Read the latest news from Rutherford College

 Kia ora te whanau ō te Kōtuku

There have been many times in my role as principal of te Kotuku, Rutherford College that I feel both proud and privileged, that it is this community that I serve. Events this week have highlighted for me the overall sense of a wairua, that permeates within our school. The schoolwide house haka competition on Tuesday is a case in point.  Our amazing Fiafia night, which saw our Sports Hall full to the brim to support our groups heading to Polyfest, took this event to a new level. Having great events and moments in time that burn indelibly into our memory are great to have. It was beautiful to be part of.

What I am most pleased about is the underlying attitudes of mind, sense of giving and contributing to something bigger than yourself that I am witnessing. I have a sense of willingness from students, staff and members of our community to come together and commit head, heart and soul to create lifetime memories.

These attitudes of mind, heart and soul, may have crystallized through the actions at key events. What I am seeing on a daily basis is an increased unity of spirit to do the right things be in the right place at the right time for the benefit of not just yourself but for all.

For those new to the Rutherford flock, the sense of the goose is strong in this flock. For those who have been around a while I invite you to reread and remind yourself of the value of teamwork and care for those around you.

THE SENSE OF A GOOSE

When you see geese flying along in ‘V’ formation, you might consider what science has discovered about why they fly that way.  As each bird flaps its wings, it creates an uplift for the bird immediately following.  By flying in ‘V’ formation, the whole flock adds at least 71% greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own.

People who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going more quickly and easily because they are travelling on the thrust of one another.

When a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to go it alone and quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird in front.  If we had as much sense as a goose, we will stay in formation with those people who are headed the same way we are.

When the head goose gets tired, it rotates back in the wing and another goose flies point.

It is sensible to take turns doing demanding jobs, whether with people or with geese flying south.  Geese honk from behind to encourage those up front and to keep up their speed.  What messages do we give when we honk from behind?

Finally, and this is important – when a goose gets sick or is wounded by gunshot and falls out of formation, two other geese fallout with that goose and follow it down to lend help and protection.  They stay with the fallen goose until it is able to fly or until it dies, and only then do they launch out on their own, or with another formation to catch up with their group.

If we have the sense of a goose, we will stand by each other like that.

Haka Competition

The annual Haka Competition took place on Tuesday 19 March. This was the culmination of a dedicated focus on the Haka. Over the last 6 weeks, the student leaders have been upskilled and have supported Kaiako and ākonga in the learning of the Haka. 

The competition was graded on the following – Kaitātaki (Leadership), Auaha (Innovation) and Kaha (power). Each House was extremely well prepared and can be proud of the effort they have made.

We were fortunate to be joined by Amanda Bennett tumuaki at Rutherford Primary School to assist Mr Moore with the judging. An incredible effort and a special thank you to Matua Jeff, Matua Paratene and Whaea Stacey for their mahi and leadership. 

The results of the competition are:

1st           Tāne Mahuta

2nd          Tama-nui-te-rā

3rd           Ruaumoko

Congratulations to everyone for their efforts.

Year 9 and 10 Academic Vocabulary Lists

When your students started school they probably already knew about 6,000 words and as they have progressed through school they have learnt thousands more every year. In the world of literacy and vocabulary education there are three types of words ranging from tier one through to tier three. 

Beck, Isabel L. McKeown, M., & Kucan, L. (2002). Choosing Words to Teach. In Bringing Words to Life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction (15-30). New York, NY: Guilford Press.

As part of our preparation programme for the NCEA co-requisite exam that all Year 10s will be sitting this year, we have developed a Tier 2 Academic word list for year 9 and 10. Teachers from different subjects will also be sharing their list of specialised subject words (tier 3), but the Tier 2 word list is agreed across all curriculum areas in the school. For your information here is the tier 2 academic word list Year 9 and 10 Tier 2 academic word list. Throughout your student's time at school they will encounter these worlds often particularly when they are sitting exams and reading assessments. A solid understanding of these terms will be advantageous.

NCEA Evening - 26 March 2024

Parents and Caregivers are warmly invited to the NCEA Information Evening held in the Hall at 6pm on March 26. This event is suitable for families new to the college and/or new to NCEA. There will be a brief overview of NCEA with a focus on Level 1 and the new literacy and numeracy requirements. You will have the opportunity to ask questions. Our Māori and Pasifika team will be there for any whanau with questions about support for Māori and Pasifika learners. Tea and coffee will be served. Please be seated by 6.00 pm.

Junior Scholarship Programme

This year we are starting a Junior Scholarship programme focussed on giving our very able readers and writers at Years 9 and 10 the chance to broaden and deepen their general knowledge related to English and Social Science. The purpose of this programme is to provide students with extension opportunities and to lay the groundwork necessary for those students to participate in NZ Scholarship exams in the senior school. Most of the scholarship exams require students to demonstrate deep understanding of their subject and to be able to link that understanding to the wider world. Building students’ general knowledge and reading a range of sophisticated texts is excellent preparation to be able to perform at this level.

These optional after school sessions will be held in the Information Commons on a Wednesday approximately 3 times a term. The first session will be on Wednesday April 3 from 3.30pm to 4.30pm. You and your son or daughter will receive an email invitation this week if they have been identified through English e-AsTTle reading comprehension testing as a student who would benefit from these seminars as they are performing well above their peers in reading comprehension. If you do not receive an email your student is still welcome to attend. 

If you do wish your son or daughter to attend please reply to the email as instructed or email me on [email protected]. Students who do attend will be expected to join a Google classroom and complete the preparation tasks, including reading material prior to the seminar. There will be very little point in attending without preparation, as students will need to be ready to discuss the material.

Lockdown Exercise - 26 March 2024

As part of keeping our school safe we need to be able to respond safely and quickly to a range of emergency situations.   

We work alongside an independent company, Harrison Tew®, who specialise in emergency management planning for schools, and whose procedures have been successfully implemented in hundreds of schools throughout New Zealand.

As part of maintaining our emergency procedures in our school, specialised training is being conducted with our senior leadership and staff by Harrison Tew®.

The students will also receive information on how to respond in an emergency directed at their respective age groups from either their teacher or Harrison Tew®.

We will then be conducting a lockdown exercise under the guidance and support of Harrison Tew®. This will happen March 26, 2024.

During the exercise you will receive a notification from the school, so it is important that your emergency contact details are up to date and correct.  The notification will emphasise that this is an exercise/practice and will explain that all updated information will then be posted on the school website.

In a genuine incident, should you become aware of a lockdown or evacuation at the school, can I please ask that you do not attend the school or phone, as we will not be able to respond.  Your presence or contact may make it more difficult for us or the emergency services to manage a situation.

We thank you for your support.

Upcoming Events:

29 March - 2 April Easter Weekend
10-11 April Studio Show
12 April - End of Term 1, Progress Reports

Kia Kaha

Gary Moore