From the Deputy Rector
Kia ora, Tēnā koutou katoa, Fakaalofa lahi atu, Tālofa lava kia orana, Mālō e lelei Mālō nī, Ni sa bula vinaka, Tālofa
Character Education
The introduction to ‘Our Boys: Raising Strong, Happy Sons from Boyhood to Manhood’ paints a stark picture of the current reality for young men and males in New Zealand: boys are twice as likely as girls to be diagnosed with mental health or behavioural issues; New Zealand’s youth suicide rate is one of the highest in the OECD and men commit suicide at a rate of three to one to women; a disproportionate number of young men kill themselves – or others – on our roads; in education, young women outperform young men in reading, writing and mathematics, gain NCEA qualifications at higher rates than males and females out number males in university graduation statistics in nearly every category; young men are statistically far more likely to be involved in criminal activity and in 2021 76.1% of offenders were male; the New Zealand prison population includes 8110 (93.7% of the total) male prisoners compared to 545 (6.3% of the total) female inmates. Sobering statistics indeed for those of us involved in raising young men.
Family fragility and an absence of strong, positive and dependable male role models in the lives of an increasing number of young men makes them vulnerable. The messages they receive through the media, especially social media, paint a very confusing picture of what behaviours society deems appropriate and acceptable. In an environment in which society's values are unclear, and young men receive very mixed messages about what it means to be male and to be a man, it is more important than ever that schools are strong in this respect.
For the good of our community it is important that as a school we focus on more than simply providing an education. We believe that we have an obligation to help our young men develop their character so that they are able to be outstanding future husbands and fathers, are able to lead and make positive contributions to New Zealand society, and consequently, avoid becoming part of the aforementioned negative statistics. We have a clearly articulated school vision, Hai Whakapakari i Ngā Tamatāne Kia Purapura Tuawhiti | To Develop Educated Men of Outstanding Character, and see our school values – Tū Māia | Courage – Ngākau Mahaki | Humility – Te mahi tahi | Industry – Tū Rangatira | Integrity – Tū Whakahī | Pride – Tū Whakaaute | Respect – as essential components of this, indispensable in developing young men that we as a school, and you as parents, can be proud of. However, school is only one facet of young men’s lives, and the important role that families and the wider community play in young men's development cannot be overstated. We hope that we are working in partnership with parents and whānau so that we are able to reinforce the messages young men are receiving from each of us.
Belonging
Humans are social animals and connection with others is something all of us crave. There is much research globally confirming that strong connections and a sense of belonging to the groups we are part of is good for our mental health and our resilience. New Zealand research specifically examining the mental health of young people identified that those who attend schools with an internal competition, such as our Shand Shield and a 'club' or 'house' system, tend to report better mental health than those who attend schools without those structures. While there was no firm conclusion to this, the researchers hypothesised that such a competition created a stronger sense of belonging among students as they work together to achieve shared goals.
Solesolevaki sa itakele ni duavata ǀ Solidarity is the cornerstone of unity
This Fijian proverb reinforces that unity is firmly established when people work together to achieve common goals.
Recent days have been extremely busy in our Shand Shield competition with a diverse range of activities and it has been fantastic to see so many young men involved. We have also recently completed an extremely busy winter sports season that saw the vast majority of young men fully involved and our wide range of cultural and performing arts activities continue. All of these activities provide opportunities for young men to make connections with staff and peers and to enhance their sense of belonging. If your son hasn't been involved in these activities we encourage you to work with him to find opportunities for him to participate in the future.
Resilience
Resilience is an essential trait for young men to develop in order for them to succeed and flourish. Life, as those of us with more experience know, will inevitably provide challenges and setbacks. Experience provides us with the tools to respond to such situations effectively and to learn from them. Adults can appreciate that failing to get the grade you coveted, or to make the sports team or performing group you had your heart set on, or having a relationship unexpectedly ended, are a part of life. Young men, without the wisdom of experience, often lack the tools to bounce back in such situations and require our support to do so.
Andrew Zolli, author of ‘Resilience: Why Things Bounce Back’ defines resilience as the capacity for a person to maintain their core purpose and integrity in the face of dramatically changed circumstances. Further breaking this down, Zolli talks about ‘hardiness’ as a component of resilience and identifies three associated traits in people: (i) they can find a meaningful purpose in the work they are doing, (ii) they believe they can influence the outcomes of events in their lives and, (iii) they recognise that experiences, both positive and negative, lead to learning and growth. Young men who have longer-term ambitions, both in respect of what they want to do and who they want to be, who recognise the link between hard work, perseverance and progress and achievement, in both their academic work and co-curricular activities, and who are prepared to learn from their mistakes and failures, are likely to be resilient. However, those who do not have these attributes may struggle in challenging circumstances. On a positive note, these are all attributes that can be developed.
Zolli quotes research identifying that belonging to strong social networks – those composed of real people, rather than a virtual world – and the support of friends and family, play a core role in helping us to ‘bounce back’ after suffering adversity. Specifically, cooperation and trust are mentioned as essential for developing resilience; working together with people we respect and whom we know respect us. Involvement in co-curricular activities was also linked by research to resilience. Zolli concludes that much of what constitutes resilience is habit, and therefore, resilience can be developed. Conversations with your son about situations you have found challenging, times that you have failed, and how you have responded in these situations, will help him to develop a more resilient approach and to understand that failure is an inevitable part of life, not something that is specific to him.
Ahakoa whati te manga, e takoto ana anō te kōhiwi ǀ Although the branch is broken off, the trunk remains
This whakataukī reminds us that misfortunes will not undermine an individual or group if their foundations are strong - they will be resilient in the face of challenges.
NCEA External Examinations
While we still have one term remaining in the school year, the end is indeed nigh for young men studying NCEA subjects. External examinations begin on Monday, 7 November, week four or term four. With our Senior Prizegiving taking place on Thursday, November 3, senior students will only have 13 school days in term four. Time is of the essence. It is essential that all young men are maximising the opportunities for learning that remain this year. Regular attendance at school will be essential as will a planned and determined effort with revision. NCEA examinations are rapidly approaching.
Unfortunately, for many young men, there is a tendency to leave preparation for these until the last possible moment. The consequence of this is that they will not be suitably prepared to achieve the assessment results they are capable of. It is therefore vital that your son begins his preparation as soon as possible.
An essential starting point for senior students will be a review of performances in the end-of-year school examinations to identify topics and achievement standards he performed well in and topics and standards that require greater attention. To assist you in supporting your son in this process NZQA has collated a range of resources for parents.
The NZQA website provides resources for all NCEA subjects. Examiner's reports, assessment schedules and examination papers from previous years, have been collated and are easy to find (simply search by subject name). Practice at previous year's examination papers and reference to the examiner's reports, which highlight key points, are important components of any revision programme. You can support your son by working with him as he checks the website and downloads and prints the relevant materials.
Junior Examinations
Junior examinations take place from Monday, November 7 to Friday, November 11. These examinations provide an opportunity for young men to develop revision skills as well as helping to build their knowledge and skills base, so are essential in their preparation for NCEA examinations in the senior school. These examinations also assist us in ensuring young men are placed into the appropriate class in Year 10 and the appropriate courses at NCEA Level One, so are important for a range of reasons. Consequently, I would encourage you to spend time with your son over the holidays to ensure that his classwork is up-to-date and that he has a revision programme in place so that he is able to make the best use of the time available in term four prior to the examinations. The habits he develops now will help lay a solid foundation for his achievement in future years.