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What is Rutherford day?

Four reasons why Rutherford Day is important.

Firstly, we pause to remember that our school is named after one of the greatest scientists the world has ever known, Sir Ernest Rutherford. Think about it, nearly all schools are named after the area they are from but not us. We are unique in name and unique in nature.

Secondly, Rutherford Day is a day of manaakitanga, where we show our appreciation to those who have helped to pack our parachutes and make a difference. So we invite them into our school and show our thanks and appreciation.

Thirdly it is a chance to celebrate who we are and where we are from, and what we believe in and what drives why we do what we do. It is about people.

Fourth and finally Rutherford Day is a chance to think and remind us of what’s important.

The following is an excerpt from my Rutherford day address.

“What do I want to be known for? What is my brand image my mana based on?

In doing so it requires answers to more questions. What have you done with what we have been given? How many days have we had and what did we do with those days given? There are 168 hours in a week. How many of those hours each week are used on; What’s Important Now, i.e., what we say we want to be known for.

As people our behaviours follow on the back of our belief systems. What we believe in shapes our behaviours, words and actions and therefore where we must choose to spend our time.

I want to be known as a people person, a person who cares about people in my life and the community that I have been entrusted to serve. You need to be close to people to know what’s going on for them. I prefer kanohi ki te kanohi and proximity to people than social media or anything that gets driven by technology.

To truly hear what someone is saying research shows that it is 55% body language, 38% intonation, tone in your voice and only 7% the words that you say. In this speech I need to recognise that it’s not so much what I say but the conviction and belief with which I say it that will resonate the loudest. If my head, heart, and soul are connected to the words I have more chance of getting my message across. It’s the same for all of us.

My goal today is for you to all walk away from here knowing the value of the two biggest gifts you have been given in this world.

You have been given the gift of time use it well, you have been given the gift of communication choose to communicate wisely.

Through giving time, and by that, I mean proximity to the things, people who are important you make a difference. Time and proximity coupled with curiosity create a belief that you see that person. It’s hard to dislike someone whose story you know.

We need to build trust, for relationships to become powerful and authentic. Its about trust and integrity. I recently got asked the following question; When I get on a plane who do I hope is the most well person in the world? Who do I need to trust most in this moment? My first answer was my wife, so he accepted that and then he followed up with and then who? My answer obviously was the pilot. We need to trust that they are well and will land the plane safely. I want all the people around me to be pilots, they are well, and they are competent but more importantly they can be trusted to do what say they will do and then get it done.”

Have your say. Take our quick survey

It's that time of year when we'd like to hear what you think? Do you think mobile phones should be banned at school? Some government officials do and some schools overseas have already taken this step. We'd like to hear what you have to say about that and other things. Please take our short survey here.

Upcoming events:

7-8 September - Dance Show
13 September - NCEA Derived Grade Exams start
24 October - Pasifika Awards
25 October - Cultural Awards
26 October - Te Ao Māori Awards
27 October - Sports Awards
02 November - Senior Prizegiving

Kia Kaha

Gary Moore