Kia ora e te whānau,
As we reach the end of another busy and rewarding year, it has been wonderful to celebrate the outstanding successes of our students. Both our senior and junior prizegivings ran a little longer than usual, simply because there were so many special awards and scholarships to acknowledge. It is certainly a good problem to have.
This year has given us plenty to be proud of as a community. The recent Education Review Office report on “Phones Away for the Day” affirms much of what we have seen here at Kaiapoi High. Despite the inevitable challenges in implementing the legislated changes, staff, students, and whānau have strongly supported our approach. We are noticing the same benefits highlighted by ERO: stronger self-management (we do not collect or lock phones away), improved focus in class, almost a complete elimination of cyberbullying during school hours, and far greater social interaction during breaks. We will make a few tweaks to our processes in 2026, but, overall, we are confident that our approach aligns closely with what ERO has identified as best practice.
Also this term, ERO completed its full review of our school. While we eagerly await the finalised report, we are pleased to share some early feedback: praise for our achievement rates across both junior and senior levels, and a strong endorsement of student wellbeing. ERO noted that “Students state they feel safe at school, they value the support they receive, and they enjoy a wide range of learning and co-curricular opportunities.” We look forward to sharing the complete report with you once it is released.
Looking ahead, 2026 is shaping up to be an exciting year. We expect the largest roll in the school’s history, and it was a pleasure to welcome our incoming Year 9 students during last Monday’s Experience Day. A huge thank you to the dedicated team who organised the day, our 100+ peer support leaders, the awesome primary school staff, and all KHS staff involved.
Across the motu, schools are navigating change on a scale I have not seen before. I am deeply grateful to the Kaiapoi High School staff for their professionalism, care, and resilience, always ensuring that student wellbeing and learning remain at the centre of every decision. As noted in previous newsletters, despite this additional workload, we have several exciting improvements planned for 2026, all captured within our brand new strategic plan, which we look forward to sharing early next year. We are grateful to all students, staff, whānau, board and community members who have contributed to this project, aimed at making our awesome school even better.
This is our final newsletter for 2025. School begins again with senior course confirmation on 23 January, peer support leader training on 29 January, Year 9 Day on 30 January, and the first full school day on 2 February. More detailed start-of-year information will be emailed to whānau in the new year.
Finally, thank you for your support throughout 2025. We wish you a safe, restful, and refreshing summer break, and we look forward to welcoming everyone back in 2026.
Meri Kirihimete, hari Tau Hou, ā, kia pai te wā whakatā me te whakahou i ō koutou kaha. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and may you all enjoy a restful, re-energising break.
Jason Reid
