E ngā reo, e ngā waka, e ngā mana, tēnā koutou katoa.

It has been such a busy term with so many fantastic events involving our students. We have had music and dance nights, talent quest, Shave for a Cure, and our annual polar plunge. I am always so proud of our students and so grateful for the incredible community engagement we receive at these events. Thank you to all families and friends who have supported our students this term in our sport, arts and community events.

I would like to share with you an exciting development we will be promoting here at Mount Maunganui College over the next 18 months. As many of you know our college has a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) programme of which a number of our students have been choosing to utilise. BYOD is something we would like to carefully encourage to ensure the teaching and learning at Mount Maunganui College remains relevant and innovative.

BYOD has been a feature of the New Zealand educational landscape for over a decade. Teacher pedagogy has shifted to ensure that the use of devices is much more effective. The various approaches to BYOD have forced schools and technology suppliers to have a better grasp on what devices and systems are most appropriate.

Our analysis indicates that staff and students are ready to embrace an improved BYOD programme however it is vital for us to ensure that there is equity of access to teaching and learning and we are committed to supporting all learners in this journey. We hold a significant stock of devices here at the college (40% coverage of our current student population) that will be maintained and kept at this level. It must be made very clear that we have no desire or mandate to enforce BYOD on families however we expect the use of BYOD to slowly but steadily increase over the coming years.

Over the next few months, we will be sharing information with students and families and providing opportunities for you to meet with us and get advice and support on what approach is best for your child. Our learning has shown us that not all devices are equal and appropriate and we have researched best practice methods for managing and supporting the devices for each learner. If you are looking into purchasing a device for your child, it might pay to hold off in the interim until we can share our preferences.

We are looking forward to working alongside families shortly to ensure any questions or concerns you have will be answered.

Ngā mihi nui
Alastair Sinton