Kia ora Parents and Caregivers,

Last night we held our Community Hui and I want to thank all the parents who came out in bad weather to be a part of our gathering. It was a time of honest conversation and bravery as people shared their stories and experiences. While difficult, they were conversations that needed to be had. The thoughts, comments and feedback gathered last night, combined with those of our students, will become a platform for change.

Our next step is to collate all of the ideas and opinions, share it with our parents and then hold a staff workshop with Dr Melanie Riwai-Couch – Kaihautū Māori and Education Consultant for Evaluation Associates. She is an experienced researcher, evaluator and change manager, and we are looking forward to working with her. From there we will hold another hui in August.

I am particularly proud of Matua Eddie Hudson who led our proceedings last night, with assistance from Anya Satyanand – CEO of Prince’s Trust New Zealand. Their guidance and leadership created a safe environment for people to speak, listen and learn.

The need to tackle racism has been highlighted world-wide due to recent overseas events, and our challenge now as a school is to walk the talk and become a change-maker for our students. Last night was the start of us openly accepting that challenge. It will take time but we are prepared for the journey ahead.

A month after we moved to Level 2, it is great to see so many school activities back up and running. We are already starting to see some sporting wins, and success in various extra-curricular competitions. With school holidays just around the corner, I know many of you will be looking forward to slowing things down and enjoying some family time without the constraints of lockdown!