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Tēnā koutou e te whānau whānui o Rangitoto.
Over the last 10 weeks, I have been incredibly proud to be the Acting Principal in this wonderful kura. I have enjoyed leading the wonderful staff and amazing students this term and have taken such pride in everything that we have collectively accomplished.
Term 3 is always a busy term, and this year has been no different. The Performing Arts Department continues to produce outstanding performances across multiple genres. Students surprised and delighted audiences at the Pumphouse with the thoroughly entertaining Puffs, the Dance Department’s Mixtape production at the Bruce Mason Centre was exceptional, and the numerous musical concerts held at the college, from rock to classical, were all extraordinary.
Winter sports tournament week is always a high point for our student-athletes, many of whom were representing Rangitoto College for the last time. Tournament wins for our First XI Girls hockey, First XI Boys football, and Junior Girls Premier basketball were three of the highlights. Kyel Anderson being named in the A grade tournament team for netball, the first in many years, was thrilling for our netball community.
We continue to work collaboratively with our iwi partners, and it was wonderful to see a large number of our whānau join us for our recent hui. Te Kawerau ā Maki outlined our School Engagement and Development Programme, Mana Kura. The intent of this programme is to provide information and activities that contribute to strengthening educationally powerful connections to Te Kawerau ā Maki, enabling the college to further develop our knowledge of historical and cultural connections to the whenua, and pass this knowledge on to our students. In Week 10, we had a hugely successful Pīpīwharauroa festival, where our Kāhui Ako whānau joined us in the college to celebrate Mātauranga Māori through a curriculum and performance lens.
Ki te whakaoho i te tangata, ki te whakahauora i ngā ngākau.
To awaken the people, to reinvigorate wellbeing.
Our annual Pathways Evening welcomed our whānau into the college to learn about the teaching and learning programmes available to students in the kura. There was a lot of interest in the presentation on the new Year 11 Rangitoto College Diploma and it was pleasing to see the positive support that whānau have for this programme. Collectively, as a community, we have created a course that aligns with our knowledge-rich curriculum and supports our students, in our context, to flourish academically and personally.
I would like to thank everyone in our school community—students, staff, and whānau—for the exceptional term of teaching and learning, growing and developing, and unwavering support. Rangitoto College is a special kura!
Fay Meiklejohn, Acting Principal
