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10 Tuesday <strong>May</strong> <strong>23</strong> <strong>2017</strong><br />
Latest Christchurch news at www. .kiwi<br />
PEGASUS POST<br />
Mairehau<br />
high School<br />
Encouraging ExcEllEncE in our community<br />
The<br />
Principal’s<br />
Desk<br />
Kia ora and welcome to all readers.<br />
Harry romana, Principal<br />
in upcoming weeks, parents with Year 8<br />
students will be making some big decisions regarding their child’s secondary<br />
schooling, and which school is the best fit for them.<br />
This issue has garnered a lot of media attention of late, provoking much<br />
thought and debate in the process. recent articles in “The Press” have<br />
highlighted the issues of students travelling long distances to get to school,<br />
with many enrolling in secondary schools far outside their local area.<br />
There is a long embedded cultural perception by christchurch parents about<br />
the choice and perception of the school. in social situations often a question<br />
is, “What school did you attend?” There will often be a perceived social status<br />
attached, which may or may not bear any reality to what is actually going on<br />
inside the school.<br />
The introduction of the government’s ‘Tomorrow’s Schools’ policy in 1989 has<br />
led to a highly- competitive school enrolment environment in every major<br />
region of our nation. Sadly, this has created perceptions of ‘have and have<br />
not schools’; this is an unhealthy and untenable situation. a school should<br />
be the heart of a community. after all, it is our schools which provide the<br />
leaders, innovators, and creators of the future.<br />
Some students do not enter our school house; they walk by our gates and<br />
attend the local single sex school or integrated school down the road. i have<br />
no issue with this. Parents have a right to make this choice. i am however<br />
very concerned when parents choose to bypass all the many excellent local<br />
schools in their area to send their child to a school across the city: the great<br />
east vs. West divide. What is this saying about all of our local schools? We are<br />
a group of primary and secondary schools which can match or better the<br />
education outcomes of students in any region of our country.<br />
Ki O Rahi<br />
Ki o rahi is a traditional Maori ball game that has been played for centuries, and<br />
familiar to the Maori Battalion. The game is similar to, or a combination of, touch,<br />
netball and rugby with two teams both defending and attacking simultaneously.<br />
Thanks to our haoura council (student health and wellbeing committee), Mairehau<br />
high School now has the only Ki o rahi field of its kind in the South island.<br />
Ki o rahi is played with a small round ball called ki. For the creation of this field,<br />
native grasses and a rock were sourced from the canterbury Plains, as this is the<br />
land of Ngai Tahu. a school and community working bee was organised to plant<br />
the grasses, and the team had their mathematic skills tested with the concentric<br />
circles and plant placement – but it was worth it – the field looks amazing.<br />
The field was officially opened by our Principal, Mr romana, and Whaea Dayna<br />
Napa on the 7th april <strong>2017</strong>. after the ceremony, the last grass was symbolically<br />
planted into the ground, and the first official game of Ki o rahi - with the Year 13<br />
Pe class taking on the Toa Sport Team, from ara institute of canterbury.<br />
We are now looking to make some stone Pou - stakes or symbols that represent the<br />
7 stars of Matariki which signal the beginning of the Māori New Year. These Pou will<br />
represent our Waka (houses). The next step of the total field rejuvenation project,<br />
is the planning of fitness stations. a big shout out to the haoura council who did<br />
tremendous work to make this happen.<br />
(Written by hauora council members Kyla Dench (Year 10 Dean) and Jackson Smith<br />
(Year 13 student)<br />
a wide range of skills will be learnt and improved while playing Ki o rahi such as<br />
side stepping, one and two handed accurate passing and catching, flag ripping<br />
skills, jump shots and accurate shooting/throwing, and blocking.<br />
roy Drew was a Year 13 student in 2016. he was awarded the top athlete at the<br />
2016 canterbury inter school competition in Ki o rahi run by Toa sports.<br />
Ki o rahi is an incredibly fast and exciting game to play and watch and is bound to<br />
catch on quickly with people of all ages.<br />
The schools in the east are fantastic. check out our education review office<br />
(ero) reports and our Ncea reports, visit the schools and talk to principals.<br />
enter through our school gates and find out more about your local school,<br />
and make an informed decision.<br />
Why would you consider enrolling your child in Mairehau high School?<br />
The simple answer to this question is: the teachers in our school house are<br />
committed, passionate, and dedicated. We are a small school with a caring,<br />
community feel. We will get to know your child well, and work with you<br />
as a parent to ensure positive and enriching learning experiences for your<br />
child. We pride ourselves on our innovative and caring staff, and we value<br />
individuality and difference,<br />
Find out more about Mairehau high School, your community school. come<br />
and see us and attend our open evening on the <strong>23</strong>rd <strong>May</strong>. We would love to<br />
see you there.<br />
Harry Romana<br />
Principal<br />
Mairehau High School, Hills Road, Christchurch P. 385 3145 F. 385 3143 admin@mairehau.school.nz www.mairehau.school.nz
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