News Centre
Announcing our 2020 Head Students
I am delighted to announce that our Head Students for 2020 are Ana Kerrigan and Iisa Salie. These two outstanding students were presented with their badges at our first Principal’s assembly for the year.Hi! I’m Ana Kerrigan your Head Girl this year. I have a strong passion for Performing Arts, specifically Drama, so the schoo...
Jet Shand-Pease – A Selwyn Academic Super Star
We are thrilled to let our community know that our Year 11 student Jet Shand-Pease has just been notified that he has been accepted for the 5-day training camp in January to represent New Zealand in the international Mathematical Olympiad. He sat a 3 hour exam at the end of September and since then, he has been attending tutori...
Academic Success Celebrated at Senior Prizegiving
At last week’s 2019 Senior Prize-giving ceremony, academic success was both on show and celebrated by everyone in the packed Selwyn College Theatre. Guests Simon O’Connor, MP for Tamaki, Peter Pitcaithly, member of the Selwyn College Foundation Trust and son of the inaugural Principal of our school, and Board Chair Richard Ward, presented awards to our top Year 11 – 13 scholars in individual subject areas and across their year levels.Congratulations to all of our academic scholars this year, including those who received class awards for coming top in their class. A special congratulations to the following scholars who came top in their year levels.
2019 ERO Report
We have just received our confirmed report from the Education Review Office. ERO have introduced performance standards for the six aspects of a school that influence student outcomes. They use this to make a final overall judgement of a school’s performance selected from: Strong, Well placed, Developing or Needs developing.We are thrilled to let our community know that ERO have assessed Selwyn at the highest possible level – STRONG. In other words, Selwyn is SOARING! ERO have substantiated their overall judgement with an array of glowing statements about the purpose, life and soul of our school. They identify our ‘Key strengths’ as:· leadership that promotes positive connections and relationships that actively support equity and excellence for all learners · a positive school culture that responds to students’ needs, promotes their wellbeing and supports their learning success · a broad and relevant curriculum that allows students to access meaningful pathways · the strategic focus on building professional capability and capacity that promotes collaboration across the curriculum to help raise achievement These key strengths are developed more fully in the report. Quotes include:There is a common understanding and language of learning at the school. Leaders, teachers, trustees and students have collective ownership of learning. Effective processes to track and monitor student achievement and a collaborative inquiry process support shared understandings about students’ learning needs and progress.NCEA data show that most students achieve NCEA Levels 1, 2 and 3, and University Entrance (UE). Merit and Excellence endorsements in NCEA Levels 1 and 2 have increased over the last five years.The school’s inclusive learning culture helps all students participate and succeed in a breadth of learning experiences.School leaders are highly strategic and focused on future improvement. They promote a collaborative, respectful learning culture. Leaders build and maintain relational trust at every level of the school community.Students benefit from the school’s positive and inclusive culture. Respectful and affirming relationships between teachers and students are highly evident and create positive expectations for teaching and learning. This culture forms a solid foundation that motivates learners to participate, contribute and progress.Learning-centred relationships engage and involve the school community. Reciprocal communication between the school and its community supports and strengthens these relationships. Learning focused partnerships enable parents and whānau to contribute to the curriculum and school direction. Students’ engagement is increased through these partnerships.Effective pastoral care and learning support systems and processes help to nurture students’ wellbeing, increase their engagement and reduce barriers to learning. An extensive network of mentors, heads of houses, and counsellors provide comprehensive support for students.The board of trustees is strategically focused on promoting equity and excellence. Trustees work collaboratively with school leaders. A well-designed strategic plan supports progress towards a shared vision. Trustees are well informed about student achievement and school priorities. This information supports the board’s decision-making about resourcing, personnel and professional development.You can read the full version of our ERO report on our website www.selwyn.school.nz
A Magnificent Year 13 Graduation Dinner
Our Graduation Dinner for Year 13 students and their parents/caregiver was once again held at Eden Park – a magnificent venue for a magnificent celebration of this wonderful cohort. Guests enjoyed a delicious dinner along with the presentation of Graduation Certificates to each student, exceptional musical items from Emma Montgomery Sam Francks, Theo Luc Shakes and Neo Aiono-Fukushima & Hamish Brown, and impressive Graduation speeches delivered by Sydnee Krum, Flavius Suciu, Shyamal Singh, Caitlyn Harbrow, Hugh Roxburgh and Alicia Murgatroyd.Eight students were also presented with SELWISE trophies – one for each Learning Area – in recognition of the exceptional quality of their Learner Attributes.
Theo Luc Shakes is a Media Superstar!
We’re pleased to announce that our Year 13 student Theo Luc Shakes has been officially nominated in four categories at the recent 2019 All American High School Film Festival for his film ‘Bygones’. The categories are:Best Overall FilmBest DirectionBest DramaBest International FilmHollywood Director David Lowery (Pete’s Dragon, Ghost Story & Old Man with a Gun) describes ‘Bygones’ as ‘Terrific! The acting is great; the pace and imagery are just right. In short, I’m jealous - I wish I’d been as far ahead as you are when I was your age.'The festival receives over 2,000 films from more than 40 countries across the world and screened over 700 Official Selections at the festival. So it is a remarkable achievement for Theo at this stage of his career. We are extremely proud of him!