Kia ora, Tēnā koutou katoa, Fakaalofa lahi atu, Tālofa lava kia orana, Mālō e lelei Mālō nī, Ni sa bula vinaka, Tālofa

As we near the halfway mark in a busy school term it is timely to pause and reflect on the purpose of all the business.

Whānaungatanga ǀ Belonging

Having a strong sense of whānaungatanga or belonging to the groups that we are involved with is fundamental to our ability to thrive as well as being directly linked to better mental health outcomes. For young men, taking advantage of the many opportunities to become fully engaged in school life will help to foster this sense of whānaungatanga.

In our previous newsletter, we celebrated the significant levels of student involvement in sporting activities, while this newsletter showcases some of the involvement of young men in a range of our performing arts activities. Learning an instrument, joining a band or choir, the Junior Musical Theatre, the Rector's Company, or the Kapa Haka group or the Pasifika club are all great ways to meet new people and form positive relationships with peers and staff. The shared experience of working together for a common purpose unites the members of the group and develops whānaungatanga.

Ki te Kotahi te kākaho, ka whati; ki te kāpuia, e kore e whati. ǀ If a reed stands alone, it can be broken; if it is in a group, it cannot.

When we come together as a collective, with a sense of belonging, with a shared purpose, we too are at our strongest.

Providing service is another great way of developing links to the wider community and the sense of whānaungatanga that goes with it. Earlier this term more than 150 young men willingly gave their time to be involved in our school Open Day and more recently nearly 90 young men signed up for our annual Blood Donor Day. All of these young men can justifiably feel proud of the contribution they have made to their school community and the wider community. In the coming weeks, we will be holding our annual appeal to support the Palmerston North Foodbank - another opportunity for those who are able to, to provide practical support for their community.

Failure, Struggle and Disappointment Are Part of Life

In today's carefully curated online world young men can easily get the impression that failure, struggle and disappointment only happen to other people. Of course, those of us with a bit more experience know that difficulties are a part of life and while the specific challenges that we face might change over time, they do not go away. A recent New Zealand study examining mental health issues in young people identified that 'normalising' struggle - raising awareness that we will all experience difficulties from time to time in our lives - helps with better responses and improved mental health outcomes when such circumstances are inevitably encountered. Making young men aware of this and helping them to develop the tools to respond appropriately in such circumstances is an important role that parents play.

Frequently the causes of disappointment or the challenges that we face are out of our control. However, the manner in which we respond is very much within our control. The manner in which we role model responses when things don't go to plan sets a very powerful example for our children. Do they see us respond positively in challenging circumstances or do they see us 'throw in the towel' and make excuses? We would all rather avoid failure, but it is an aspect of life that we will all experience.

School Examinations for NCEA Students

The beginning of term three has been incredibly busy for all members of our school community. The majority of young men in the senior school are busy with internal assessments, on top of their involvement in the plethora of co-curricular activities that are on offer. Many subjects will be intending to have all internal assessments completed by the end of term three, creating a window of time in which both students and teachers can shift their attention to preparation for the external NCEA examinations.

It is essential that our senior school examinations, Friday, 9 September, to Friday, 16 September, form a key part of students' preparation for their external examinations. While these examinations are ‘mock’, they are important for two reasons. Firstly, this is an opportunity for your son and his teachers to accurately gauge his progress and understanding in the Achievement Standards which will be assessed. The feedback your son will be provided with should be a key component of his preparation for the external NCEA examinations. Secondly, should your son miss an NCEA examination through illness or injury, and be required to go through the Derived Grade process with NZQA, the results of these examinations will form the basis of the final grade he is awarded. While it is easy to ‘assume’ this process will not apply, we are inevitably required to provide such information for a number of students each year.

Learning How To Learn

Dr. Barbara Oakley is the creator of one of the most popular MOOC’s (Massive Online Open Content) available, ‘Learning How to Learn.’ Dr. Oakley’s course has been completed by more than two million people worldwide and a student version has recently been developed, ‘Learning How to Learn for Youth’. The descriptor for this course explains that it is “Based on the most popular open online course in the world, this course gives you easy access to the learning techniques used by experts in art, music, literature, math, science, sports, and many other disciplines. No matter what your current skill level, using these approaches can help you master new topics, change your thinking and improve your life.”

We encourage young men in Year 10 and above to consider enrolling in and completing this FREE course. It takes approximately seven hours spread over three weeks. Young men will gain a range of skills to support their study throughout their secondary schooling and onto tertiary study at polytechnics, apprenticeships, ITO qualifications, university or workplace training and qualifications. Further information about the ‘Learning How to Learn for Youth’ course can be found here : https://barbaraoakley.com/ or use this link to enroll in the ‘Learning How to Learn for Youth’ course through Coursera: https://www.coursera.org/learn/learning-how-to-learn-youth

I appreciate that the thought of extra work may not appeal to many young men. However, completing the online course could be a great activity for parents and sons to work on together and will also assist you to support your son in his academic studies as he progresses through school. Dr. Oakley’s excellent book Learning How to Learn: A Guide for Kids and Teens is available from a range of online retailers and could be a worthwhile investment for your son.

Scott Sun Assembly Presentation