Connecting with Your Child’s Kaitiaki Teacher and Subject Teachers

Your child’s kaitiaki teacher is the key person who supports their wellbeing, engagement, and learning throughout their five years at OHS. At the beginning of each school year, you will have an opportunity to meet the kaitiaki teacher, and within the first three weeks of the year they will email you to introduce themselves and outline how you can stay in contact.

All subject teachers will also write to parents and whānau early in the year to introduce themselves and provide an overview of the course your child is taking. This helps you know who is teaching your child and how to reach them.

Together, these processes ensure that you can easily get in touch with your child’s kaitiaki teacher or any of their subject teachers at any time if you have questions or would like to discuss progress or wellbeing.

Students receive continuous reporting throughout the year, with teachers providing ongoing feedback on classwork and assessment tasks. This allows whānau to clearly see how their child is engaging with their learning and how they are progressing over time.

Engagement Reports (Fortnightly)

Every two weeks, whānau receive an Engagement Report. These reports indicate the quantity and quality of a learner's participation in each subject. Engagement is summarised by a colour-coded system:

Green: Full engagement in subject learning, completion of all work, and active participation in class discussions.

Orange: Some engagement in learning and completion of some work/homework during the fortnight.

Red: Little or no attempt to engage in subject learning or complete assessment activities.

Teachers assign these colours based on specific behaviours, including active participation, task completion, self-management (being organised with equipment), and effective collaboration with peers.

Academic Summaries and Subject Reports

To provide a deeper understanding of curriculum progress, the school issues the following:

• Year 9 – 10 Academic Summaries: These provide results for every assessment completed, graded against the New Zealand Curriculum as Not Achieved, Achieved, Merit, or Excellence.
• Year 11 – 13 Academic Summaries: These track progress toward NCEA Qualifications, including Literacy, Numeracy, and University Entrance awards.
• Subject Reports: Issued at key times during the year, these offer specific feedback from teachers regarding a student's learning and progress in each individual subject.

Important Dates for 2026

We strongly encourage whānau to attend our in-person sessions to discuss student progress:

• Subject Teacher Interviews: Tuesday, April 28th, and Wednesday, April 29th (1:30 pm – 7:00 pm).
• Three-way Conferencing: Thursday, July 30th (2:30 pm – 6:30 pm) and Friday, July 31st (9:00 am – 3:05 pm).

Please note: The school will notify whānau when the booking portals for these events open.

Supporting Your Child

We encourage whānau to read these reports and discuss them with their children. If you have concerns regarding any aspect of your child’s progress, please contact your child’ subject teacher, Kaitiaki, or Dean.