Principal's Message

Cultural awareness seems to be a constant reminder for me at present. I was fortunate to attend the annual Secondary Principals Conference this week and the theme of equity permeated throughout the four days. I have noticed a real shift in my nine years of principalship to a place where, now, discussions about equity are robust and have a depth that I don’t think was there a few years ago. Just like the ‘Me Too’ movement, inequity is being called out with more resolve and people are looking for real solutions and real actions to make a change.

Yesterday marked 60 years of Samoan Independence and the next few days are a special time for our Samoan community. It coincides nicely with Samoan Language week this week, and to mark this significant anniversary, the Samoan flag was raised on our flagpole at interval. Thank you to our Samoan college community for sharing this special time with the college.

Tomorrow is Teacher Only Day for our ten Kāhui Ako schools. We are spending the day at the Arai te Uru Marae, and we begin with a pōwhiri followed by a keynote address by Anton Blank who will challenge us on unconscious bias. After workshops that allow us to immerse ourselves in mātauranga Māori (learning about te ao Māori and Māori knowledge), Fr Gerard Aynsley will celebrate Mass for us as a community of Catholic schools.

We live in a culturally rich country and our college is a reflection of an ethnically diverse city. As we celebrate Pentecost on Sunday, we celebrate the coming together of a culturally diverse group of early Christians from far and wide, all speaking in different languages but with a common purpose and belief, as they discovered the Holy Spirit for the first time. It is a reminder that while retaining and being proud of our individual identities, we come together as a Catholic college to live in community with one another for the same purpose – to live the gospel as Christians.

We wish ex-students Annalise Wilson and Erika Fairweather all the best as they vie for the title of Junior Sportswoman of the Year at the Otago Sports Awards on Friday night. We also send our best wishes to the Shakespeare group taking part in the Sheilah Winn Shakespeare National Finals in Wellington this weekend – go well!

Enjoy the long weekend ahead.