Congratulations to Bo Kessler, Ruth Buckland, Lani Kalapu & Astrid Sayer! And a huge thank you to our 2022 Student Leaders & Kaitaunaki: Anushka Castaing, Ed Roddick, Tiaki Sharp, Isabel Lyttle, Malachi Stephenson & Juahna Hura.

Ruth Buckland

Kia ora, ko Ruth toku ingoa. (She/Her)

I feel so honoured to have been selected as one of your Student Leader for 2023!

I can't wait for the year ahead where I will have the opportunity to engage with students, the Senior Leadership Team and the community in a way that I never have gotten to experience before. Alongside learning new skills from this role, I am also excited to give back to the school through my knowledge and passions such as looking at how we can enhance the lives of everyone at our school.

In this role, I look forward to being a voice and face for the students of Neirana Kāreti and am so pumped to input into the positive culture of our school in this way.

I look forward to working with the three other amazing rangatahi next year as we take the places as your 2023 student leaders. - Ruth

Lani Kalapu

O Lani Lo’utoto Feti’i Fa’aopoopo Kalapu lo’u igoa, I use he/they pronouns, and I am of Samoan descent.

I feel incredibly humbled to have been elected as a student leader for 2023 and I’m beyond excited to be working with Astrid, Ruth and Bo, I think we’ll be a great team! I would like to thank all of the students and staff who took the time to vote and the other candidates who ran for these positions, all of them would have done an exceptional job.

A little information about me, I have had some experience in leadership roles. I have been a house captain, and a member of the Cultural Committee. I have also been a part of a few school related kaupapa. I was in the Naycol Chorale choir, the school production Carousel, and I am a part of Puaha te tai Kapa Haka roopu.

My main goal is to ensure that Te Kāreti o Neirana is an equitable environment for all rangatahi/students where they can succeed on their own pathways. I want to make sure we are doing all we can as student leaders to help rangatahi feel they belong at Nayland and to encourage diversity and representation in all spaces. Something that being a student leader will help me in is furthering my own skills and experience so that I can grow and learn.

Thank you all again for this wonderful opportunity, and I will do my best in this role.

Bo Kessler

Hey everyone! My name is Bo Kessler I'm a soon to be year 13 student and I'm one of your four student leaders for 2023! I love Christmas time and being outdoors and I'm currently binge-watching Bondi rescue. I've been in leadership roles since year 6 so it's amazing I can end my schooling with this one! I'm so excited and grateful to have this opportunity and to be able to play a part in the things that make Nayland such a great school! I can't wait to work with Lani, Ruth and Astrid to make the school year fun and enjoyable for every single student. So stay tuned for the great year ahead of us! 

Astrid Sayer

Kia ora koutou kātoa,

Ki te taha o tōku pāpā, nō Ūropi ōku tūpuna

Ki te taha o tōku māmā, nō Tenemāka ōku tūpuna

Nō reira, nō Tenemāka me Aotearoa ahau

Ko Astrid Banke Sayer tōku ingoa

A huge thank you for all the support that all applicants have received, and to everyone involved in the process. Our support of each other is definitely one special thing about Te Kāreti o Neirana.

I am beyond excited to contributed to the leadership of another wonderful year for the kura in 2023. My values that I will bring to the role include equity, Kaitiakitanga (sustainability), and the incorporation of Te Ao Māori at our kura.

I am a big believer in collective leadership, and I can’t wait to collaborate with the other 2023 student leaders as well as all our leaders across the kura. One of my goals is to continue to create more opportunities for everyone across the school to contribute.

This is a whakataukī that I believe captures a part of who I am, and mahi I believe in:

Nāku te rourou, nāu te rourou, kia ora ai te iwi
With your basket and my basket, the people will thrive.

This whakataukī talks about collaboration for the good of all people, in the same way that I strive to engage people throughout the school.

Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tatau kātoa

Kia pai tō rā,

Astrid