It was both visually stunning and emotionally impactful. A huge mihi to our performers, student leaders and the dedicated staff—particularly Miss Dalley and Miss Hamilton, who supported them every step of the way. This win is a testament to the strength of the arts at Rolleston College and the courage of our ākonga to use performance as a form of self expression.

This week, members of our Senior Leadership Team presented to the West Melton Residents' Association, providing updates on the exciting progress of our new senior campus. We shared site development plans, and the vision guiding the expansion of Horoeka Haemata into a thriving two-campus school. We will present to the Rolleston Residents' Association at one of their meetings later in the year with more updates on how things are progressing. Early next term we will also provide an opportunity at the current campus to give updates to our school and wider community on progress.

It was a warm and constructive evening, and we extend our thanks to the association for their support and interest in the development of educational opportunities in our growing community.

Hopefully the weather starts to show some improvement over the weekend to allow for sports and some well-deserved family time for all. We wish all the best to our four learners who will compete at cross country nationals in Whangārei tomorrow.

Ngā mihi nui

Rachel Skelton

Upcoming events

Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 June
New Zealand Secondary Schools Cross Country Championships (Whangārei)

Tuesday 17 June
FutureFest (Rolleston College careers expo)

Wednesday 18 June
7pm: Ready to Flourish (R2F) evening (free tickets)

Wednesday 18 and Thursday 19 June
Ngā Manu Kōrero Waitaha/Te Tai Poutini/Aoraki regional contest (Rangiora High School)

Friday 20 June
Matariki holiday: school closed

News

Football fundraiser: Sunday 15 June
Craving a delicious sausage? Head to Mitre 10 Mega Hornby this Sunday 15 June, and grab a sausage from our fundraiser! 

Every sausage you buys helps our Girls' First XI football team get to the South Island Secondary Schools tournament week in Nelson. Your support means the world to them!

Foster Park access
If your learner comes to or from school via Foster Park, please encourage them to use the paths, and not cut through sport fields/pitches. Grounds staff have noticed tracks from bikes and scooters which require remedial work so the grounds can be used for sports again. Let's be respectful of our neighbours and use paths and walkways, avoiding the soft/wet grounds.

Lost property
We still have a gigantic pile of unnamed, unclaimed lost property, including uniform. If you recognise something, please collect it from student services, or tell your learner to come and collect it. We will be donating all unclaimed items at the end of this term.

The flourishing lancewood: Horoeka Haemata

Wondering why our newsletter is called The Lancewood?

The name Horoeka Haemata, gifted by Te Taumutu Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu to Rolleston College means flourishing lancewood. The lancewood tree is an important and powerful image that lies at the heart of Rolleston College’s purpose and motivation, and a familiar symbol of Waikirikiri/Selwyn district. It captures the essence of how we define the learning and personal development journey at Rolleston College.

The tree represents education—it starts as a seed, grounds itself firmly in Papatūānuku and with love, care, and guidance it then grows up to take its place on the landscape. The branches reach out and up, always striving to reach Ranginui, therein portraying a desire to reach greater heights. It provides shelter and shade, a home and resting place for our birds and insects, and a source of warmth for our people.

A unique tree that changes dramatically as it matures, its juvenile form changes after 15-20 years to a mature tree. This also represents our learners' journey as they transition from adolescence to adulthood, developing who they are, their identity, accepting challenges and growing through obstacles during their college journey.

Learn more about our story, including the cultural narrative of Tauwharekākaho/Rolleston, on our website.

Sports and clubs news

Sports updates supported by yoursection.nz.

Follow Rolleston College Sport on Facebook to keep up with all our sporting endeavours.

Languages news

Each week we aim to bring you stories of our learners immersed in language study at Rolleston College.

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