KORERO FROM MEL

Whanaungatanga (noun) relationship, kinship, sense of family connection - a relationship through shared experiences and working together which provides people with a sense of belonging. It develops as a result of kinship rights and obligations, which also serve to strengthen each member of the kin group. It also extends to others to whom one develops a close familial, friendship or reciprocal relationship.

Ko te whanaungatanga, he waka e whakakaha.

There is a strength and power that comes from whanaungatanga

This week, our assembly message has been about whanaungatanga. As a school, we are whānau. In Iwi, in Hapū, in Advisories and in classes…. we are whānau. In being part of a whānau, we gain strength and support and a sense of belonging. But we also have an obligation to the people and places we are connected to. We asked our students to take a moment to think to themselves….. what do they offer to our whānau? What energy and actions do they bring to our kura, our Iwi and Hapū, our advisories and our classes? How does our place become better with them in it? Everyone has something positive to bring, to offer, but are they doing that with their choices and actions? Our school is a collection of people, not a campus of buildings and we need to work together for it to be the amazing place we want it to be.

As parents and caregivers, we hope that you feel like a significant part of our whānau as well. We value what our community offers us, and what we can achieve together. Please remember to always get in contact with us, particularly your child/young person’s Learning Advisor, but also their Hapū Leader, Iwi Leader, Deputy Principal or myself if you have questions or concerns.

On Monday this week, I had the privilege of attending Fraser’s pōwhiri at Waimea College, with a small delegation of RHS staff, students and Board members. Fraser was a huge part of our whānau, and we have now supported him across the paepae to his new whānau at Waimea College, and I’m sure he will have just as positive an influence there as he did at Rototuna.