline ...

All industrial action cancelled

Good evening parents/ caregivers I have received confirmation that the PPTA have withdrawn the planned industrial action.This means all students are expected in school tomorrow Thursday 22nd of June and for the remainder of the term. It is a very positive move and I wish both parties all the best in reaching an agreement with the assistance of arbitration.I look forward to seeing a full school again in the morning.Kind regardsGreg Thornton ...

End of Term 2 Update

Teenaa koutou, Good afternoon Parents / Caregivers,I wanted to outline what the remainder of the term looks like as there are a few events which will cause disruption, on top of the current rostering home. As background to this, we have gone through our calendar of events and pulled back on all non-essential trips. It is very important for us to take the steps we can to maximise the class time for students when they are onsite.However, we need to proceed with key events and the following provide...

Uniform expectations and feedback opportunity

Good afternoon, Kia ora koutou,In this email today we are outlining the expectations around our winter uniform, and the steps that we are taking this term and next to reinforce these expectations.We are also working with the CHS Board to review our uniform and are asking for your perspective on uniform in this form.Ngaa mihiGreg ThorntonPrincipal...

PPTA Contract and Further Industrial Action

Morena ki a koutou, Good morning everyone, We have received official notification this morning from the PPTA of the outcome from nationwide voting on the offer from the Ministry of Education. The members have rejected the offer.The industrial action that will impact our community is the rostering home of students. The following are the details for the remainder of the term:Week 8 (12-16 June)Monday - Year 11 and 12Tuesday - Year 9 and 13Wednesday - Year 10 and 11Thursday - Year 12 and 13Week 9 (...

Update on industrial action for Week 7

Good afternoon Parents / Caregivers,Teenaa koutou,As you are aware, industrial action resumed on Wednesday, as parties were unable to reach an agreement. This means that the following action is planned for Week 7 (next week). Year 10 - Rostered Home - Tuesday 6 JuneYear 9 - Rostered Home - Thursday 8 JunePPTA are currently holding discussions nationally about the next steps, and we will update you as soon as we receive official notification about any planned action.I hope that you enjoy the...

Industrial action to resume

Morena,Good morning,We have been informed this morning that industrial action will resume as no agreement has been reached on the latest offer from the Ministry of Education. This means that Year 12 students will be rostered home tomorrow.We will update you at the end of this week with any further news and the outline for next week.Kind regardsNgaa mihiGreg ThorntonPrincipal...

Update on industrial action

Teenaa koutou, Dear Parents / Caregivers,I am writing to update you on the planned industrial action. We have not received any official update on the current offer and a subsequent response from PPTA. The suspension of industrial action will remain in place until midnight on Tuesday 30 May.After this there are two possible outcomes.The suspension of industrial action is extended.The industrial action is resumed. If this is the case, we will need to roster home our Year 12 students on Thursd...

Measles information

Morena e te whaanauGood morning Parents / Caregivers,Following on from the recent outbreak of measles in Auckland, the Ministry of Education has shared this information with us. Please have a read and look at the immunisation status of you and your whaanau.I have been in touch with the Principal in the Auckland school and the response they took worked very well, ensuring the safety of their community.Ngaa mihi Greg ThorntonPrincipal...

Suspension of planned industrial action

Morena e te whaanau,Good morning Parents / Caregivers, I am pleased to announce that all planned industrial action has been suspended until midnight on the 30th May. This is a very positive step from the PPTA to allow the Ministry of Education to work with urgency to explore options for revised offers. Specifically, this means that there will be no rostering home or strike action until the 30th May. It has been suspended and not cancelled because, if there is a lack of progress or subs...

Term 2 Underway

Teenaa koutou, Dear Parents / Caregivers,Term 2 is well and truly underway with our winter codes starting their seasons, the cross country held under cobalt blue skies (as unlikely as that is), assessments being completed, and we have even poured the concrete of the first floor on our new building.Firstly, today I want to start by acknowledging the tragedy in the Abbey Caves. My sympathy goes out to the Whangaarei community reeling from the tragic loss of life.The following items are in today’...

Strike Confirmation - Thursday 11 May

Teenaa koutou,Dear Parents / CaregiversWe have received confirmation that the planned Strike Action that will take place on Thursday 11th May. That means that the disruption this week is as follows:Tuesday 9th May – Year 12 rostered home.Thursday 11th May – Regional strike action. CHS will be closed for instruction to all students. The mediated negotiations have shown promise. I hope the government are getting closer to providing an offer that recognises the incredible effort and skill that ...

Term 2 Industrial action update

Teenaa koutou, Dear Parents / Caregivers,I am writing to you to remind you of the planned industrial action that will impact the operations of CHS this term. I am grateful for the hard work and the positive impact that our teachers have on the students in our community, and I am hopeful that the government will also recognise this with a significantly improved offer.You are probably aware of the involvement of the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) in assisting with negotiations. This may resu...