Our Students Shine Bright at Special Olympics Tauranga Domain!
On a beautiful sunny day, Tuesday, March 17th, our school proudly participated in the interschool Special Olympics event at Tauranga Domain alongside other local schools.
The day began with a tremendous honour, as two of our students, Ocean Delves and Rico Whitewood, were selected to read the Special Olympics oath in front of a large audience. They represented our school with confidence and pride.
All of our students performed exceptionally well in the track events. The field events were designed as non-competitive learning experiences, and it was inspiring to see every student giving each activity their very best effort.
We would like to give special mention to the following students for their outstanding contributions:
Outstanding Effort: Xavier Louwries, Kayla Bonner, Freddie Finch, and Lemuel Tablac.
Sportsmanship: Emily Cong and Joe Burgess.
It was also our first outing with our wonderful new marquee, proudly displaying our school name. This made it much easier for students and supporters to find us throughout the day. A big thank you to Ian Ridgway for organising the funding to make our marquee possible—we truly appreciate your support.
Academic Mentoring Programme
At our kura, we offer a free of charge academic mentoring programme where senior students support younger peers to become more confident in their subjects and achieve success.
Mentoring will be starting at the beginning of Term 2. If you are interested in getting mentoring for your student, please fill in this form
This form stays open all year, so even if your student does not need mentoring right now, they can sign up at any time in the future.
Feel free to contact mentoring@otc.school.nz with any questions.
New Attendance Notifications for 2026
Starting this term, we have implemented a new automated notification system that aligns with the Stepped Attendance Response Framework developed by the Ministry of Education. Consistent time in the classroom is the biggest predictor of student success, and we want to ensure we are working together to support every learner.
Our system will now send automated email updates when a student reaches specific absence milestones within a single term: 5, 10, 15, and 20 days. Please note that these notifications are triggered by total absences, including those marked as medical or justified.
Our Tiered Support Approach: Depending on the number of days missed, the school will take the following actions:
- Tier 1 (5 Days): You will receive a courtesy email. This is simply for awareness and to offer any additional support that may be required.
- Tier 2 (10 Days): When a student reaches this milestone, it triggers our Tier 3 support protocol. We will contact you to organise an in-school meeting to discuss any barriers to attendance and how we can best support your child’s return to regular attendance.
We understand that every family’s situation is unique, and our goal is to be proactive partners in your child’s education.
Opportunity for Exchange to Brazil
