Dear Parent/Guardians of Year 10 students,

As you are aware, your son is currently taking part in a Year 10 Boys programme called “The Rite Journey”. The RITE Journey involves several ceremonies over the year focusing on the transition from boyhood to manhood.

During Week 6, we will begin our first two ceremonies with the boys, which directly involve you as their parents and caregivers, see below for class specific dates and times.
The first ceremony of the “The Rite Journey’ is called the “Calling”. (The Calling is where we, as your son’s teachers, call the boys to begin their journey; it also involves an acknowledgement of the end of their childhood and a show of gratitude to those who have influenced them through childhood.) 

This will take place at Sugarloaf Scenic Reserve on the Port Hills at 7am. Your son will have a class specific day to watch the sun rise at 7:15am. It is hugely important that you as parents/caregivers attend this ceremony with your son. See below for a map of where to go. We realise many of you work and have other children, but finding the time will be hugely beneficial for your son’s journey to manhood. If you, as their parent, can’t be there, we would encourage a significant person in their lives, (stepfather/stepmother, grandparent, uncle/aunty, coach, etc) to attend. We will endeavour to run the calling regardless of the weather so please bring wet weather gear and umbrellas if it looks wet and cold.

Following the “Calling” there will be time where we ask parents to find a place to talk to your son. We encourage you to bring along a thermos of hot coffee to enjoy up the hill or to head to a café to share a drink and some kai with your son. We usually invite families back to a shared breakfast at school in the hall, but we are unable to do this under the current ‘Red’ setting. During this time, we ask you as parents to bring an item that had significant importance to your son’s childhood (a teddy bear, snuggle rug, book, painting etc) This part of the Journey is called the ‘Departure’ in which you share some memories of bringing up your son to this point in their lives. It symbolises the increasing independence that your son will experience from here and the fact that other people will me ever more important in your son’s journey toward manhood. This is a special time between you and your son in which he will deliver you a very heartfelt letter which portrays what you mean to him.

This is up to you whether you would like to stay at the location on the hill, to a café or head to somewhere else significant to your whanau. We ask that you drop your son back at school between 9:15am and 10am.

If you have any queries, please feel free to email the teacher in charge of the Rite Journey, Tom Tennent.

Tom Tennent

RTJ Teacher in Charge

ttennent@stc.school.nz

10A. Monday 7th March

10B. Tuesday 8th March

10C. Wednesday 9th March 

10D. Thursday 10th March 

10E. Friday 11th March