E mihi ana ki a koutou (good wishes to you all)

Tēnā koutou e te whānau | thanks so much to the families who came to our Whānau Evening this week. Our scientific counting method (how many sausages we gave away;) told us we had a great turn-out. The feedback was all really valuable, whether praise or constructive criticism, as it’s just so important for us to hear from you about your kids and their strengths/interests/needs. Later in the year, we’ll meet again to give you specific feedback on the learning progress your children have made. My thanks to our staff too, as this was a long day.

An appeal to parents of boys: please sit down this weekend and discuss what it means to be a positive male. I’m male, I’m a dad of sons, and I’m worried about what our ‘average’ males think of themselves.

Males should be able to talk respectfully to all people, to have empathy and show kindness. Males should value diverse people - different body shapes and colours, genders, cultures and abilities. They should be able to take responsibility, to know right from wrong and - ideally - be able to speak up to help their mates to do the right thing. Males should back themselves as learners, know it takes hard work and we learn from mistakes and know it is worth it. Males should be able to see strengths in others and give compliments.

There’s also a lot of stuff that males should know NOT to do and it is worth talking about toxic masculinity: banter, for example, is so badly handled by teens that it causes no end of problems. It really isn’t funny to call kids fat or gay or joke about slavery.

Parents, it isn’t being weak or “woke” to cut this stuff out - our kids live in a different world to what we did and they just can’t handle all the influences in their lives.

Yes, we’re dealing with a problem with some of our male students which is shown in achievement stats, referral stats, stand down/suspension stats and complaints about disruptive behaviour. Yes, this is a generalisation and I’m not talking about all boys but it’s a good conversation to have with any boys. If you don’t have someone in your whānau who can have this chat, please let me know - Jared Peacock and I are visiting year levels to talk as males to males and we’d be happy to individualise this. We need to do better. And yes, I believe the education system needs to do better by our males, and I’m working on that, but “it takes a village” and I’m asking for your help.

On Monday, Miss Sharmaine Esteban joins us to teach English and Social Studies. Originally from the Philippines, Miss Esteban is an experienced teacher who has been in Auckland. This completes our staffing, finally, for 2024!

Thanks for your support,

Andy England

Tumuaki | Principal