PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

Kia Ora Koutou e te Whanau,

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E tata runga, e roa raro - above is close, below is long. 

The moral of this proverb is that one should always be prepared.

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NZPF Regional Presidents’ Moot

On Friday, the NZPF Executive is hosting over 90 Regional Presidents, sector partners and sector leaders, for our annual Moot. At last year’s Moot, our Regional Presidents created six principles (Figure 1, Six Principles) to guide us in evaluating government policy. This year, we will examine the challenges and opportunities we face as new government policies emerge.

Some of the topics for discussion include:

- The Government's first 100-days’ Education Policies - Phones away, 1 hour of Reading, Writing, and Math, and Charter Schools.
- Honouring and enacting Te Tiriti o Waitangi and ensuring sustainable support for Iwi and our Schools
- Principal vacancies and workforce sustainability.
- Student Attendance.
- Wellbeing: Food in Schools
- Principal Leadership

We will report the discussion findings in a later Principal Matters Bulletin.

The Regional Presidents’ Moot offers us a platform to talk, share, and debate—a process I like to call HOPE: Hearing Other People's Experiences.

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Urgent: Cyber safety Policies and Procedures in Schools

Last weekend you may have heard on the National News the alleged hack of 2.5million NZERs data stolen. Last year we heard that a Cyber safety Firm had found that hackers were selling access to school IT Systems. It’s imperative that we remain vigilant to safeguard the digital realm of our students, staff, and wider school community.

In a recent meeting with the Ministry of Education Cyber Security and Digital Support (CSDS) Team a concerning statistic was brought to my attention: only 60% of our schools are using N4L (Network for Learning) Email Filtering - a free resource designed to enhance cyber security measures. While it is reassuring that 100% of our schools now have connectivity, we cannot yet be confident that we are fully protected against cyber threats.

New Zealand might be nestled at the bottom of the world geographically, but regrettably, we find ourselves in the top quartile, for malware and Cyber breaches globally. This sobering reality shatters any false sense of security we might harbour. It's time to confront this issue head-on.

One glaring concern is the under-reporting of breaches within our school systems. Whether breaches are motivated by financial gain, national interest espionage, or simply mischief, they pose a significant threat to our operations. Shockingly, recent incidents have seen New Zealand principals' email credentials being peddled on the internet - a stark reminder of the vulnerabilities we face.

We must address internal vulnerabilities as well. For example, it is important that we do not display passwords on staff room notice boards - an open invitation for potential breaches. We all need to get our “Basic Cyber Hygiene” sorted:

- Email filtering
- Multi Factor Authentication
- Good password Behaviour
- Patching and updating
- Get Backups to the Cloud

If you have any concerns, please email digital.services@education.govt.nz and someone from the Ministry’s CSDS team will contact you.

We will be advocating for increased funding for vital cyber security mechanisms and training programs for our schools. While Te Rito is safe and secure for student and school data, we must be confident that student and school data is safe in all other school systems. It is essential that good cyber security practices and freely provided security programs are used by all schools.

Quote:

“The information held about them is also taonga and requires care and respect. It’s precious to our Tamariki and children, to their whānau and families, and to the iwi and communities in which they live and learn.” - MOE website.

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Celebrating St Patrick's Day in Aotearoa

I joined a St Patrick Day Celebration on Wellington’s Queen’s Wharf on Sunday. It was a whanau day and by the waves of green, people were celebrating all things Irish - on Aotearoa soil. Families were upbeat, thoroughly enjoying the music and the dancing. Culture, language, and heritage were all on display - on the Wellington waterfront.

A young Kapa Haka Group performed a welcome waiata for the 500 plus enthusiastic crowd. Everyone was in full song - everyone from the youngest to the oldest knew the words. It gave me goosebumps. Then a young Irish group respectfully responded with a mihi and waiata of their own. How wonderful to see this international embrace of culture.

The St Patrick's day celebrations continued with Irish singers, dancers, and entertainers drawing in the growing crowd. Tau ana/ Awesome!

As leaders of your schools, you are making the difference. You give your Tamariki opportunities to practise cultural appropriateness, engage in cultural activities, respect differences, and understand the importance of enacting the Te Tiriti. I know this because I saw it in action on Sunday. Be proud of the part you play in raising a more tolerant and respectful generation, and collectively double down on anything that would threaten this progress.

E tata runga, e roa raro - above is close, below is long.

Ngā Mihi,

Leanne