by Bridgitt Robinson

My Time on the Rangiora High School Board

RHSNovember 24, 2022

Amber Patterson, Student Representative 2022/3

My time on the School Board for 2022 has been a life changer for me. This role has opened my eyes to how a community works, how to collaborate well within a team and has shown me that I have a voice. It’s hard to believe but has left me so much more passionate about our school than I was before. I’m genuinely so excited about what Rangiora High School's future holds. We are such an incredible school with so many talented students! The board members that I've worked alongside this year have been amazing, Rangiora High School is in good hands.

From the moment I was elected student representative it was all go, at the first meeting Karen Stewart told us she was retiring. Who knew that in my first job interview I would be hiring a new principal. I was in pure shock! I had no idea that my role on the board would be so involved. That was definitely an exciting experience for me.

Being part of the board was also quite emotionally challenging for me. Suspension meetings especially were difficult because there are always two sides to a story and things don’t always appear as they seem. So finding maturity to stay calm and keep professional during these meetings helped me feel more confident to talk with the student and their whanau.

One thing I'm proud of while being on the board is how I have further developed as a leader. Being part of the board is quite a different atmosphere compared to a student leadership meeting. Also being the only student on the board was quite weird at first but the members really helped me settle in nicely. I loved working with people who are at the same level of passion for the school as me.

I would like to thank the incredible school board team for supporting me this year, they have been so great helping me while I was learning about the process and responsibilities of the board, I'm forever grateful. Also to our Secretary Rowena, the amount of work she does, that I know of, for the board is incredible plus she always supplies the yummiest food to the BoT meetings. I would finally like to thank my Wānanga teacher Miss Paterson, for pushing me out of my comfort zone about a year ago to apply for this role in the first place.

I couldn't be more proud to be an active member of our fantastic RHS community. Thank you Students of Rangiora High for giving me the opportunity to be your voice for 2022, and once again for 2023!

-Amber Patterson Student Representative, 2022

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