Kia ora Parents and Caregivers

It is great to be back in school with some slightly altered routines. It has been a pleasure to see the students laughing, smiling, giggling and carrying on. These are the elements that we have all missed when doing learning online from home. Being together. Family.

The new normal now includes hand sanitizer, promotions for personal hygiene, catering for contact tracing and an extra emphasis on providing a safe environment for everyone. As well, we look forward to providing a wider range of activities including sport, class trips and events onsite. 

Thank you for your support through COVID-19 lock-down and the ensuing changes that have taken place through level 3 and as we have moved into level 1. By God’s grace, we can continue to move forward with hope and resilience.  

Psalm 91:1-2 (NIV) gives us a promise to stand firm in:

“I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

Update on Mr Van

As you will be aware, our Principal, Mr Van, has been away from school and is recuperating, following surgery. He is doing well and we are likely to see him in school from time-to-time, and we expect his return in Term 3. We wish him all the best in his recovery and God’s blessings.

Mr Walsh

It is with great sadness that we report on the passing of our ex-Assistant Principal, Mr Stan Walsh on April 1 (during lock-down) after a long-term illness. He passed away peacefully with the knowledge that he was resting in his Saviour. We are aware of how many students Mr Walsh influenced through Bible classes, Maths, Stats and sport for over 30 years. He played a significant role in leadership and was one of the first writers for NCEA Religious Studies assessments in New Zealand. His legacy lives on through the heart and soul of LAC. He is greatly missed, but we look forward to Jesus' coming again soon, where we can all be reunited. Our condolences are extended to Mrs Walsh and family through this time.

Ngā mihi nui

Rosalind Burnett, Deputy Principal

Ps. A tribute to Mr Walsh can be found on the school website, written by former principal, Mr Bruce Sharp: https://www.lac.school.nz/2020/04/a-tribute-to-mr-walsh/

Please note changes for the end of year events for Year 11 - 13 students: 

School Uniform

The new LAC Blazer is available at Academy Apparel for girls and boys. Senior students are invited to purchase one.

Available online here: https://academyapparel.co.nz/product-category/longburn-adventist-college/

Upcoming University Visits to LAC

• Thurs 11 June 11 am - Otago University
• Tues 23 June 11 am - Waikato University

If you want information about another university in NZ, please come and see Mrs Mancer or email the university directly as some are not conducting school visits yet.

Career Appointments

Since lockdown has taken several weeks out of our year, if any students wish to see Mrs Mancer for career guidance urgently, please feel free to see her at break times or make an appointment.

Sort It ONLINE Careers Expo

Our annual Sort It Careers Expo is now up and running online.  There are weekly live webinars and interviews with different career people and universities.  Students are encouraged to check their emails for the links. If they miss a live webinar, they are available on the website to be viewed at a more convenient time at home. Check it out on https://sortexpo.co.nz/

Scholarships Season

For those wanting to study next year, now is the time to research deadlines for scholarships with your training provider or university. The advice out there: Apply for as many as you are eligible for - you never know!

Apprenticeships - Free Training for 2.5 years

Great news from the government this week about free training for Trades from 1 July 2020 until the end of 2022. Follow the link for more information:

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2020/06/jacinda-ardern-confirms-any-form-of-apprenticeship-will-be-free-from-july-until-december-2022.html

Cathy Mancer, STAR, Gateway & Careers

Hospitality Class

We are so excited to be back at school doing practical cooking again. I would like to take this time to thank all the parents for their help and support with cooking at home during the lockdown. Year 10 students have been working on their food presentation with snacking platters and learning procedures for deep frying foods. Don't they look fantastic?

Mrs Tooley, Hospitality Teacher

Year 7&8 Technology Class

During the COVID-19 lockdown, the Year 7/8 Technology/Woodwork class had to make cardboard model houses. Here are some of the models:

Nigel Wright, Technology & Woodwork Teacher

We are in the process of putting the mid-year reports for the senior students together. We also went through an interviewing process where each senior Year level dean talked with their individual students about their academic goals. This process will begin in Week 10 for the junior students as well. 

We are halfway through the academic school year, and it is a good time to stop and take stock of where each senior student is academically. Tracking their progress early is one of the ways in which we ensure that students are positively progressing towards their goals of achieving NCEA for that level. Ways in which you can check in with your child is to: 

1. Access their portal and view their grades
2. Encourage them to login to their NZQA Profile account as well.
3. Praise their progress
4. Have the necessary conversations around achievement
5. Ask the question - ‘What’s next and how are you getting there?’ 
6. Contact their teacher for any queries you may have regarding a particular subject area
7. Contact the Dean for any questions regarding their overall progress

Year 11s should be working towards 10 credits of Numeracy and 10 credits of Literacy as part of their 80 credits required to gain Level 1. The Year 13s should have established by now, the subject areas they want to gain University Entrance with and checked that they have gained UE literacy, which comprises of 5 credits of Reading and 5 credits of Writing. Students may already have established what they will be doing in 2021 - a trade, work or a tertiary program - and they need to check to ensure that they have taken the appropriate actions to gain NCEA level 3 by the end of this year.  

NCEA Credit Update

As many of you will know, credit adjustments to NCEA Level 1 - 3 for 2020 were released a week and a half ago. You would have received some correspondence about this however here is a brief summary:

• Learning Recognition Credits (LR) will now be awarded. For every 5 credits completed, NZQA will award 1 LR credit, up to a maximum of 10 for Level 1 and 8 for Level 2 & 3. Learning Recognition credits have been designed to acknowledge students for their academic progress during COVID - 19 lockdown.
• 46 credits are required for an overall course endorsement at Merit or Excellence, rather than the usual 50 credits
• Credits required for subject endorsements have been reduced from 14 to 12 credits
• Credits required for University Entrance approved subjects have been reduced from 14 to 12 credits

LR credits are not Merit or Excellence endorsed so students cannot rely on these to gain course endorsements; however, they will be useful in completing an NCEA certificate.

 2020 NCEA Exam Schedule

The adjusted dates for NCEA exams this year is Monday 16th November - Wednesday 9th December. Please refer to the link below to view your child’s examination days. We will provide this schedule to the senior students closer to date. https://www.nzqa.govt.nz/ncea/ncea-exams-and-portfolios/external/national-secondary-examinations-timetable/

Portal Access

Teachers will have written up comments regarding particular assessments that your child has completed. In order to access these comments, you will need to login to the LAC portal. 

Here are the steps to do so:

• Go to http://portal.lac.school.nz 
• Login as your child (e.g. Joe Blog = Joeb). Enter the password that has been emailed to you as either the primary or secondary caregiver 
• Go to the ‘Results’ tab 
• Go to ‘Current Year Results’
• Scroll down and view your child’s results

Please note that as we are in Week 9 of Term 2, there will not be too many results uploaded yet, especially with the lockdown that took place. In the portal, areas like attendance, NCEA summaries, notices and awards can also be accessed. All caregivers have been emailed their child’s login and a password to use. It is important to access the portal to keep up with your child’s academic progress. If you have any concerns accessing the portal, please contact Ryan Gounder, IT Manager, at itmanager@lac.school.nz