Principal News
After a two year hiatus due to Covid 19 restrictions, it is just fantastic to gather as a community and celebrate everyone’s successes. It needs to be acknowledged how difficult the last three years have been for all of our students. They have likely to have missed or had smaller celebrations and rights of passages due to Covid19. I am sure your Year 6 camps, prizegivings, discos, sports and cultural events, holidays, birthdays and other celebrations have all been affected by Covid. You have lost time with your learning and have had to adapt to new ways of doing things, such as online learning and wearing masks in class.
As difficult as it has been, you have all succeeded, and you should be proud of that. For me, that is the theme for today.
Success is one of our four school values. It often comes as the result of showing the other three values of RESPECT, RESPONSIBILITY and CREATIVITY. Success comes in many different forms and today it is about acknowledging individual success where people will be recognised publically. The students who come up today should be very proud of their efforts, as no doubt your parents will be proud of you.
But in events like this, not everyone’s successes can be celebrated publically. I know you all have one as one of my highlights for the year was reading the student comments and how everyone was able to think of something that they have done that has made them feel good about themselves.
If your name is not called today, do not let that define who you are. I have attended a few prize givings at high schools over the last 10 years. One of the things I enjoy the most at prize-giving is seeing students I have taught at previous schools find success and be acknowledged as they cross the stage. I have been proven to be wrong more times than I can remember on students who hadn’t found success at primary or intermediate and 5 years later end up with amazing achievements and rewards. What you have done up to now doesn’t define you, if you don’t get called up for a prize today it doesn’t take away what you have achieved this year. It is what you do next is the thing that will define you. So whatever happens today, I encourage you all to set yourself some new goals, work hard and keep putting your best foot forward so that one day you may be recognised in an event like this.
Success doesn’t just happen either … it is a real team performance.
In the recently successful Black Ferns team, of the 15 players on the field at any one time there were another 17 players in the squad, three coaches, and 17 technicians and specialists such as physios and dieticians. Not to mention the countless administrators working indirectly with the team. Much like the Black Ferns, your parents and wider whanau are key to any success that you have.
The research shows that teachers only have a 30% impact on your learning. But that 30 % is a very important part. I want to thank the teachers for all of your hard work this year. The previous two years of dealing with Covid have been difficult, but at least it has been consistent for a teacher. You were either at school or at home.
This year, having to work in both places was extremely difficult. Supporting those who were isolating at home while also teaching at school took a huge amount of commitment. Not to mention when dealing with your own or your families health as well. Thank you to all of the support staff who do a great job working alongside teachers and supporting some of our most vulnerable students. Thank you also to Rose and Vanessa, who will still be frantically working in the office ending this year and getting ready for next year. They juggle so many balls and always do it with a smile on their face. Finally, a big thank you to Eb, who has done so much more than you would expect from a caretaker. A champion for our Pasifika students, an awesome guitar player and all round good guy. He has made the decision to share those talents with more students and will be going to the College of Education to train to be a teacher. I know for a fact that the teaching profession will be better off for having him in it.
I would like to also take this opportunity to thank Peter Renton, the chair of the Board of Trustees, and the whole Board for entrusting me with the prestigious position of Principal of Tahuna Normal Intermediate. It has been a huge 18 months for the Board with a Principal appointment, the completion of a very successful ERO review as part of a new ERO trial, and providing advice, guidance and governorship during a worldwide pandemic.
End of year celebrations is always tinged with sadness as we lose half our school. Teachers and support staff move on to better things. I mentioned Eb before, but I would also like to acknowledge the work of Pip Rhodes, who heads into retirement. Pip has been at the school for 12 years, supporting and extending students in literacy while working with our college and school teachers to become better teachers in literacy. We would also like to congratulate Josh Bates and Andrew Wilson as they move onto permanent positions in other schools where I know they are going to do a fantastic job.
To the year 8’s, I would like to start with a quote from the book “oh, the places you will go” by Dr Seuss. "You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You're on your own, and you know what you know. And you are the guy who'll decide where to go."
I love Intermediates for the fact that they provide so many opportunities for students to try new things but more importantly, these opportunities allow them to grow as a person. They find out what they like and, perhaps more importantly, don’t like and start to develop a wide range of social and academic skills. As Seuss says… you can steer yourself in any direction, and as much as the vast majority of you have enjoyed your time at Intermediate, if you take that same positive attitude to high school, you will grow even more.
I would like to quote another great philosopher. Ali Parker from Room 15 is her name and I thought she summed up the student comments in the reports the best when she said ….
I have really enjoyed this year. I have had many accomplishments: my three sports teams: netball, hockey, and volleyball, going on a trip to Stewart Island, and visiting the marine studies center. As well as that I feel more confident then in previous years, and due to that I have made new friends.. It feels like just yesterday I was starting Intermediate and soon I'll be starting high school. In summary, this has to be my favourite of my eight year school career and I look forward to a new beginning – Ali Parker Room 15
It is that feeling of pride, excitement, and positivity that you should all take as you head off to high school next year.
Ali talked a little about the opportunities that she has taken while at Tahuna. Another theme that came out of the student comments in the report was one of the student regret of not trying new things. This is the challenge that I would like to extend to the Year 7 students next year. What did you see this year that you would like to try next year.
I also want you to think about what our school will be like next year. Intermediates are the only schools that lose half of their students every year, and therefore we lose half of our culture every year. It will be you who sets the tone next year. How we look after each other, how we talk to each other, and how we look after the school and its resources will be set by the 270 students that we have in Year 7 sitting here today. If things weren’t great for you this year, here is our chance to fix it. If you have a great year, let's build on it and make it even better. Because if you make it better for yourself, you will make it even better for the 270 Year 7s joining us next year.
Finally, I would like to finish by saying that on behalf of all of the staff at Tahuna Normal Intermediate School we wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a happy, safe, and enjoyable holiday break.
Nga mhi nui
Simon Clarke
Principal