This annual board chair report gives me the opportunity to thank many, encourage others, reflect on the past and look forward to the future.

It’s my privilege to serve as board chair for NETNZ. Firstly, I’d like to thank my board and trustee colleagues for their hard work and diligence in steering NETNZ. Just standing still takes work and as we look to the future I know it will create work and challenges I know we are courageous enough to face. I know that as we keep the NETNZ vision in front of us we will succeed in breaking exciting new ground.

To our colleagues in the executive, thank you, thank you, thank you, Trevor, Darren Ken, Lynda and Emily for your tireless efforts to ensure that students get all the opportunities possible to learn about the world around them. You create opportunities for learning every day.

To our e-teachers and e-deans again a huge thank you for the work you do, mostly unnoticed and without thanks, to coordinate and deliver amazing learning experiences for our students each and every day.

Finally, to all the students of NETNZ who choose to take part in our courses, thank you for your contributions and for taking on the challenge of learning anywhere, anywhen and anyhow.

2018/2019 has been a very concerted planning year for NETNZ as we map out what possibilities are open to us. While the CoOL School opportunity faded from view we started shaping a new pathway of our own to achieve our vision. While we are still developing the path, we are excited by the possibilities and the executive have proposed a carefully thought out way to advance the new developments. When we are able to report these, we will. As for “business as usual” we have slightly increased our numbers of students, introduced new member schools and continue to deliver high quality outcomes for students. You can read about this in the statement of service and the executive annual report.

2019 has also started as a year full of possibilities with the multitude of reviews being undertaken by the government. Whether we like them, love them or feel disappointment from the outcomes, we need to remember that it is teachers who design the future of education in New Zealand, in their classrooms, every day.

So please join in, take part and see the opportunities and remember that failure is just another learning opportunity.