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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...

Term 2 start up

Teenaa koutou,  Dear Parents / Caregivers, I hope that you managed to get a good break over Easter and that your children are making the most of some downtime. Term 1 was very positive with events reinforcing the culture of the school and our house system, successful sports and arts results and academic progress and parent interviews. We are looking forward to Term 2 and the start-up of winter codes for sports, arts performances, matariki celebra...

Strike action and ChatGPT

Teenaa koutou,Dear Parents / Caregivers, It’s an unusual combination of items to share with you today: Strike action and Chat GPT. Strike Action While we are aware of the news items covering strike action, we are yet to receive official notice. We will confirm this as soon as we have been informed officially. We may be informed by the PPTA by as late at the 13th March if their members will strike on Thursday the 16th March. This delayed official announcement of strike action enables any chang...

Fundraising, Athletics Day and more

Kia ora e te whaanau, Good afternoon Parents / Caregivers,I want to start today by acknowledging the challenges that a lot of our community have experienced since Cyclone Gabrielle, especially to those of us connected to communities still affected in across the North Island. We have connections with Wairoa College and have reached out to offer them support. They are really struggling with many of their whaanau having lost everything. They have said that financial support at this time would be be...

Welcome to 2023

Teenaa koutou e te whaanaun o tatou kura,Dear Parents and Caregivers,Good afternoon everyone. Welcome back to school and the start of 2023! It has been great to see all of the students in today, sorting out their timetables, catching up with friends and getting their heads around being back at school. It seems to have taken a big effort from the students and the ones I caught up with are glad of the 3-day weekend to catch their breath.Over the past week we have enjoyed starting the school year i...

It's Summer Time

Teenaa koutou e te whaanau o te kura tuarua o Te Oko Horoi,Good afternoon to everyone in our CHS community, This is the final communication from me for 2022 and what a challenging year it has been. The scale of disruption has made this the most demanding of all of the COVID years and one of the most difficult years I have experienced in education. Looking back on the past 3 years, I am incredibly proud of how we have minimised the health risks to our community, supported each other and responde...

School Closures

Ata marie e te whaanau, Good morning everyone, Just a couple notice from us this morning about the disruption to CHS opening hours next week for a Paid Union Meeting and two Teacher Only Days. We have 3 days next week where the school is required to close early or be closed for the day. On 29th November the school will close at 12:10pm for a Paid Union Meeting. This is a contractual provision under the teachers’ employment agreement and is being used to discuss the most recent employment of...

Uniform shop, NCEA and Junior exam details

Kia ora e te whaanau, Good afternoon everyone, We have had a fantastic few weeks at CHS this term, celebrating the incredible success of our students with a range of prizegivings and final assemblies. Yesterday we held our final full school assembly where we announced our student leaders for 2023 and farewelled Deputy Principal, Mr McDonnell, as he retires at the end of the year. It was a fantastic assembly, and you are able to view it here on our YouTube channel. Today there are a few pieces...