Kia ora te whanau o te kotuku

Seeing the Big Picture – The Why

Sometimes we become so bogged down in the details that we forget our purpose.  We don’t study just to pass examinations, for instance; what we learn is for our total education and to help make us fulfilled human beings.

At Rutherford our why is to encourage all students to develop and invest in their greatest asset, their human capital, their human potential and that is done through challenge. It is about treating triumph and failure just the same and understanding that both places are an opportunity to start from where your feet are now.

When St Paul’s Cathedral was being built, its architect, Sir Christopher Wren, was in the habit of making frequent visits to the building site.  He wandered round from craftsman to craftsman, watching and noting each stage of construction.  Sometimes he would pause and ask a worker what he was doing.
“I’m carving a keystone for the arch,” a stonemason would reply.
“I’m building a door for the west entrance,” a carpenter would answer, or
“I’m forging the metalwork for the screen,” a blacksmith would say.

One day, Sir Christopher spotted a small boy standing alongside a bucket of water and a pile of hay.  It was the boy’s job to water and feed the horses which pulled the wagon loads of building material up the hill to the site.
Sir Christopher went up to the boy and asked him what he was doing.
The boy replied with pride, “I’m helping Sir Christopher Wren build a cathedral”

Sharpening Your Axe – The How

I’m the last person in the world who would tell you not to work hard.  I’m also the first one to remind you that working hard must also be tempered by working smart, or you might just be wasting a load of effort.

Two lumberjacks in a tree-cutting contest, both were strong and determined, hoping to win the prize.  One was hardworking and ambitious, chopping down every tree in his path at the fastest pace possible, while the other appeared to be a little more relaxed, methodically felling tree and pacing himself.  The go-getter worked all day, skipping lunch break, expecting that his superior effort would be rewarded.  His opponent, however, took an hour-long lunch; then resumed his steady pace.

In the end the go-getter was dismayed to lose to his seemingly lazier competition.

Thinking he deserved to win after his hard work, he approached his opponent and said, “I just don’t understand.  I worked longer and harder than you and went hungry to get ahead.  You took a lunch break, and yet you still won.  It just doesn’t seem fair.  Where did I go wrong?”

The winner responded, “While I was taking my lunch break, I was sharpening my axe.”

The combination of hard work and smart work is the formula for success.  Think about what needs to be done, and then think again about the best way to accomplish it – not necessarily the way you’ve always done it, or the hardest way.

The moral:  It’s good to work hard.  It’s great to work smart.  But it’s best to work hard and smart, following a plan. If I had six hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend the first four hours sharpening the axe.
Abraham Lincoln.

PSST Conferences and Careers EXPO – Thursday 18 August 2pm – 8pm

This year we are finally able to combine the PSST Conferences with a Careers Expo.

PSST (Parent, Student, Subject Teacher) Conferences – The purpose of these interviews is to provide an opportunity to discuss the student’s August Report and Options for 2023. These interviews need to be booked online through our School Portal. Please log in with your usual Parent Portal/KAMAR username and password. Navigate to the PSST conference button, and from there you just need to choose the times that suit you best. You can print a summary after all interviews have been booked. If you do not remember your password, you can click on the Magic Link for caregivers – this will generate an email that will give you instructions/one-off  access to the site without your usual password. You can also log in using Google or Microsoft accounts. Bookings open Monday 8 August and close 18 August at 9am.

Careers Expo – The Careers Department have organised an EXPO with approximately 25 providers to be available in the School Hall from 2pm – 8pm on 18 August to discuss tertiary and career pathways with students and whanau. All students, especially our year 13 students, are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity.

School Portal, School App and reporting Absences

Another reminder that the school portal is now changed over to our new interface SchoolBridge. To report an absence for your son or daughter you will now need to log in to the School Portal to report the reason and the dates of any absences. This provides the school with verification that the report coming in is from a caregiver and keeps a record of all absences directly into our system.  We have a new School App that runs alongside this system. Download it here.

Board Elections

Nominations have closed for our School Board elections.

Thank you to the following candidates who have put their names forward for election:

Nathan Lee, Ali Johar, Faga Siaki, Hamish Williams, Liz Ngata-Aerengamate, Ginny Taare, Haley McNickle, Richard White.  All voters will get a voting form emailed to them next week and we encourage you all to make sure you do vote. Voting will be online this year which should make it easier for everyone to get involved. Election day is 7 September.

Student Representative on the Board

The student representative election process follows a slightly different timeline with nominations opening the week commencing 15 August. Any student can nominate themselves to be the Student Representative as long as they are enrolled here. It is a great opportunity to learn something new, build on your leadership skills and add value to your CV. The Board meet once a month (5.30pm to 7.30pm) to discuss governance issues – think big picture items like school budget, property projects and policy review. It is not about operational issues like the state of the toilets for example – this is delegated to the operational team at Rutherford. The Board do value having a student perspective at meetings and are always willing to listen. Think you have what it takes? Then why not give it a go. Nomination forms will be sent out to all students between 15 – 18 August. Election date is 16 September and the term of office is for one year – September 2022 to September 2023. If you have any questions please contact Mrs Davis (Returning Officer).

Enrolments for 2023

If you have a son or daughter starting secondary school next year, don’t forget to come along to our Enrolment evenings next week to complete the enrolment process. Find out more information here as well as complete your enrolment online and book a time for an interview with one of our staff Monday to Thursday 8-11 August (3.30 to 7.00pm) and also on Saturday 13 August from 9am – 11.30am.

Upcoming Assessments

Monday: 12MDS
Friday: 11ECO, 11MAI, 12ECO, 12MUS, 13MUS

Keep up to date with all the Rutherford News here.

Kia Kaha

Gary Moore