Tena koutou katoa. Nga mihi nui atawhai.

As we come to the end of another busy term, we can all look forward to two weeks of Term break. Time to rest; time to relax; time to spend with friends and family; time to rejuvenate, ready for the second half of the school year.

This term, we have had show rehearsals, winter sports, career days for our seniors, welcome meetings for students and their families who will be new to Carmel in 2022, the Junior Readers and Writers Festival, NCEA Teacher Only Day, Drama production, Bully-Free Week, Kāhui Ako Culture Day, Mathex Competition, Sports’ Leadership programme and the Big Sing competition, to name but a few of what our girls have participated in.

Learning is not just confined to what happens within the four physical walls of the classroom. We look to offer opportunities for our students to prepare them for their future and to develop all of their skills and talents to be able to take up whatever career path that they choose.

This Term, we invited alumni and other guest speakers such as Helen Clark, to tell their stories to our Year 12 students. These speakers come from a range of years – from one to many years out of school – so that our current students realise that there are many pathways available and, more often than not, the one that they initially set out on is not necessarily the one that they end up following.

These stories of post-secondary school experiences give our senior students exposure to career paths that they might not have considered previously and also gives them reassurance that their choices about where they might go after college doesn’t limit them.  They just have to be open to other opportunities as they present themselves on their learning journeys.

So, enjoy your upcoming Term break with your friends and whānau.