Ngā mihi o te Tau Hou

Welcome back to the 2021 school year. I hope everyone has had a very relaxing summer holiday break and I wish you every blessing for 2021.  Leadership was a strength of our integrated state schools in 2020 and with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic likely to continue well into 2021 our boards, principals and school leaders will be once more called to lead our communities safely through the next stage of this particular journey.  Given what we observed in 2020, I have every confidence that our school communities will continue to thrive in 2021.  Let us hope that the current climate that allows considerable freedom within our own country will continue and that our students experience life to the full in what is normally a busy (some might say frantic) but positive and constructive term one.  Mā te Atua koutou katoa e tiaki, e manaaki.

National Education and Learning Priorities (NELP)

Boards and school leaders will be aware that in November 2020 the Minister of Education issued the first statements of the national education and learning priorities (NELP) and that each school’s strategic planning must have particular regard to these statements.  While there is an element of initiative fatigue in some schools, it is important that boards and schools realise that the new planning and reporting framework will not come into effect until January 2023.  Boards have two years to transition their planning documents to the new framework and NZSTA have made a commitment to supporting boards to make these changes.

I have been very interested in reading the NELP priorities and looking at how they might shape education in the state integrated school sector.  If I think about my previous decade as a principal of two Catholic state integrated schools, the seven NELP priorities that are going to guide the compulsory education sector are very much parallel to the ambition and work that was being undertaken in these Colleges and I would expect that to be the case in the majority of our schools.  This work was driven by a strong moral imperative that was at the core of our Christian special character.  In the state integrated school sector, it is our special character that is the reason we exist and the driving force behind the development of our school culture and curriculum. We are partners in state education provision and, therefore, have a responsibility to meet the guidelines established by the Minister of Education.  However, first and foremost state integrated schools must reflect the special character that defines their educational mission, and the development of young men and women who live out the values that encapsulate each school’s special character is our most significant responsibility.  What is noticeable to me is that in the context of special character and the NELP priorities ‘we can have our cake and eat it to’.

In the Christian and Catholic state integrated school context, our special character is about communicating Christ and helping form Christ in others.  In promoting an ongoing relationship with Christ, our young men and women are asked to integrate educational knowledge through the subjects taught, within the light of the Gospel and an emphasis on each student’s growth in virtue as a Christian person.  These virtues encourage schools to promote human dignity and respect for all while striving to deliver an education that enhances and promotes the needs of each individual student. Who would argue against the importance of the NELP priorities such as ensuring places of learning are safe and inclusive, that students are supported in developing sound literacy and numeracy skills, reducing barriers to education and promoting the health and prospects of our Māori and Pasifika learners, developing teacher capability and working in partnership with whānau to promote the aspirations of ākonga and the inclusion of te reo Māori and tikanga Māori  The NELP priorities should be seen as more than just secular education aspirations and I would argue that in a special character school they are some of the vehicles to ensure the respect, dignity, compassion and equity of outcomes that define the Christian world view.

The challenge in the state integrated school sector is to ensure that our school systems and processes including our curriculum, teaching, pastoral support and leadership and decision-making processes are based squarely within this Christian world view.  I have a strong belief that most state integrated schools have a good understanding of how to respond to this challenge and it is one of the reasons why the state integrated sector is performing so effectively.

The ability of our teachers to use a pedagogy that incorporates best practice and integrates a Christian world view within a diverse range of curriculum subjects is a growing strength in our schools.. It is not just the integration of knowledge but the specific teaching approaches that highlight how the teacher uses their awareness of themselves and their Christian character to influence their teaching.  Whānaungatanga and Manaakitanga are competencies that will naturally grow out of this approach. It is pleasing to see institutions such as the Bethlehem Tertiary Institute are using this framework of Christian education to develop teaching graduates who understand their ‘compassionate creed’. These graduates develop a full understanding of their Christian person and how it influences them as a person and a teacher and how to use this in their teaching practice to promote positive outcomes for their students. Teachers in special character schools who have high aspirations for their students, are compassionate and loving and are driven by a strong respect for human dignity and Christian social tradition will have no fear of the NELPs as they will already be incorporating within their practice many of the NELP priorities and have been for some time.

I believe our state integrated schools are very well placed in terms of the NELP and our boards and leaders can be confident as they approach this work.  The goals within the NELP are not particularly new in modern education theory and practice but our Minister of Education is clearly signalling their importance through a stronger focus at both the governance and management level of our kura.

Kia whakapainga koutou

Kevin Shore CEO

NZSTA (New Zealand School Trustees Association) has put together a very helpful guide to the most important changes you need to be aware of in the Education and Training Act 2020. The guide explains what has changed, and provides commentary on what the changes mean. We highly recommend this resource. Click here to access it.

The NZSTA has also made available a set of Governance support resources, they cover a variety of topics including:

• Information for Board Members
• Board functions
• Complaints and information requests
• Advice for running effective board meetings
• Elections, casual vacancies, succession planning
• Privacy issues

This set of resources can be found here. 

Development Manager Peter Garlick at Motueka Steiner School has shared a photo of the beautiful new Farm Campus the school will be moving into at the start of Term Two this year. 

The campus includes five classrooms plus an administration building at this stage.  The buildings and infrastructure are almost completed and landscaping has begun.  Enrolment demand has been strong and the school expects to start Term One close to their maximum roll of 100.

The new campus is a 13.6 hectare farm including gardens, orchards, fields, animals, nature areas, trees, a lake and wetland. 

Suzanne Aubert Catholic School in Papamoa was officially opened on 3 February. This joyful occasion marked both the culmination of years of hard work and planning, and the beginning of a new school community. NZCEO Chief Executive Kevin Shore, and Chief Financial Officer Heather Richardson travelled to Papamoa to represent the New Zealand Catholic Education Office. The school was opened by Bishop Steven Lowe, alongside representatives of the Sisters of Compassion, local iwi, Ministry of Education, the parish and the wider community. The first day in the life of the school began with a Mihi Whakatau, blessing of the buildings and shared manaakitanga. 

Suzanne Aubert Catholic School will teach children from Years 1 - 6 and opens with a roll of approximately 80 students, and nine staff members. It is expected that the roll will grow to 250 by 2024. Foundation Principal Anthony Mills has two daughters who will be attending the school.

The school's distinctive colours and logo have been chosen to reflect the charism of Suzanne Aubert, and the location of the school. Beautiful stained glass artwork in teal and gold adorn the building, giving the school a distinctive visual identity. The teal represents both Suzanne Aubert's passion for New Zealand's native plants, and the waters of the nearby ocean and Wairakei stream. The gold represents the schools connection with the Golden Sands community. The school logo incorporates the legend of Mangatawa (the three whales). To learn more about this legend and its significance click here. 

A short film about the opening of Suzanne Aubert School was featured by the New Zealand Herald, to watch click here.

Bishop Steven Lowe unveiling the plaque commemorating the opening of Suzanne Aubert Catholic School, February 3 2021

Foundation Principal Anthony Mills addressing the school community

The school staff joined Bishop Steven Lowe as he blessed the school buildings

The administration block in the morning sunshine, with a view of the distinctive gold and teal artwork which is a striking feature of the school