Kia ora te whanau o te kotuku,

Integrity and being sincere. At Rutherford, pono or integrity is the value that underpins everything else that we aspire to. Without pono you will never be able to fully respect the image you see in the mirror, be able to take responsibility for your actions, or truly strive for personal excellence.

I often find the origin of words fascinating. We see so many clear links back to Latin or sayings in Latin that became words that are commonplace in today’s vocabulary.

The story goes that, in the ancient Roman Empire, one-way people displayed their status was by the number of carved statues of the gods they erected around their courtyards. As a result, the statue industry grew. Of course, there were good and bad sculptors and good and bad shopkeepers. As people demanded more and more statues to show off their wealth and importance, sculptors began to take shortcuts. They saved money by using poor-quality marble. This was often flawed so they used wax to hide the cracks and chips. Most people couldn’t tell the difference.

However, there were two problems. Italy has very hot summer weather and the ancient Romans were very good at heating their houses in cold weather. Statues began to melt in the heat. If you wanted to buy a good quality statue that didn’t melt, you had to go to the best shops and ask for statues that were labelled sine cera, which translates in English to without wax.

Today, we too look for the real thing not only in the items we buy but especially in friends, our heroes, and our leaders. We look for people who are sincere, the word we now use from the old phrase sine cera.  Sincere people usually have integrity. You know you can believe them and trust them. They do what is right, not what is fashionable. They live lives based on their values. They don’t say one thing and do another.

Learning to see beneath the surface is one of the most important lessons in life. Sadly, some people are taken in by big talk and media popularity, Instagram ‘looks’, and expensive possessions. They forget that often the people who try hardest to impress are often the least impressive. We all know what is good and what is bad, what is right and what is wrong. We see it in others and, if we are honest, in ourselves.  You can’t fake sincerity!

Finally, I would like to let you know about an exciting leadership opportunity that is available to our Year 10’s.  It is the Duke of Edinburgh Hillary Award. The Award was first introduced in the UK back in 1956 by Prince Phillip – with the aim to motivate young people over the age of 14 years old to become involved in a balanced program of voluntary and self-development activities. In 1963 the Duke of Edinburgh acknowledged the establishment of the Award in New Zealand. The ultimate aim is to embed the program into Rutherford’s curriculum and culture. We feel it enhances essential life skills such as resilience and organisation. These skills underpin the core values that we have at Rutherford – whakaute/respect, manaakitanga/responsibility, pono/integrity and kairangi/excellence.

Today the award is established in 140 countries worldwide and there are 530 licensed Award centres in NZ, of which Rutherford College is now one.

If your child is interested in this please encourage them to email or come and see Mr Rossin, the Year 10 Dean. He will be able to give them information about how to sign up and what is required to achieve firstly the Bronze Award and then hopefully in the future, the Silver and the coveted Gold Award.

Nga mihi nui
Gary Moore

Assessment Calendar: Term 3, Week 4
Monday 16 August
11 Health AS 90974 – all week
12 EL2 US31026 – all week
12 EL4 US50510 – all week
13 ELL US28068 – all week
13 Art Design AS 91445
13 Economics AS 91402

Tuesday 17 August
11 Health AS 90974 – all week
12 EL2 US31026 – all week
12 EL4 US50510 – all week
13 ELL US28068 – all week

Wednesday 18 August
11 Health AS 90974 – all week
12 EL2 US31026 – all week
12 EL4 US50510 – all week
13 ELL US28068 – all week

Thursday 19 August
11 Health AS 90974 – all week
12 EL2 US31026 – all week
12 EL4 US50510 – all week
13 ELL US28068 – all week

Friday 20 August
11 Health AS 90974 – all week
12 EL2 US31026 – all week
12 EL4 US50510 – all week
13 ELL US28068 – all week
12 Photography AS91312
13 Art AS91446
13 Early Childhood Education US 29865
13 Music AS 91422