On April 25 I was very proud to see the number of students who attended the ANZAC Dawn Service in Katikati during the holidays. Katikati College was also represented at Tuapiro Marae.

Our students showed their dedication to our servicemen and women and to those that have supported our people in times of conflict. Isla Willacy’s poem “Child of War” was read by Head Boy, Dandré Du Plessis. A copy of the poem is included in this newsletter. This was also followed up by our ANZAC Reflection Assembly at the beginning of Term 2, where our students conducted themselves with utmost respect in reflecting on the sacrifices that were and are made for us to live in peace.

In week 2 of this term students and staff were spoken to by John Parsons. John is an education consultant who specialises in providing advice and guidance on wellbeing in the digital world. John spoke to all students about the need to keep safe online and strategies that they could use to achieve this. Three takeaways for the students to focus on were:

1. Include family members in all your social media account as friends.

2. Block and record any concerns.

3. Never use bedroom or bathroom photos.

I will be sharing some of John’s advice with the community over the next few weeks.

On our recent teacher only day, we took the opportunity to travel around the northern Katikati area and visit sites of significance for local Māori. Changes to both NCEA and the New Zealand curriculum require teachers to be able to incorporate a Māori worldview and localised curriculum into their teaching and this day provided a step for us to be able to do this. We were expertly led by Shaan Kingi from the College Pou Ārahi, who provided staff with insight enabling them to reflect on where our tamariki have come from. We will continue to provide our staff with these experiences, as many staff have come into our community from various parts of the country not knowing our history.

At our last formal assembly for Term 1, I spoke to the students about the need to “manufacture success” for our students in their learning. This means creating situations for our children, at home and at school, where they are recognised for what they are doing well, even if at times we as adults create the situation where they do well. What this means is that our children experience success. This can be at any age. This creates confidence and self-belief. This leads to our children trying more things, taking positive risks and having greater success.

I then went on to talk to the students about what success looks like. Within a school success does not have to mean academic achievement. Although we want our students to all achieve academically, success for some means that they managed to get to school that day. For others it means that they attended all their classes. Success might mean that they didn’t lose their temper and managed to walk away. Success might mean that they stood up for someone - they were not a bystander. Success might mean that they were selected for a team or that they actually put themselves forward for a team. Success comes in various forms and it might be just a pat on the back from family to say well done!

I urged our students to think about their successes in Term 1 and more importantly what they wanted to achieve and be successful in this term.

“Find the little things that you are good at; find your success. Recognise success in others. This will give you a sense of enjoyment and confidence that will help you with your own sense of achievement. Which will lead to more success.”

Louise Buckley
Acting Principal