Kia ora koutou,

As the board comes to the end of our term for Ko Taku Reo – Deaf Education New Zealand, it is the perfect time to reflect on some of the amazing work we have been involved in over the past three years. This has been a time of immense change with the merger of two Deaf Education Centres into one but it has also been an opportunity to choose what we want Deaf Education in New Zealand to look like in the future.

We have been heartened with the continuing progress being made by our staff who are developing new ways for Ko Taku Reo to deliver a range of nationwide services. This has involved working with staff and other stakeholders to identify changes and programmes with the goal of improving student achievement and wellbeing. Examples of these new initiatives included:

• the opening of a provision in Wellington
• Immersion Day Schools around the country where Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) learners enrolled at mainstream schools to come together once a week to access the curriculum, develop their identity and NZSL skills with their DHH peers
• the development of a new Beacon School and pre-school concept

Of course the Board’s term of office has also been significantly disrupted by COVID-19 and this has also meant we have all been interacting in new ways and that has required our teachers to think differently about the best ways to engage our students at distance.

More recently, I was delighted to see photos and videos of some senior students who took part in a face to face hui in Christchurch after they had initially participated in our online Virtual Deaf Space programme. This face to face opportunity allowed our learners to continue to develop their identity as well as their friendships and reinforces the importance of continuing to grow services that meet the needs of the wide variety of learners we support from around the motu.

By the time you receive this newsletter, many of you will be aware of the news that was shared earlier this week relating to our governance and school leadership. Please take the time to read and watch these updates, which are on the school website and also included in this newsletter for you. We support the Ministry’s appointment of Mike Rondel as Commissioner which provides continuity and stability for Ko Taku Reo – Deaf Education New Zealand into the future.

I hope you enjoy all the stories in this newsletter and manage some time with whānau over the break to enable you to recharge your batteries. We look forward to another successful term of celebrating the progress and achievements of all our learners.

Na mihi nui,

Dr Denise Powell
Outgoing Board Chair