Being on the final countdown to an imminent career end, 12 days to go, causes one to reflect on many things; tenure as firstly a teacher and then a principal and how things in education have changed.

One thing that I know for sure is that today’s kids still have the ability to enjoy themselves in free play just as they did 40 years ago. I have spent this afternoon with our fabulous Year 8s who had earned the right to an afternoon at Mega Air. A reward for the countless and selfless hours they spend leading student activities across the school, from Office Assistants; Student Council Executive, Communications, Cultural, Environmental, ICT Technicians, International, Library, Performing Arts, Safety, Sports and P.A.Ls, P.E. and House Leaders. What a credit they are to everyone who has had input into helping them transition from early childhood into early adolescence. Their youthful exuberance and natural desire to enjoy others and have others enjoy them in return, was to the fore all afternoon, which are fantastic attributes of this particular year group. Put their devices away and there is little difference from the Year 8’s (Form 2’s) I taught in the early 70’s.

Today made me think about the first ever school camp I took, with Year 8’s, which was on a river flat surrounded by native bush in the Mamaku Range, and only accessible by foot or tractor. All that could be heard for a week was the laughter of children kayaking, swimming, horse riding, rock climbing, eeling, abseiling, and native bird song. We cooked over open camp fires, slept under canvas and tramped for miles. I remember it mostly for the childrens’ sheer exuberance and enthusiasm and a lad who gave me a very important lesson in life. Glen was a reluctant or disengaged learner in a classroom environment who was regularly in trouble. I had concerns even taking him on camp, but he proved to be the star of the show. Teaching others how to extract huhu grubs from rotten logs and to find eels along the bank of the river and flicking them on dry land with bare hands were amongst his many outdoor skills. The grubs and eels became part of our evening meals. He went from zero to hero. Post camp and with material about eels, bugs and other things of interest to him and the opportunity to make and do, he became an engaged learner. He had real mana with the other children and went on to be a leader at high school. Valuable learning, which has had a huge influence on the way I have treated many struggling classroom learners.

Next week I get to spend 3 days at the Koru Games (South Island Year 7 and 8 Competition - hosted by Selwyn Sport), with a girls sevens rugby team. For a number it will be the first time, apart from against our Year 5 and 6 boys, that they will have played tackle rugby. Two of our team members are regular Saturday players. Ava plays for HSOB Metro Woman’s Under 16 and Issy in a Burnside boys team. Issy has been selected for the Canterbury Under 18 Women's Team, so they will lead by example at the Koru Games. Our children will compete across: touch rugby, netball, bowls, tennis, basketball, volleyball and badminton against schools Primary and Intermediates from across the South Island. We know that their sportsmanship will be second to none and having prepared well, they will be highly competitive across all sports.

Regards,

Bruce Topham