PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE
Nau mai haere mai - Welcome to Rotorua Girls’ High School
A well known Maori proverb concludes:
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“he aha te mea nui o te ao |
Rotorua Girls’ High School is people: those who have been here, those who are currently here, and those who have yet to come. If you are contemplating coming to Rotorua Girls’ High School then you belong to the third group and I invite you to read this prospectus carefully.
Our mission, goals and expectations will give you some ideas, but there is a myriad of impressions to be gained as you read. The staff, both teaching and support, are here because of the students, and we strive to make the teaching and learning process enjoyable and fun-filled. The school prides itself on its support networks which are based around our four Houses. The four schools-within-a-school concept means every student can feel there is always someone to turn to for advice, information and counselling.
Our academic, cultural, sporting and leadership programmes provide countless opportunities for students to perform to exceptionally high standards.
Our results speak for themselves, as we consistently perform at the very top of Rotorua district schools in examination results, sport, drama, leadership and culture.
Our recently upgraded and redesigned facilities are outstanding and provide an environment both inside and outside the classroom that enables high quality education to be delivered.
Our Code of Behaviour has been developed around the themes of individual and collective rights and responsibilities.
We operate a Positive Discipline System. We have no Detention System, but we do work individually with students who disturb the learning of others. We also have an orientation programme for students who transfer into Rotorua Girls' High School during the year. We offer a Junior Graduation Programme for students in Year 9 & 10, and Senior Graduation at Year 13. Because we only focus on young women, we are able to provide an integrated education that enables our graduates to truly fulfil their role as twenty first century women.
We are in every sense, a school for the twenty first century. All staff use laptops in classrooms provided with data projectors and screens (a New Zealand first). Staff also access interactive Whiteboards. We were a Lead School for the ICT Professional Development Programme. We are a Te Kotahitanga School and our outstanding Maori leaver statistics bear testimony to this programme.
The high retention rates of our students reflects our commitment to communicate regularly with our parents. In this way a partnership is forged between student, staff and home that allows for individual understanding and respect.
Our students attend more regularly, stay longer and have higher leaver statistics than students in comparable schools. Our students across every ethnic grouping achieved more NCEA certificates in 2008 than any other females in Rotorua Schools. Our provisional 2009 results show that our students have overall gained more NCEA Certificates than ever before.
I hope that in this information pack you sense the essential atmosphere that pervades this school - enabling young women to make wise choices.
Please contact me if you have any questions.
Annette Joyce |
“The principal provides strong leadership. She is experienced, has high expectations for staff and students, and continues to effectively promote the profile of the school in the wider community. Under her leadership there is a clear focus on raising achievement and there are many opportunities for girls to succeed.” ERO 2009 |
