The core business of OHS is to educate students and prepare them for their future successfully.
It was wonderful to celebrate so many students' achievements at a full school assembly.
Principal, Shameen Hayat spoke of the importance of passing NCEA for setting students up for success. The higher the qualification you achieve, the more opportunities you have in life. Beyond qualifications, passing NCEA teaches resilience, self-discipline and self-confidence. Ms. Hayat congratulated the students who had attained Merit and Excellence endorsements and noted that the pass rate for NCEA had reached 82% for the first time. Ms Hayat remarked that these achievements, “are testament to the determination of our students and the exceptional support provided by our teachers.”
Guest speaker, Dr Dion Enari, was inspirational. Dr Enari is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Sport and Recreation at AUT, and will soon take up a position at UNITEC, where he will become their first Samoan Associate Professor.
Brought up in Australia, Dr Enari was the victim of prejudice and negativity. He told students how he used his disappointment of people who minimised him, as motivation to succeed and prove them wrong. He had six pieces of advice for every student:
Be confident in who you are. Be unapologetically proud of yourself.
Start to build your network and make connections, now, with people who may be able to help you in the future.
Love your family and friends, they are there to support you.
Stay hungry, have grit and determination, never give up.
Let both your love and your hate motivate you.
Lean into your faith, whatever that may be.
We thank Dr Enari for taking the time to address the assembly.
Congratulations to every student who was recognised for their achievements. We hope your success also inspires others to push themselves a little further in achieving their personal goals.
