Nau mai haere mai!

We have just about completed three weeks back on school site and eight weeks of the school term.

The students and the staff are settling back into the routines of school life and anxiety levels around Covid 19 are dropping and we may even be moving to Alert Level 1 next week.

NZQA have informed us of more changes to the structure of NCEA qualifications for 2020 in response to the lost time at school which I am sure is welcomed by students, staff and families alike (please read the article in the newsletter about this for more detail).

I have been watching with disbelief the events unfolding in America following the death of George Floyd. It makes me so appreciative of the country we live in and the leadership that has been shown in our country to address racism and treatment of all people regardless of race, gender or religious beliefs. This is not to say that we are perfect and don't have our issues but we are certainly better placed than most.

One of the key aspects of having a community that all people are proud of and want to be a part of is kindness.

Kindness is defined as the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate. Affection, gentleness, warmth, concern, and care are words that are associated with kindness. While kindness has a connotation of meaning someone is naive or weak, that is not the case. Being kind often requires courage and strength. Kindness is an interpersonal skill.

In this tough time I would like to see all our staff, students and caregivers showing this interpersonal skill in meaningful honest ways.

There are different ways to practice kindness. One way to be kind is to open your eyes and be active when you see people in need. Do you notice when people could use a helping hand? A sense of community is created when people are kind to those who need help.

Kindness is also about telling the truth in a gentle way when doing so is helpful to the other person. Receiving accurate feedback in a loving and caring way is an important part of a trusted relationship. The courage to give and receive truthful feedback is a key component of growth and flexible thinking.

I would also like to acknowledge the Grandparent of a couple of our students at East Otago High School. Noel Sheat has been made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to ploughing and the community. This is a well deserved honour and one that he and his family should be extremely proud of.

Nga mihi nui

Marcus Cooper