Middle of Term 1 Newsletter - 10 March 2025

Tēnā koe

It has been an eventful and productive first half of the term. Students are settled into routines and are engaged in their learning. Last week we celebrated the academic success of our students in NCEA last year with the presentation of Merit and Excellence Endorsement badges at Year 12 and Year 13 assemblies. It was wonderful celebrating the success of our 2024 New Zealand Scholarship winners at a special assembly and morning tea last month. We enjoyed meeting whānau for the valuable Parent-Teacher-Student meetings to discuss ways that we can best support your children to be successful here at Northcote College.

Education outside the classroom offers rich experiences, and there have been a number of different trips for our young people. Noho marae was a positive week with Te Whānau o Te Kākano staying at Umupuia Marae and building relationships with Ngai Tai ki Tamaki. We are excited by the hearty kapa haka practices ahead of Polyfest in April. There was an adventurous Silver Duke of Edinburgh tramp through Whirinaki Te Pua-a-Tāne Conservation Park. We are currently hosting a group of 30 students from Shinagawa High School in Tokyo. We wish our Year 13 students the best for their camp at Shakespear Regional Park, Whangaparāoa later this week.

Our Swimming and Athletic Sports were enormously successful. There were a number of track and field records broken, some dating back as far as 1975. Congratulations to our Swimming and Athletic Champions and to all who entered events. The summer sports season is well underway with record numbers of participants, and there are trials underway for the winter sports season. We also have a great number of students across all cohorts on our Student Council. Online Maths evenings have begun for students in Years 9-11. Music, drama and dance groups are rehearsing, and debating, chess and EPro8 groups are also active along with a range of other fun clubs. You can always follow the latest news on our website and on our facebook and instagram pages.

With so many ways to get involved in the wider life of the school, students are encouraged to keep checking the school notices through the Parent Portal. Another reminder that we have a new look Parent Portal; you can use the link on our school website or use this link: https://northcote.school.kiwi/ The old URL is no longer active, so please update your bookmark. The School App is no longer available. You can report absences once logged into the Parent Portal or by emailing attendance@northcote.school.nz

Guidelines for acceptable use of Gen AI

Generative AI technology is evolving rapidly and is increasingly accessible. It offers opportunities for enhancing and supporting teachers and students when used responsibly. We need to balance the opportunities and the risk. Students, teachers and the school community need to understand the parameters for GenAI use in learning and assessment. We promoted academic integrity in assemblies last week, and we have (with guidance from the Ministry of Education, Netsafe, NZQA, and Safer Technologies 4 Schools) created a Student Charter on the acceptable use of Gen AI: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Hb-Qv4jNuk91l0bemEcKdj5JYxdeURDj/view?usp=sharing

Northcote College Work Experience Programme

Are you (or someone you know) able to host a student/s for work experience? Students work as unpaid interns for one day each week, ideally for 5 - 10 weeks. This initiative is funded by the Tertiary Education Commission and provides a gateway for senior students to experience work opportunities. We would welcome the opportunity to discuss this further. Please contact Fiona Mackenzie, our Gateway Coordinator at careers@northcote.school.nz for more information.

Flexible Learning Day: Friday 21 March

The Flexible Learning Day is intended to provide an opportunity for students to continue to work towards completion of learning and assessment tasks without timetable constraints. On these days the school will remain open. While timetabled classes will not run, teachers will be available to students between 9am and 11am and again between 1.30pm and 3.30pm. Students have the choice between working independently at home or coming to school to engage with teachers, use wifi facilities and other resources, and to work on projects and assessments. Some subjects will offer workshops or NCEA assessments in these time slots. Details are available from subject teachers. The rest of the time teachers will be engaged in professional learning activities.

School donations and Kindo payments

We are grateful to families who pay the school donation; without these payments we would not be able to offer the variety of learning opportunities our students currently enjoy. All payments to Northcote College can be made in one place with your myKindo account. https://www.northcote.school.nz/our-school/kindo-payments

Uniform Guidelines

Thank you for encouraging your child to wear the Northcote College uniform correctly and with pride at school, to and from school, and at all school functions. Unfortunately, this settled weather cannot last, and if you have not yet done so, you may wish to purchase the school jacket with hood ahead of the rain that autumn inevitably brings. The jacket and all uniform items are available at Yarnton’s in Birkenhead: https://www.yarntons.co.nz/school/northcote-college/g29.aspx

Stay in touch

Thank you for your support of our school. We encourage you to stay in contact; if you have any queries, please contact your child’s Dean in the first instance.

Ngā mihi manahau

Vicki Barrie

Tumuaki | Principal

Key Dates for second half of Term 1 2025

Week 6

Wednesday 12 - Friday 14 March: Year 13 Camp

Week 7

Friday 21 March: Flexible Learning Day

Week 8

Monday 24 March: Timetable Day 2

Week 9

Friday 4 April: School Cross Country

Week 10

Friday 11 April: Progress Reports published on Parent Portal. Last day of Term 1

Term 2 begins on Monday 28 April, Timetable Day 5