Tena koutou e te whanau o kaipara
Prior to being appointed principal of Kaipara College in August, I held the position of associate principal here so, unlike many principals who are often appointed externally, I have had the good fortune of already forming a strong connection with the school and its fabulous students. My passion for this school and it’s students is one of the main reasons I applied for the position of principal. I do not see this position as a stepping stone to other positions in a career ladder, but a longer term total commitment to the students, staff, families and the Kaipara College community as a whole.
My practice is steeped in building relationships and relational trust, based around mutual respect, reliability, integrity, proven capability, honesty and openness. I am a person who has the ability to listen, to be warm towards students and staff but is also able to hold people to account to meet high expectations. I believe it is essential to build relational trust as the school leader, to enable mutual respect to develop, instil clarity of purpose and direction and create a positive thriving, passionate culture within our school.
Kaipara College is a brilliant and unique school. It has a busy student and local community that offers many opportunities for success. The PRIDE values of the school provide us with our WHY. These indicate that as a school we value partnership within and beyond school, we value respect, innovation, diversity and excellence. It is how we bring those values alive within and beyond school that will enable us to get to our outcomes of belonging and success for each student. I believe an effective school is one where all young people can and do succeed, regardless of their background and in spite of the social, financial, personal and physical challenges they may face.
I am committed to working with and for the tangata whenua, NgatiWhâtua o Kaipara, together exploring possibilities to ensure the very best educational outcomes for our Mâori students to enable and support them to achieve success as the brilliant young Mâori people they are.
It is my vision to make Kaipara College a place where students feel they belong and are successful, where their voices and those of their whânau are heard and that their success is essential to everything we do as a school. I want Kaipara College to be a place where our young people love to come to learn, where family and whânau feel as though they are an integral and essential part of their students’ life and learning journey, and a focal point and hub for local community spirit.
As Principal my main concern is maximising the wellbeing and educational achievement of all the young people who come to Kaipara College, and leading in a responsive and cohesive way all the complexities involved in achieving this. Maximising the wellbeing and educational achievement of these young people relies on the efforts of a cohesive and collaborative team.
It is in a cohesive and collaborative way that we have tackled this most recent lockdown (not something I was expecting to face quite so early in my principalship!). At the forefront of our minds has been the wellbeing of our students, who all deal with lockdown learning in different ways and have different situations and levels of connectivity at home, whilst ensuring their academic pathways, particularly for senior students, are not compromised. My thanks to the entire community for continuing to engage with us throughout lockdown, and helping us to maximise the outcomes for your rangatahi.
All of us contribute to the outcomes for our young people, together we go on this journey, together we determine the future.
Nauterourou, nakuterourou, kaoraaite iwi
With your contribution and my contribution, the community will prosper.
