With the site now secured and the screw piles in place, things are really starting to take shape. Our first official build day took place on Saturday, 11 April, which made it even more special as it lined up with Waiheke High School’s 40th Anniversary.

A huge thanks to Rodney Pope and Thomas Robb from Waiheke Home Builders, who led the day and worked alongside our students as they built the subfloor. It was awesome to see everyone getting involved, working as a team, and making such solid progress in just one day.

There was a great buzz on site, with students supporting each other, learning as they went, and taking real pride in what they were building. That’s exactly what this academy is all about.

We’re also incredibly grateful to our sponsors. This project wouldn’t be possible without their support, and it’s exciting to see it all coming together.

We can’t wait to share what’s next as the build continues.

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The end of a term provides an opportunity for reflection and celebration. It was a real pleasure to recognise some outstanding performers in our final celebration assembly for Term 1, acknowledging students who consistently uphold our WISE values and apply themselves fully in their learning.

I’d like to specifically mention Ghiezelle Ricalde and Olivia Stinton for receiving the most recognitions this term for Pakatoa and Rangitoto respectively. India Trevett was both the top student in Ponui and her year group. Most notably, Mae Gould not only topped Rakino house and her year level but also achieved the highest overall recognitions in the entire school for Term 1 – an outstanding achievement.

Our engagement scores directly reflect each student’s work and highlight our school’s learning leaders. Special mention goes to Lea Bollinger (Ponui), Mae Gould (Rakino), Silver Hutchieson (Pakatoa), and Somolon Todd (Rangitoto), who topped their respective houses and especially Solomon who maintained the highest overall school engagement score at 3.86 out of 4 throughout the term.

While we often recognise leaders in sports, arts, and service, the quiet leadership shown through diligent learning and embodying our values day after day is perhaps our greatest asset. And so today it was important to celebrate these students and encourage others to follow their lead – well done to all of those students listed above.

We are delighted to report an absolutely outstanding 78 students (roughly 20%) attended 100% of Term 1, more than double last year’s number. Thank you to these students for their diligence and to their parents for supporting this fantastic achievement. Furthermore, 288 students (just over 75%) have an attendance rate of over 90%—a massive improvement from 2025. As attendance is a key driver in achievement, I congratulate these students on taking this crucial step in investing in their future.

I also congratulate our paddlers and sailors who recently represented our kura at national and regional tournaments. Both groups persevered through difficult weather conditions, putting forward their best effort and achieving great results. We will celebrate these students more fully in Term 2 with an upcoming sporting assembly.

With the 40th Anniversary and Reunion upon us over the holidays, I hope to see many members of our wider community at some of the events. I wish every student a restful term break, providing a chance to recharge, ready for a brilliant Term 2.

Ngā mihi mahana,

Cameron Flude

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It is hard to believe that we are almost a month into school! Our recent year 7 camp to Whakanewha was a standout highlight of the first month with staff and students alike taking this opportunity to build whanaungatanga. A major thank you goes to all of our parent helpers and especially to our prefect team; our student leaders took centre stage in making this camp a real success. Alongside this, today’s athletics day has been a resounding success and it has been great to see everyone in their house colours, competing to their best ability to kick off the yearly house competition with style. Next Friday we follow this up with beach sports at Oneroa Beach and whānau are welcome to pop in throughout the day to say hello.

I want to thank all of our parents and caregivers who attended our “meet the teachers” evening this Tuesday. The event was absolutely bustling and our staff were excited to meet so many new parents and make early learning connections with their new students.

Research shows that engagement from whānau is a key determinant of student success so it was pleasing to see these relationships begin to flourish.

If you were unable to make it this week, we have two further opportunities in the coming weeks with our parent information evening in a fortnight and whānau learning hui the following week. It would be great to see as many of you as possible as we build strong learning focused connections as early as possible.

The parent information evening is a new initiative we are trialling this year designed to create a space for connecting specifically with parents around their tauira’s education journey. While schools do a good job of keeping students up to date with all of the nuts and bolts of education, this is often a grey area for parents and we want to demystify this space.

More information around this event is to follow but key topics for our first iteration will include an overview of our strategic direction, information on CAAs (common assessment activities) for literacy and numeracy, understanding NCEA requirements, Q&A with current students, and space for general questions with members of the senior leadership team. We are aiming to have one of these per term with each built around a different focus on how the school operates with a chance to connect directly with school leadership.

Ngā mihi mahana,

Cameron Flude

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This year, Waiheke High School reaches a significant milestone – our 40th Anniversary! To celebrate this incredible journey and the successes of our kura and alumni, we’re planning a special reunion event for all past students and staff.

Mark your calendars for Friday, April 10th and Saturday, April 11th, 2026. We’re planning an engaging weekend, including:

• Friday Evening: Casual drinks at The Heke.
• Saturday Daytime: A relaxed reunion picnic and a tour of Waiheke High School.
• Saturday Evening: A celebratory reunion dinner at Goldie Estate.

We’ll be showcasing all 40 years of our school’s history throughout the weekend, with displays and archival photos. You’ll also see a dedicated Facebook page (linked to the official WHS page) launching soon, which will connect with existing alumni groups and feature class photos.

Further details here >>

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Welcome to all of our students and whānau for the start of the new academic year. I hope you had a restful break and that students are returning to kura ready to embark on the year ahead.

At Waiheke High School, our commitment to outstanding learning remains our core purpose, grounded in our belief that every student has the potential for individual excellence.
I am a firm believer in high expectations for all of our ākonga in how they conduct themselves and how they achieve, and we have started the year positively in this regard. The energy across the school has been fantastic through our pōwhiri for new students and orientation days late last week. It has been great to see the diligent and settled approach students have brought for their first day of formal classes.

To start the year, we are consistently messaging our belief in our students and the high expectations we hold for them – and how this shows we care about their future and believe in each of them. When we challenge students to cultivate consistent, productive learning habits, it is to push them to be the best that they can be, and open as many doors as possible for their future – preparing them not just for academic qualifications, but for the world beyond school.

This dedication to academic excellence is bearing fruit. We are proud of our preliminary NCEA results, particularly Level 2 pass rates that are about 5% higher than comparable socio-economic schools and about 10% higher than the national average. Congratulations to our seniors for their commitment and achievement across 2025. Final results will be confirmed soon and should rise even higher as a few more students confirm outstanding grades from last year.

As we move forward, let us remain focused on what drives us. While we offer a wide variety of opportunities at Waiheke High School, our core business will always be educating our next generation. By holding high expectations and working in partnership, we will ensure every student takes full advantage of all that 2026 has to offer.

Ngā mihi mahana,

Cameron Flude

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