Principal News

By Simon Clarke | Posted: Sunday July 4, 2021

The importance of self-control.

The Dunedin Study is led by Professor Richie Poulton, Director of the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Research Unit.  The study has been tracking a thousand people for the last 49 years and they have discovered some amazing results which have been used by many governments around the world.  You can take part in the tests that the participants complete at the International Science Festival over the holidays.

One of their biggest discoveries was the importance of self-control.  Children in this study who showed low levels of self-control were over-represented in negative statistics in health, crime, education and finance while children who could demonstrate high levels of self-control grew up to be happier and healthier. 

The children at school have done remarkably well showing a high level of self-control over the last six months as they have coped with the construction of the new block.  The rewards will not be long after we return, as two-thirds of the school will move into their new classes sometime in early August.  We will have to ask the students and parents to be resilient again as we move into stage two of the rebuild.  I have included more details in the Property News section, but essentially the following changes will happen:

  • We will lose even more playground space and will have split lunch breaks from Term 3 until the grass areas are able to be used again.
  • The classes in the middles will move to the juniors during the demolition stages and then return once the demolition is completed.
  • Classes in the seniors and juniors will have new names.
  • The front gate will be no more.  Everyone will have to enter via Tyne St and we hope to open a new gate at the back of the school which can be entered via the corner by Highgate Road and the Stuart St off-ramp.

We hope that the students will continue to show great self-control as we go through these changes and see it as a great chance for them to practise their resilience.

Finally, thank you to all the parents who attended the recent interviews. Between the interviews and the reports, we hope that you have a better understanding of where your child is at in their social and academic learning and what the next step is for them.

To all of the students and staff, have a great break!

Kind regards

Simon Clarke