25 August 2023

Recently I was asked what sort of school we would say we are. It was interesting. Some schools may say they are arty, sporty, academic, focus on social/ emotional, community-based, forest, bush, enviro, green..... orange? Who knows!

I paused.... and shared that I didn't believe that we are any particular type of school as we have all sorts of children, all sorts of needs and desires for children from whānau, a wide range of teachers and support staff.... a rich and varied curriculum, based firmly in place, legislative requirements....... (I may have been a tad more succinct than this.) But the essence of the response is true. I don't believe a school can purport to be a type. Yes, we all have our strengths and flavours, but to cater for all as best as we can rather than the some who may be the scientists or painters, Football Ferns of tomorrow..... who knows where our children's lives and education will lead them! It's crystal ball gazing at this stage.

That's why it is always so heartwarming to hear about how our Worser Bay graduates are going years on. A couple of weeks ago, we discovered that one of our students, at Rongotai College, has been awarded the Stevenson Medal - receiving top marks in Science and excellence across all subjects. Now we could kind of imagine this type of success from the senior years here .... which is heartening, yet sometimes layers upon layers upon layers of learning are still to come and we may see glimmers in the first six years of schooling and may never know what our children achieve - however big or small and in whatever realm. 

If you are contacted to contribute to 'What Does Success Look Like for Your Child?' or whether you aren't on the random list and wish to contribute anyway.... I urge you to try and do a bit of the crystal ball gazing yourselves. The environment in 10-15-20 years that our children will be moving in will be very different from the one we all experienced as school leavers... and for some of us even more different!

We have to keep finding ways to work through complexity, non-linear lines and enjoy what multiple perspectives on education brings. If you can, it's also good to think beyond your own child/ren and think of children growing up in Aotearoa/NZ in 2023 in general. I wonder what a difference they could make to our world knowing what they know and doing what they do - being who they can be - when it's 'their time'? Hope I get a glimpse!