Your life unfolds in proportion to your Courage

I was happy for Alastair, the new Principal, who had been one of my deputies and has been at Massey for 16 years.

I was so happy to see the students. It was so nice to sit and talk with them and to see their fabulous faces.
"Are the boys, good boys, Sir?" “Very good”.
"Are you happy there, Sir?" “Very happy”.
"Do you miss us, Sir?" “Very much”.
"Are we still your whanau, Sir?" “You will always be my whanau”.

The warmth of their welcome was very humbling and it reminded me how accepting of change young people are while still having aroha for what was. It’s not change that's difficult, I think, it’s the transition to change that's hard, particularly for us as adults.

If you asked me, "What trait do you see most often in schools?" without hesitation I would say, "Courage."

I had a student in London who came to my school in Year 11 in 2009. Thomas had an extremely troubled past and we were his 4th school, having been expelled from his previous schools. He also had a rocky start with us. I spent a lot of time with him, as did a number of adults. After an outburst in class, he was sent to my office. I said, "Let’s go for a walk." We went for a walk along the High Street in Croydon. After some time walking in silence he said, "I can’t read Sir, I can’t read!" It was a very emotional moment. He was crying. It was impossibly sad. How tired he was. How much energy it took to come up with ways not to read in class and how much our education system had let him down. I thanked him for telling me and told him how it took a lot of courage to tell someone. I said, "We will teach you how to read but we need to tell your teachers. Do you think you could tell them all if I got them into my office after school today?" It was one of the most courageous things I have ever seen. He not only told his teachers but the four boys he had made friends with who were also in the room. It was a privilege to witness. Lots of tears but an unshakeable commitment to make sure that he would be able to read.

I tell this story only because Thomas emailed me on Monday to let me know he had just started his own small building company and had just bought a van, his wife was pregnant with a baby girl and he had just completed his first paper through The Open University. I asked him if it was okay to share his story with you. He emailed back and said, "Sir, it’s your story too. It’s lots of people's story. It’s Mr Williams story as well," his form tutor who worked closely with Thomas.

There had been an unshakeable commitment to make sure Thomas would be able to read, and also the unshakeable optimism of the teachers in that room. When I am hiring staff, teachers or non-teaching staff, unshakeable optimism is something I look for. I hunt for it. Believing that our boys at WC are capable of anything and everything. That the teacher’s optimism is so infectious that great things, miraculous things, can happen.

Thomas’ courage and commitment + the teachers’ optimism and commitment = a small business owner in South London, confident, happy, soon-to be-father of a baby girl, and a degree underway.

Thomas' life unfolded in proportion to his courage!

How much more could our lives unfold with a measure of courage?

School Ball
What a night! I was so proud of our boys and all the young people that attended. I’m not the best Headmaster when it comes to school balls. I worry about things that never happen and look for things that are never there. A constant parade of our boys were telling me that it was going great and not to worry. They were completely correct, of course. Thank you to our brilliant Ball committee. Thanks to all staff in attendance, 28 staff in total, and particularly our Year 13 Deans, Mr Inger and Mrs Korb, and our Year 12 Deans, Mr Mance and Ms Nathan, for their unconditional support of the boys and commitment to making the Ball happen.

It’s been a very busy but a great term. The boys have been superb. They are embracing the 3 T’s; being tidy, being on time and that we are a telling school. They continue to be polite, prepared and productive in class and a joy to work alongside. Thanks to all of our amazing teachers, non-teaching staff and to our BoT for their guidance and support. Thank you so much to our parents and families for putting all of us in a position to be successful.

I know that Thomas would be wishing us all well and a happy break. He exemplified what a telling school is about. I leave you with something he said to me as he was working on his reading. "All the letters make up little sounds but when we bring them all together they make big sounds and big words and important words. By myself, I made a little sound but together we all have a big voice."

Happy holidays from Thomas and I.

Receive the light and pass it on.

Mr Denham
Headmaster