Principal's Welcome 

2nd June 2023

Kia Ora Tātou

Industrial Action

It is disappointing that the lack of progress in negotiations has led to the return of rostering home. It is in the best interests of the students that the pay and conditions negotiations can be resolved as soon as possible. I attended the Secondary Principals’ (SPANZ) conference for the first part of this week. Talking with other principals reinforced how rewarding but also how complex and challenging teaching is. As I commented in an earlier newsletter, if we want the best education possible for our children, we must attract and retain quality people into the profession. The current offer will not do that.

Cyber Security and Cyber Safety

Some students have been advised of malware on their computers which they are using at school. An email has been sent out to those students about actions to take to reset and protect their devices and the files they have. While the college works closely with N4L to maintain cyber protection at school, it is important that steps are taken at home as well. Further advice is available later in this newsletter.

At the Board meeting last week, we discussed cyberbullying and the impact that can have on young people. Liam Hendry, the Student Representative on the Board, talked about cyberbullying at this week’s assemblies, particularly in relation to the type of culture we want within the school. The two college values of whānau (we are family) and manaaki (we encourage mana through respect and caring) are the most pertinent towards addressing and eliminating cyberbullying. As part of the Year 9 Peer Support and in the Year 9 and 10 enRICH Wellbeing Programme, we work directly with students on cyberbullying and strategies to take.

If your child is being cyberbullied, then contact Netsafe or, if necessary, the police. Severe cases can lead to police action and prosecutions which is something students can be unaware of. While we want to be informed and want to be supportive, depending on circumstances there may be little that we can do in terms of disciplinary action especially if the cyberbullying is out of school hours and at home. Liam took the approach that as a student body, the students need to make it clear that this sort of activity is not acceptable and not part of who we are.

Ngā mihi nui 

Gordon Robertson

Principal

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