Ngaruawahia High School Yearbooks 2010-2012 Ngaruawahia High School Yearbook 2011 | Page 5

Community House, Turangawaewae Marae
and Turangawaewae House.
Without this degree of support the
school would be much the poorer – both
figuratively and literally
?To the Board of Trustees for their unstinting
moral support and guidance – Elaine you have
had to endure much this year with the loss of
your mother so recently
?Senior leadership team, Chris, Tania and
Kimai, for your support, strength,
vision and determination to lead the
school this year
?To the staff for their hard work
and determination to ensure
students succeed despite
themselves
?Last but not least, to our
Whanau and families who
continue to support the
school by being here –
we cannot do our jobs
without you

Staff Farewells
Unfortunately
I
must
announce
the
departure of Whaea Tiria
Te Kurapa from our school.
Tiria will be taking up a
new position as Head of
Science in a brand new
school near Ruakura later
this year. She is currently
an assistant Head of
Science and is famous in
the school for her role
as a Kapa Haka Tutor –
taking us to Nationals
in 2008, returning with
a National trophy.
We also farewell Mr
Scott
Henry
our
guidance counsellor
of almost 10 years
who is leaving us to
take up a position
at Trident High
School, Whakatane. Scott has
always had a natural empathy for
our students providing expert
guidance and support for many.
The school will miss them
both very much, however we do
wish them all the best in their new
schools and know they take with them our

gift of aroha. Ma te Atua korua hei tiaki i roto i a
korua turanga hou.

Senior leaders and Y13
This is always a sad time for me, to farewell a
group of students who have had the foresight and
fortitude to remain at school the entire 5 years of
secondary education. This particular group are very
special to me as I have had the privilege of teaching a
fair number of them since they started in 2007,
continuing through to this year as Y13’s. Each and every
one of you achieved a milestone in reaching the end of
high school. This shows great perseverance and
resilience in an age where ‘instant
gratification’ is the norm.
The senior leaders this year have
been an exceptionally busy and
successful group – each one of involved
in every part of school life role
modelling excellence in sport, culture,
l e a d e rs h i p ,
and
a ca d e m i c
achievement. To Raana, Kingsley,
Aubrey, Tyler and Atamira I wish
you all the best for the future –
you are a stunning group of
leaders who have shown time
and time again how talented
you are. Remain proud of
your Ngaruawahia roots
because it is what
helped shape you to
being the remarkable
young leaders you are.
To all of you as you embark
upon the precipice of adulthood I
implore you to be the masters of
your future – not a slave to
circumstance.
You all have the
capacity to be great in whatever path
you choose.

Conclusion
Finally in closing I leave you with
these thoughts - my greatest hope and
my greatest fear.
My greatest hope is that the
students of this high school continue to
grow their potential “Me Muramura te
Mana.” The school vision to grow the
potential from a spark to a brightly
burning flame, this is what we would
wish for every student who comes
through these doors as Y9’s and exit
as Y13’s.
My greatest fear is that our
students will fail to recognize their
‘spark’ in the first place.
Our role as teachers must
surely be to help students discover
‘their spark’ igniting it, encouraging
it until it becomes a brightly
burning flame strong enough to be
sustained on its own.
Robyn Roa, Principal