1. Principal's News Week 5, Term 4 2017

Fantastic Parents
A big thank you to our fantastic parents this week.  Parents, ex students and community members ran cultural workshops for our children on multicultural day last Tuesday.  You entertained, shared your talents and prepared our children to shine.  The participation and cultural pride shown on multicultural day is one of the most special things about our school community.  I spent time in every workshop and activity and every child in the school was engrossed in their activities.   Check out the photos and videos on our school Facebook page.

Thank you also to parents who helped and supported senior athletics on Monday and junior athletics on Wednesday.  The athletics was very well run and organised with a big push behind the scenes and on the day from Paula Brien.  Thank you Mrs Brien - great job.

Fantastic Students
Thanks to the parents who have helped us with transport and support for our Young Vinnies program this year.  Thank you to Mrs Marsh for initiating and continuing to organise our Young Vinnies.  Mrs Marsh retires at the end of this year and we will very much miss her and the work she does around the school.  A parent wrote this to me last week and granted me permission to share it:

"Just while I was driving I was thinking how really impressed I was today and forgot to mention it to you, one of the wee ladies in a corner by herself has always cradled a wee baby doll as comfort and she must have dropped it  Everyone was engaged in games and none of the staff noticed but Taine must have spotted her and went over to collect the baby and laid it in her arms. What a lovely young man!

Having elderly that we care for is such a beautiful honour but for many it doesn’t come naturally. I have loved being a part of the Young Vinnies programme these last few weeks.  It is a wonderful chance for the children to learn empathy and kindness for everyone."

Other feedback from a worker at one of our Young Vinnies visits identified Jack (H) as the most outstanding young leader  she had come across.

None of our year 7s do this job for accolades or applause but it is worth noting how service has helped these young people grow in leadership stature.




Servant Leadership

I have spent some time this week explaining the idea of "servant leadership" to our year 7s.  They are just about to apply for their leadership positions next year.  We do it as a job application with covering letter, CV, referees and interviews.  They have to convince us they have the personal qualities to do the job they are aiming at and give ideas of how they are going to grow the job.  Its not all about being head boy or head girl.  Everyone has different gifts and talents and we can lead by quietly doing what needs to be done as Taine did in the example above.  The main quality of leadership that we look for in our school is service to others.

Our Year 8 Leadership Positions for 2018 are:

• Head Girl, Head Girl Special Character, Head Boy, Head Boy Special Character
• 3x boy and 3x girl House Captains, one for each house
• 3x Cultural Leaders, one for each house
• Physical Activity Leaders - to manage sports equipment and promote active play
• Peer Mediators - this year not all children will be peer mediators and this job is for those with exceptional integrity and communication skills.
• Environmental Leaders - to look after and promote our school environment.
• Librarians - to work in, support and promote our library.

Some children will also be road patrollers and all children will be responsible for entertaining junior classes in wet play times.

The year 7s have been well prepared this year for their future challenges.

Snippets from Multicultural Day
Featuring (last shot) Siale our very youngest, newest student:

God Bless and Aroha
Lorraine Frances-Rees