Kia ora te whanau o te Kotuku

Winter Sport Expectations.

The winter sport season will be getting underway for some of our top teams this week and weekend and for most others in week 2. I would like to remind you all of the values that are important to us at Rutherford. Every student, coach, manager, and supporter has a responsibility to uphold the spirit of fair play while playing to win.

So as a student, I will:
– Enjoy playing sport, have fun and partake in healthy competition
– Turn up on time, which means always being 5 minutes early
– Respect all officials, teammates, coaches, supporters and opponents
– Play by the rules of my sport at all times
– Wear the appropriate attire for my sport. All in the right kit
– Be humble in victory and gracious in defeat. Treat either result as a starting point for the next week of training
– Represent my school with the pride, dignity, integrity and loyalty

As a supporter, I will:
– Respect all officials, players, coaches, supporters and opponents
– Only enter the field of play if requested to do so by an official
– Accept the decisions of coaches and officials
– Take time to thank the coach and all volunteers who are giving students a chance to participate in a positive activity

The following is a summary of the message I shared with all year groups at this weeks assemblies;

As we start the new term this is what I believe students really need to hear:

First, you need to know right now that I care about you. Care for others and self-care is critical for happiness in life.  In fact, I might care about you more than you may care about yourself. I care not just about your grades or your test scores, but also mostly about you as a person. Because I care, I need to be honest with you— both in what I say and in how I say it.

Before I tell you why, you should understand the truth about school. You see, the main event of school (and life) is not being top of the class or winning things. It never has been. It never will be. If you find someone who is passionate in claiming that it is only winning awards, that person is lying to himself or herself and may genuinely believe that lie. Yes, algebra, essay writing, physics and winning—are all very important, but they are not the MAIN event.

The main event is learning how to deal with the challenges and obstacles of life when it gets difficult, — how to overcome problems and challenges, to pushing yourself to concentrate and be mindful in the moment and not to multi-task when a million other thoughts and temptations are fingertips away. It can also be as simple as learning how to be happy and grateful for what you have.

It is your resilience in conquering the main event — adversity — that truly prepares you for life after school.

You should not be worried about the fact that you will face great adversities. You should be worried because you may be setting yourself up to fail at overcoming them. Here is the real reason I sometimes lose hours of sleep worrying about you: Some of you are failing the main event of school. You are quitting. You may not think you are quitting, but you are because quitting wears many masks.

For some, you quit by throwing the day away, by turning up late or packing up early, by not even trying to write a sentence or a fraction because you think it doesn’t matter or you think there’s no point, or fear of what others may think. What you write is not the main event. The fact that you do take charge of your own fear and doubt in order to write when you feel challenged — THAT is the main event.

Some of you quit by skipping class or being late to your free education. Being punctual to fit the mould of the classroom is not the main event of showing up. It is about developing positive lifelong habits. The main event is delaying your temptation and investing in your own intelligence, your human capital— understanding that great people make sacrifices for a greater good. No one is born good, or great they work at it day by day brick by brick.

For others, although not often at Rutherford, you quit by being rude and disrespectful. Bowing to authority is not the main event.

I see some of you quit by choosing not to take opportunities to work harder and just to improve from where you are now, regardless of your starting point. The main event is not getting a number or test score or grade to tell you that you are worthy. Of course, you are worthy. It is about a positive attitude and positive thinking and being the optimist who sees the rose and not the thorns. It is about recognising that we get to choose our attitude each day.

As long as you are in my life, I am not going to let quitting be easy for you. I am going to challenge you, confront you, push you, and coach you. You may complain that I expect the best from you. Guess what, the next day, I will be here waiting — smiling and patient — to give you a fresh start. Because you are worth it.

Therefore, Rutherfordians seize the moment and just do this, and what does just do this mean at Rutherford? It means striving for personal excellence and never comparing yourself to the best that others can be but only the best that you can be. It is about investing in yourself to be the best version of you that you can be and accepting the challenge. It is starting from where your feet are now and taking a positive step in the right direction.

PSST Conferences – Tuesday 10 May from 2pm – 8pm.

Just a reminder that our first in-person conferences are happening next Tuesday afternoon. This is a great opportunity to meet your son or daughter’s subject teachers to discuss their progress so far this year. Bookings are filling up fast so don’t miss out.

Here are the details for booking:

Step 1:             Go to www.schoolinterviews.co.nz
Step 2:             Enter School Code:   emxmv
Step 3:             Enter your details as prompted.
Step 4:             Follow the online prompts and select your preferred appointment times from the slots available. Please note: If they have more than one child to book for, you can do this within the same session.
Step 6:             Print appointment schedule if desired, however you will receive an email confirmation of appointment schedule if you have entered an email address.

To accommodate our PSST conferences commencing at 2.00pm, school will finish at 1.30pm on Tuesday 10 May. And a reminder that the 013 Bus to Glendene will not be running that afternoon. Students who use that route will need to find alternative transport home. We apologise for any inconvenience.

TEACHER ONLY DAY – MONDAY 16 May

Monday May 16 is Teacher Only Day at Rutherford College. Teachers will be working on NCEA assessment updates and changes. School will be closed for all students unless they are required here for work experience. There will also be a number of Year 12 Gateway students who will be attending the Red Shirts Training Day in the Transition room on 16 May.

Upcoming Assessments:

9 – 13 MAY 12 GEO
12 May – 12 MAT
13 May – 11ART, 12 SCI

Support for Ukraine

Club Physical supports the families of UKRAINE and donates $5 from every new member or TRIAL member to the cause. The current TRIAL OFFER is FIVE DAYS for $19.  Age 14 years and up.
The TRIAL includes FULL USE of ALL classes from YOGA to XRIDE, Saunas, weights, cardio, daily. Club Physical is situated next to Wendy’s Te Atatu with abundant free parking. More details and class times on www.clubphysical.co.nz