kia ora

Principal’s Welcome

Tēnā koutou katoa

My personal vision for our students is – to develop them into self-motivated lifelong learners with the skills to problem solve and work with others to improve society.

To achieve this we have in the past become involved with a number of projects Kia Eke Panuku, Restorative Practice, PB4L, Literacy and Numeracy projects and Community of Learning. I believe this is the time to see these really come together and move forward into the modern learning environment. I am really excited about this. I am already hearing the buzz around the staff of cross curricula activities exciting projects new ideas and extending out into the community.

My view on learning and assessment continues to be that of NZQA and that is, working towards anytime, anywhere, anyhow. As we work towards this it means we really need to know where our students are at, so we can differentiate the work and individualise their courses. All this and yet maintain the validity and credibility of the assessment. I also believe we need to continually keep the pressure on students to have pride in their work. Good enough is not good enough.

In our Staff Handbook it states

“….ensure that all students are given an education which respects their dignity, rights and individuality and motivates them to learn… challenge them to achieve personal standards of excellence and reach their full potential.”

I also have a firm belief in the importance of being embedded in our community. I will encourage any curriculum initiatives or ideas where we can ensure our students are contributing meaningfully with the community.

As a leader I see my style as very much distributive and collegial. “Transformative.” My personal whakatauki is “Na to rourou na taku rourou ka ora ai te iwi “– with your food basket and mine the people will thrive.

I ride on the shoulders of Giants, and I truly believe we have amazing teachers here and am proud to be your Principal.

Betty Whyte

bwhyte@qcc.school.nz