Today Napier mayor Bill Dalton spoke to our school leaders about leadership. He emphasised having empathy and listening to others as the key to being good leaders alongside perseverance and  respect.

Mayor Dalton also congratulated our students on how well they listened and how well he had been greeted and looked after whilst at Westshore School.

Our students were very inquisitive, asking great questions about his job as mayor (they did mention their disappointment on missing out on Optimist Yachting due to storm water) and his leadership journey.

Well done to our students for being great role models.

Dear Parents and WhānauAs we enter the last four days of this term, yes the last day of term is this Thursday, we also enter my last few days as Acting Principal. It has been almost a year now and Martin will be back to start term two. Martin and I have already organised a meeting so that we can make sure the transition is smooth and to ensure the great work teachers and students have been doing around agency will continue to be developed. This type of learning is essential in preparing students for the future.Time has certainly gone quickly. I would like to thank the students for their support over the last year. Our students are awesome and I will certainly miss the daily interactions I have with them both in classes and the playground. This year I have really enjoyed watching our leaders develop and start to assume more responsibility across the school. This group of students are very talented and dedicated and they will help make the school a great place.I have really enjoyed working with both the previous and current Board of Trustees. The school has a really strong vision that I know the board are working hard to ensure comes to life. It is exciting and will ensure learning is relevant to the current and future needs of Westshore students. This board is very focused and determined to make a positive difference to learning for all students.To the parents and wider community – thank you for your support in making school a great place for students. Without your ongoing support school would struggle to offer so many exciting learning opportunities. My last thank you is to the staff, who have been awesome. They are very dedicated and I have enjoyed seeing them develop in practice and pedagogy over the last year. I am most proud of how collaborative they are and how they have embraced student agency and voice to improve engagement and learning outcomes. I thank them for the way they have accepted me and allowed me to challenge them over the last year. They are very professional and the school is very fortunate to have them.I will say goodbye to students at a makeshift assembly on Thursday about 2.40pm just before they leave for the day. If you are available please join us.If I do not see you I wish you all a happy easter, with plenty of family time and a little chocolate.RegardsCraig Henderson

Congratulations to  (back row) Max and Silas and (front row) Jesse, Levi, Jamie and Jaylee who are our Gotcha winners for awesome playground behaviour. For the last 4 weeks, we have had all students entered into our weekly draw. What a great way to finish the term.

We welcome Jeremy Burkett back on the Board of Trustees and welcome aboard Anna Byers after the recent "selection" process. We now have a full board and can push ahead with the strategic plan.