Principal's Panui - 14 March 2025

Kia ora te whanau ō te Kōtuku

At all assemblies this week I have shared a message about how taking little steps in the right direction is the pathway to happiness and success.

It is much better to be taking manageable steps each and every day starting in Year 9 or from this day forward,

 At Rutherford we understand that we convert our school values from nouns to verbs based on what we do. Respect, Responsibility, Excellence and Integrity.

A journey of a thousand miles requires many positive steps. These steps include:

• 95% + attendance for Term 1. 
• Always on time to school and each class. (responsibility).
• Met all my academic deadlines. (responsibility and excellence).
• Never compare myself to the best that others can be, so I start from where my feet are now.
• Asked questions in class when I did not understand. (excellence).
• Submitted work for feedback and acted on the feedback received. (excellence).
• Displayed a little act of human kindness. (respect).
• Put rubbish in the right place, even when it’s not my own. (respect and responsibility).
• Helped around the house without being asked or wanting something in return for my help. 
• Joined a sporting/cultural group, or both. (excellence).
• Learned all the words of the school haka.( responsibility and respect).

However, I also shared the process that happens when students involve themselves in non-Kotuku like behaviour, i.e. not living by our school values.

• Being a thief of other people’s valuable learning time by disrupting classes. (disrespectful).
• Putting someone down. (disrespectful).
• Telling a lie to escape taking responsibility. (not responsible).
• Posted negatively on social media. (integrity and disrespect).
• Passing on gossip without checking for facts. (integrity and disrespect).
• Truant, turning up late to class. (not taking responsibility for their 50%).
• Verbal abuse. (disrespect).

These are all steps in the wrong direction. They have consequences. Some consequences such as detentions may seem inconsequential but they add up. They create a pattern of behaviour which is recorded on our student management system, KAMAR. When a student has a pattern of the above behaviour, the data speaks for itself, and this can result in a stand down for continual disobedience. 

With a school of 1600 we have an overwhelming majority of students taking little steps in the right direction.

I believe it is useful for all students and the community to have some understanding of the process followed when we have to manage behaviours that are not part of our tikanga or reflective of our value expectations. 

At Rutherford we focus on saying what to do, not what not to do. The more we reinforce the behaviour we value, the better the outcomes. It does not mean we walk past or tolerate the things that undermine our expectations. There are always consequences to our actions, we can enhance our credibility by climbing the ladder to success or we can choose to decrease our credibility by the actions we choose.

Lockdown Exercise - 18 March 

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 specialises in emergency management planning for schools, 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®.

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.

NCEA Information Evening - 18 March at 6.30pm

Parents and Caregivers are warmly invited to the NCEA Information Evening held in the Information Commons at 6.30pm on March 18. 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 (Year 11) and the new literacy and numeracy requirements (Year 10). You will have the opportunity to ask questions. 

Please fill in this form to let us know if you are coming or if you have any questions or topics you would like us to cover. 

We ask that you be please be seated by 6.30 pm.

Polyfest and FiaFia Night

28 March - FiaFia night at school  - more details to come on time and venue over the next week
2 April - Rutherford performances on the Diversity Stage are: Chinese Group 4.20pm, Indian Group 4.30pm, Filipino Group 4.40pm
4 April - Cook Islands Stage - 10.30am
5 April - 8.35am Maori Stage Kapa Haka and 8.50am Samoan Stage

Kia kaha

Gary Moore