The school year, and our final full year as Linwood College at Ōtākaro, is underway.

Kia ora koutou. Talofa. Kia Orana. Malo e lelei. Bula. Fakaalofa atu. Namaste and Kumusta. Greetings to everyone at LCŌ and our wider LCŌ community.

This newsletter shows the busy and varied activity of a modern secondary school. It is a joy to be able to see so many students involved in the multitude of activities that are on offer. School is in full swing.

2nd half of the term

And speaking of being in full swing, as I highlighted in my own article a few days ago, we are now in the second half of the term. Wednesday 10th March was exactly the halfway point through this 11-week term. Repeating my previous words, the introductory weeks are over. As such my conversations now with senior students as I walk around the school include direct NCEA-progress topics. What assessments are they now working on? How many credits have they sat and passed and what, therefore, is their "success-percentage"? What is their growth mindset processes to ensure that they see themselves as learners and succeeding as opposed to the natural tendency of many teenagers to drift along and then wonder in October where the year has gone?

Likewise, with Yr 7-10s, I am asking what their present learning is about and what their next learning steps are.

Relationships for Learning

Schools run on whanaungatanga - relationships. Relationships, and in particular for schools, learning-focussed relationships, are everything. Successful schools develop positive partnerships and have strong circles of relationships – students, whānau, staff, our partner primary schools in Tamai and Aupaki - our two Kāhui Ako, and the wider Linwood community from social agencies to businesses. We all work together for success. Two whakataukī illustrate this: 

• Mā pango, mā whero, ka oti ai te mahi: With red and black the work will be complete
• So’o le fau i le fau: Join hibiscus fibre to hibiscus fibre.

Learning is a blend of activities

Learning is therefore a blend of individual and collaborative activity. Sometimes we learn best by sitting quietly and "being in our own head."  Other times it is asking others how to do something and working it out together - learning through collaboration.

Collaboration

This principle of collaboration is of vital importance to our students as they prepare for the global world in which they will live their lives. This is because the global world requires effective interaction with others and a receptive attitude to other cultures, values, identities and perspectives. Does this differ from when we adults were at school? Absolutely it does and not before time. 

The bad of days of "School Cert"

When many of us adults were at school the focus was on IQ, and IQ alone – our Intelligence Quotient. And remember for those of us in the days of School Certificate, 50% of us who sat School Cert had to fail. The markers scaled the results to ensure this. However, some years ago, and quite rightly so, attention moved to people’s EQ – our Emotional Intelligence. This is because we all know people who are very brain-smart but for various reasons cannot operate with other people. And sadly we also see some students, fortunately a minority, who find it hard to work well with others, even down to foundational levels of good manners and being on time and other reliability indicators.

Growth Mindset

We also know through neuroscience that IQ-smartness is not fixed but can grow. This is a theme for our Ako curriculum. Within our "brain-plasticity" new neural pathways can be formed, or, in plain English, effort makes us stronger. I am delighted that a word that my grandmother used in the 1960s is back: “grit.” For those of you who would like to know more about this please see Dr Carol Dweck’s “growth mindsets.” 

This is the Linwood College of 2021 and Te Aratai College of 2022 and beyond. A strengths-based education, founded on belonging and diversity, for pathwayed personal excellence through growth and grit.

Finally, schools can be complicated places. If for any reason you would like to talk to me about anything please contact the office so we can arrange this. My door is open.

Ngā mihi ki a koutou -

Richard Edmundson Tumuaki-Principal