Principal's Foreword

---

Tēnā koutou,

Welcome to this week's edition of the John McGlashan Pilkington Press. It has been an exciting week, with one of the highlights being our participation in the Wanaka A&P Show. We had a great turnout at our tent, with a number of visitors including old boys from various generations, current and past parents, as well as prospective families. The John McGlashan name continues to resonate strongly throughout the South Island.

At present, we are all placing a real emphasis on academics. While John McGlashan College is well-regarded for its sports and arts accomplishments, it is crucial for us to reassure our community that our primary focus will always remain on academic achievement.

Our Boarding Open Afternoon is on today, and all parents should have received their second progress report. Based on valuable feedback from parents, we’ve made some adjustments to the report format, and we appreciate your ongoing input. We encourage continued feedback from a parent perspective to ensure we are meeting your expectations.

In the arts, our Drama students have been diligently rehearsing their scene from The Taming of the Shrew for the upcoming SGCNZ Victoria University of Wellington 2025 Regional Shakespeare Festival. On Tuesday, we had the privilege of hosting the JMO Theatrics Fringe Festival production of Julius Caesar in the chapel, delivering a gripping performance of this Shakespearean classic. Meanwhile, our Senior Drama students had the opportunity to attend the Te Rākau Theatre Marae workshop at Trinity College on Thursday, providing them with invaluable experience.

This weekend, we have a busy schedule with several competitive events. Our students are representing us in the Otago Secondary Schools Volleyball and Athletics competitions. Our rowers are competing in the South Island Rowing Regatta in Twizel, and our Touch team is preparing for the Otago Touch Championships in Dunedin. Additionally, some of our students will be competing at the NZ Athletics Nationals, also in Dunedin. We wish all of our teams the very best of luck.

Looking ahead to next week, we have more exciting events. Waihi School will be visiting us for the Annual Summer Sports Exchange at the start of the week. On Monday, we will also welcome our Ichikawa students from Japan, who will be spending the next two weeks in Dunedin. Thank you to those families that are supporting this programme with looking after one of the Ichikawa students during their stay.

We are looking forward to our School Haka competition on Wednesday. Please note that Friday, 21 March, will be a teacher-only day, during which the entire JMC staff will be visiting the Otakau Marae. This coincides with the Otago Anniversary weekend, and many of our boys will be gearing up for the annual hunting competition.

It has been wonderful meeting so many parents over the past few weeks, and I look forward to connecting with more of you throughout the remainder of the year.

Kā mihi,

John Veitch

Acting Principal