19 May Mike Baugh, Deputy Principal of Operations
Kia ora koutou,
Today is Pink Shirt Day and all week we have worked in Ako to raise awareness about how to prevent and how to respond to bullying in schools. In my Ako group students chose a sticker to wear to promote the message, with many choosing to do so on their ties or blazers. During the week we have discussed recognising what bullying is and the importance of advocating for yourself, as well as being an upstander so you can support others when you recognise bullying. We have also talked about the importance of seeking support by confiding in your peers and older people you trust, such as parents and teachers.
Winter sport is well underway across many codes. I have seen some of our 18 netball teams so far at Hagley on a Saturday and look forward to seeing more as the season progresses. (Senior B netball pictured below)
Mrs Cassidy and I enjoyed supporting The Senior A basketball team on Tuesday evening (pictured below). They have been promoted to Division One of the schools competition this year and are doing themselves proud competing against tough opposition. It was impressive to see how hard they fought against Kaiapoi this week, with 3 of the 4 quarters being very evenly balanced in terms of scores.
Friday night basketball is also underway with Villa teams competing throughout the afternoon and evening at Villa and other venues. I enjoyed sitting on the bench with this enthusiastic Villa Y11 team. They were having a lot of fun while playing great basketball and went on to have a big win.
On Monday morning during the first part of Period One, the emergency alarms were triggered resulting in the College evacuating to the front field. With steady rain falling, tarpaulins were quickly distributed to students who stayed huddled underneath until we were cleared to return to class. Students and staff followed all procedures efficiently, and while this was not a planned drill it is always useful to be able to test our systems. One teacher was heard to remark that she was never wearing her Italian leather boots to work again!
This week our Head of Physical Education has gone from sea kayaking at Cass Bay on Tuesday, accompanying a small group of our students led by ARA instructors, to leading a group of Year 12 PE students and staff on a tramp to Woolshed Hut on Thursday and Friday. These outdoor education EOTC opportunities only happen with significant planning, including thorough analysis of risks and mitigations.
Students were reminded at recent Assemblies that they are never to run across Yaldhurst Road, or any other road. They were told of a recent incident involving three of our students. The first student ran across Yaldhurst Rd which is two-laned on each side. The second student was driving her vehicle left out of Brodie St onto Yaldhurst Rd. She braked to avoid the student running across the road, and was then rear-ended by the student in the car behind. Luckily in this instance, there were no injuries and only superficial damage to the vehicles. We don’t want a next time – please talk with your daughters about only ever crossing at controlled intersections.
Ngā mihi
Mr Baugh
Deputy Principal, Operations
Villa Maria College