Dear Parents and Caregivers,
As we welcome students back to school for Term 3, we want to thank parents for supporting our girls to act on the feedback provided by teachers in reports and at parent-teacher interviews last term. It has been pleasing to see students begin the new term refreshed, focused, and well prepared for the learning and academic opportunities ahead.
I also want to take this opportunity to acknowledge the work our teachers continue to undertake in reviewing and advising on curriculum documents that have now all been released by the Ministry of Education. The work that Epsom Girls Grammar School staff have done within their Learning Areas to establish clear foundations and progressions for students, regardless of the qualification pathway they choose in the senior school, has positioned us well to navigate these national curriculum changes. We value the expertise of our teachers and thank them for their professionalism as they prepare high-quality learning opportunities for our students and, in many cases, support colleagues across New Zealand through the development of quality teaching resources.
Social Media and Artificial Intelligence (AI) use
Epsom Girls Grammar School has always taken its role as a leader in girls’ education seriously. In recent months, discussion around social media and artificial intelligence (AI), particularly in relation to young people, has continued to grow in mainstream media and online forums. A growing body of research identifies excessive social media use as being linked to increased rates of anxiety, depression, sleep disruption, and body image issues. Authors such as Jonathan Haidt and Laura Bates also highlight that these impacts are often disproportionately experienced by girls.
At the end of Term 2, we held a screening of the award-winning documentary Can’t Look Away. The purpose of the screening, together with the expert panel discussion that followed, was to begin a conversation about what we can do as a School, in partnership with our students and their parents, to actively support our girls to thrive both online and in face-to-face environments. We are grateful to the students and parents who attended, including parents working in Auckland emergency departments, paediatric care, primary schools, and law enforcement, who generously shared their professional insights, lived experiences, and ideas for next steps. We know that young people in New Zealand are not immune to the impacts of social media and AI and that, despite measures taken to educate and monitor device use, girls continue to experience harm on a regular basis.
To help us better understand the scope of the issue within our own community, we have created a short survey for parents and caregivers to complete. We will also share a similar survey with our students. We encourage you to take a few minutes to complete the survey here.
One positive and significant change we have observed has been the ‘phones away for the day’ requirement introduced after the Government’s mandate in 2024. Classroom distractions have decreased significantly, and phone-related bullying incidents have also declined. We have also been encouraged to see students continue to engage in active play during break times, with the positive changes seen following the introduction of this initiative continuing into 2026.
We look forward to continuing to partner with parents in supporting our girls’ holistic education and thank you for your ongoing support for the School.
Per Angusta, Ad Augusta,
Mrs B McNaughton
Principal
