Nau mai haere mai, talofa lava, mālō e lelei, greetings parents and caregivers

The last few weeks have been extremely busy here as staff prepare senior students for school examinations and, at the same time, many cultural and sport competitions reach their final stage. It was exciting to see our Senior A netball team take out the Supernet Canterbury Secondary Schools’ netball final against St Margaret’s College and our 1s tXV rugby team win both the South Island Girls’ Secondary Schools’ finals against St Hilda’s College of Dunedin and the UC Cup. This weekend I am travelling down to Dunedin to join our chorale Cantrices in the national final of Big Sing. This is the first time we have made the final and it is a significant achievement.

Excellence is important and it is also important that we celebrate achievement. The pursuit of it brings out the best in the human spirit, whether it be conquering Everest, winning gold at the Olympics or winning a Nobel prize for Peace or Literature. It is important we think of excellence in its widest sense when we think of altruism, generosity, kindness, empathy, courage, persistence, curiosity and endeavour. The real prize is not always the one that glitters.

Staff are currently grappling with the word “excellence” in the discussions they are having defining our vision. What does excellence mean and how should it be redefined? As a school we deliver excellence in academic qualifications which is important and to be nurtured appropriately. But if a high number of our students are suffering anxiety or have lost perspective around that achievement, something is wrong in the balance. While we all, parents and staff, want to ensure our young people succeed in learning, more than that we want them to flourish in life, be happy and fulfilled, have resilience to cope with the inevitable ups and downs of life and have joy in family and friends.

At the end of the day, these are the elements of a successful life and we are all more than the sum of our school qualifications. We know that inherently.

St Exupery, the author of “The Little Prince” wrote about sailing (loosely translated)

One will weave the canvas: another will fell a tree by the light of his axe. Yet another will forge nails, and there will be others who observe the starts to learn how to navigate. And yet all will be as one. Building a boat isn’t about weaving canvas, forging nails, or reading the sky. Rather it’s about teaching them to yearn for the vast and endless ocean.

The Maori whakataukī is also apt

Ko te pae tawhiti whāia kia tata
Ko te pae tata whakamaua kia tina
Seek out distant horizons and cherish those you attain.

In other words, we teach young women to learn here, but the bigger prize is life and all it offers and preparing them for that is our bigger purpose.

Ngā mihi nui

Christine O’Neill