From the Principal 11 June 2021

Kia ora koutou

It is quite scary to think that in a blink of the eye we now find ourselves midway through Term Two with winter upon us and time travelling very quickly towards the end of the year. 

I would again like to make the point that it is critical that parents are supporting their young people, particularly those in senior school, to be working hard towards meeting assessment dates and preparing for the derived grade exams in Term Three.  Although we do not subscribe to a heavy homework schedule, getting students into the habit of reviewing their day and prioritising time to complete work is an important aspect of student success.  I would urge you to have ongoing conversations as you support your child's education journey.

One of the interesting outcomes that we have seen from COVID is that during lockdown many parents became far more engaged with their child's learning and we actually saw an improvement in success rates as a result of this.  Having a home, school and student partnership certainly works.

XŌtaki College Alumni

At the time of writing this newsletter we are in the process of getting organisation completed for the XŌtaki College Alumni Hall of Fame function to induct Peter Housiaux and Jacqui Sutton into the Hall of Fame.  Both Jacqui and Peter have an amazing record of service to the Ōtaki community.  I would like to take this opportunity to formally thank Max Lutz, Chairman, and all of the XŌtaki College Alumni Trustees for their ongoing work and commitment to making Ōtaki College a better place for students and whānau.  To date the  XŌtaki College Alumni has contributed over $300,000 towards projects in the College, none of which could have been completed without their involvement and support.  Ngā mihi nui tena koutou.

Kāpiti Rotary

Kāpiti Rotary member Vic Hewson has been heavily involved in supporting students at Ōtaki College to attend Outward Bound or Spirit of Adventure.  To date we have had 4 students attend Spirit of Adventure, with another leaving tomorrow, and one attend Outward Bound.  A common theme on their return is that these opportunities are life-changing.  I recently had the pleasure of accompanying Quinn Straker and Rawiri Rikihana-Sinclair to a Kāpiti Rotary dinner where they presented to Rotary members their journeys and reflection about their time spent on Spirit of Adventure.  Both students did an exceptional job with their presentations which were well received and acknowledged by members of Rotary.  Sincere thanks must go to this organisation who are clearly focused on investing time and energy into helping grow fine young people and future leaders of our communities.

The College Future

As Principal, one of my important roles is working alongside the Board of Trustees to make sure that we are constantly reviewing and positioning the College in a way that will best serve its students and whānau.  The development of a well considered Strategic Plan is critical in the process and we are now at a time when we are ready to complete our 2022-26 Strategic Plan.  So this Plan truly reflects the aspirations of our community I would urge you all to take every opportunity to participate in workshops or provide feedback on the draft Plan which is now ready for consultation.  The BoT and I look forward to your feedback.