Principal's Page

Kia Ora Friends - Our Warmest Greetings

This will be the final newsletter for 2025. It has been another busy but brilliant year at Western Heights.

Being the principal of this wonderful school is an honour and a privilege. Every day, I arrive at school happy and looking forward to whatever is ahead. Every evening, I leave feeling that together we are making a difference and doing work that really matters.

There are many reasons for the happiness I feel each day, but the biggest one is simple: the people. Little people, staff people, parent and grandparent people. Western Heights has the very best people.

Spending time with our children brings me immense joy. I love the smiles, fist-bumps, high-fives and big hugs. I love the cards, letters and kind words that find their way to my office. I love the laughter at my lame jokes – and the stony silence at the even lamer ones, which helpfully confirms just how bad they are. Our children are all a work in progress, as we all are, but wherever they are on their journey to becoming complex, creative, caring, contributing, collaborative citizens, they are taonga - treasures.

Spending time with our staff also brings joy. Any school is only as good as its staff, which is why our school is so awesome and has such a strong reputation. I started out as a classroom teacher 47 years ago and have now spent more than three decades as a principal in five different schools. Without hesitation, the team at Western Heights is the best I have ever had the privilege to work with.

They are dedicated, caring, empathetic, passionate, talented and incredibly giving. They do their very best every day to treat every child in this school as if they were their own. That is a big ask, because you don’t just “care” for your own children; you love them - unconditionally, patiently and persistently. You stay present and engaged with them. You expect the best for them and of them. You accept that they will mess up, and when they do, you work with them to make things right and learn from their mistakes.

There is a real sense of security, peace and happiness that comes from knowing you have a “dream team” to work with. It doesn’t mean we are perfect. We all have much to work on, but we all want to be better - to improve our practice, and to learn and grow. Our children benefit as a result, so on your behalf, I thank our staff for all they have given this year.

Spending time with parents and whānau is something I don’t get to do nearly enough. Fist bumps at the gate in the morning and high fives in the car park after school are great, but time is always tight, so most of those interactions are all too brief. That said, I sincerely appreciate the warmth, kindness and support you show our staff and our school. At our various events this year, including our junior and senior celebrations, I have taken the chance to say it often, but it is worth saying again here: thank you for the way you back your children, back our staff and back this kura.

We are also incredibly grateful for our many helpers and volunteers. You support trips, sports, special projects, kapa haka, reading, and countless quiet, behind-the-scenes tasks that keep the place humming. Our thank-you morning tea each year is a very small gesture compared to the contribution you make, but please know your time and energy truly change children’s lives. If you are reading this and thinking you might like to help, especially with listening to children read, we would love to hear from you in the new year.

As always, we are looking ahead to next week with mixed emotions. Our final day will be the last at Western Heights for another wonderful group of senior students. Graduation is always a bittersweet time. We feel much love, pride and affection for these young people. We feel tremendous hope for all that lies ahead for each one of them. We also feel sadness that our time with them as “our” children is coming to an end.

Many of our graduates have been part of our WHS whānau for six years. We have watched them grow from nervous five-year-olds into confident young leaders. The values, qualities, skills and attributes they take with them have them well-placed for success. We are confident in their ability to continue to Love, Learn and Lead as they move to the next stage of their learning journey. We wish each one of them well and look forward to them keeping in touch and sharing their successes with us in the years to come.

Thank you to everyone who has played a part in making 2025 another memorable and successful year at Western Heights. To our ākonga, our staff, our Board, our parents, grandparents, whānau, and our wider community: your belief in this place and your willingness to contribute to it is what makes Western Heights such a special school.

I hope you all enjoy a safe, restful and joy-filled break, and I look forward to welcoming you back, refreshed and ready for another great year of loving, learning and leading together in 2026.

PS:

This newsletter is shorter than previously. I received some feedback that it's too long, so hopefully this is an improvement.

As always, if you have questions or concerns about anything school-related, email me at macash@mac.com, and I will get back to you asap.

My very best regards to you all,

Ash Maindonald

Principal.