Kia ora te whanau o te kotuku Mā te tika o te toki o te tangere, me te tohu o te panaho, ka pai te tere o te waka i ngā momo moana katoa. If the keel of our waka (our well-being) is not in good shape our journey will be tougher than it needs to be. Let this be a focus for this term. Striving for personal excellence in taking care of yourself is an attitude of mind and a good habit to get into. It’s busy but don’t let the day run you, plan and take charge of…
Year 13 Pacific Island Leaders Of Tomorrow (PILOT) On Wednesday 6th July, 3 Pasifika Year 13 students Joshua Siaki, Krishna Tolova’a and myself Teuila Leota along with Mr Fa’avesi Talamaivao travelled out to the Manukau Institute of Technology (MIT - South Campus) for the annual Pacific Island Leaders of Tomorrow (PILOT) event. The day started off with formal greetings and an inspirational speech from the first ever pasifika Auckland mayoral candidate, Fa’anana Efeso Collins. Efeso spoke about the importance of being proud of our ancestry and navigating the world as a Pasifika person. After Efeso’s incredibly inspirational speech, students were…
Inaugural Saili Malo Pacific Leaders Summit. On Monday 25th of July, Camryn and I had the opportunity to attend the inaugural Saili Malo Pacific Leaders Summit at Auckland University of Technology (AUT) South Campus in Manukau. The Summit proved an opportunity for Pacific school head leaders to network with other Pacific head students from schools around Auckland. We were gifted with inspiring words from community mentors and renowned leaders. Former professional heavyweight and Boxing Hall of Fame, Faumuina Toialetai Mafaufau David Tua ONZM, alongside his wife, Helen Tua, shared their experiences through adversity, leadership in practice and examples of when…
Kia ora te whanau o te kotuku I don’t believe there is any doubt that this has been a tough term and I would like to thank and congratulate our students and staff who have done so well, despite the extreme challenge of COVID, some horrible flu’s and trying to re-establish a return to normal schooling this year in a setting that is in no way normal. So I suggest that we take the positives; The hosting and running of a Ki-o Rahi tournament attended by more than 250 competitors. The outstanding art exhibition. The performing arts showcase evenings. Amazing…
World Scholars’ Cup (WSC) is an international academic program with more than 15,000 students participating from over 65 countries every year. Twenty two Rutherford College students from Year 9 - 13 took part in this exciting competition hosted by Kelston Boys’ High School on 4th and 5th July. Despite the intensity of the tasks and very long days of gruelling competitions, all students achieved amazing results and each one of them took several medals home. The Scholars’ Cup was composed of 6 events: Collaborative Writing, Debating, the Scholars’ Bowl, the Scholars’ Challenge, the Debate Showcase and the Talent Show. This…
Malo e lelei, Kia Orana, Ni sa Bula, Talofa lava, Fakaalofa Lahi atu, Warm Pasifika greetings. On Wednesday, 29th June, I and 4 other year 12 Pasifika students (Dostella Amerika, June Matau, Makelesi Tohi, Faith Nonutunu) headed out to Massey University, and attended PILOT (Pacific Island Leadership Of Tomorrow). More than a hundred Pasifika Year 12 high school students from 21 high schools across Auckland recently attended a special program with a vision to inspire us to achieve our very best, and assist us to explore and make informative decisions for our future educational career pathways. Students got to hear…
Our German class had the opportunity to attend this year's German Drama Production at University of Auckland. This was a great opportunity for our class to experience German outside the classroom and a great way to immerse ourselves in German language and culture. After the production we were given a short talk about the opportunities of studying languages at university and got to meet language students and lecturers. We are so grateful to the University of Auckland for inviting us and look forward to attending the production again in the future.
Our Environment Committee has been building a relationship with the Rivercare Group Te Wai o Pareira and renewing one with Community Waitakere post-Covid by helping with restoration of the Tawa Esplanade and Orangahina Reserves. We haven't done much yet, but hope this will lead to lots of planting, habitat for native species and learning about the awa. Today our mission was to plant 150 trees and amazingly managed to do so with the 3 students who showed up and a few strangers who were walking past. Hopefully we can get a better turn out next term, but thanks so much…
Kia ora te whanau o te kotuku What does learning how to protect the nest and bleed for the bird mean? It is a metaphor for learning how to be the best version of yourself in our Rutherford context. At Rutherford we understand that striving for personal excellence is about our own journey and challenging ourselves to be better today than we were yesterday. Part of protecting the nest and bleeding for the bird is that you have learned the value of the following. The value of little acts of human kindness (The kindness vest) and understand that if kindness…