Principal's Letter Apr
APRIL 2020 update
Hi friends,
What an extraordinary season we are going through with full consequences yet to be revealed but certainly a season that is going to be a real milestone in all of our lives.
Here at EXCEL we were in our 5th week of the first term and things were just starting to hum with the 2nd years gearing up for their first short tour up north and with assessments just round the corner for the 1st years – and then whammo – LOCK-DOWN.. So what does Excel look like with Covid-19?
We fast-forwarded our EASTER two week holiday and grabbed a week from the middle of the year to have three weeks of holiday before starting our online delivery on Monday 20 April. This continued for four weeks until Level 2 was announced. So starting May 18 we opened up the school for face to face lessons keeping in mind the Ministry of Health guidelines for contact tracing and hygiene and physical distancing where possible. Bring on Level 1.
55 past and present students tuned into our first ever open online devos.
This year started with exciting news for Hinekoia who gave birth to a beautiful baby girl in the middle of the lock-down. After 15 years at EXCEL we were sorry to have to say goodbye to Koia but in her place have come two brand new members of staff – Tony O’Rourke and Hope Tuisaua. They’ve both brought fresh energy and inspiration to the staff and it’s already added a whole lot to the team. We have 14 tutors who are working hard to come to grips with the online status and I am so grateful for their expertise.
Hinekoia and her gorgeous baby girl Mila Hinemāia Tomlinson.
There are lots of questions about what the rest of the year will look like but its great to see community increasing at this time – only recently we had 55 turn up for our ZOOM Devos and Tony got his sound system working to help create a truly anointed time of singing as we all joined together to pray and worship. Its great to know that we are part of a bigger community together even in this unusual time.
Kind regards,
John Knight