Kia ora te whanau o te kotuku

The short sharp 3-day lockdown has allowed us to gather some data. What we have learned is 1067 of our 1380 students (77%) have logged on to google classroom and are accessing digital learning.  We also know that 82% of students have logged onto their My Mahi page as part of the tutor group, time management, habits of success, and life skills programme. I would urge that those that can, make this is a priority and get on and do it, and those that can’t for whatever reason ask for the required help. This needs to be at 100%.

The first day back after lockdown saw attendance for the whole school was at 88%.

Email connection
For some of our younger students, particularly those from TAIS where they had used Gmail last year, please note that we use Outlook via Microsoft 365 to access our school email. If your son or daughter believes that they have not received any email contact, then they must ensure that they are checking Outlook via Microsoft 365.

Striving for Personal Excellence
At Rutherford, we understand this to mean that we always look for how we can improve and build on what we have already done. It is about being better today than you were yesterday, each and every day. Improvement is what winning really is. At Rutherford, we understand that excellence is not an act but a series of habits and positive behaviours we develop over time. Striving for personal excellence is all about taking little positive steps in the right direction, and repeated often. Mahi tahi or working hard on what is important helps us build a strong and resilient character.

Habits of Success
Success in any field (school included) doesn’t happen by chance. Here are some “habits of mind” that will help you succeed.

• Successful students and successful people in general persist.
• Successful students have self-control. They act thoughtfully.
• Successful students listen with understanding. They are open to hearing another point of view.
• Successful students are able to view a situation from many perspectives and their minds are open to change.
• Successful students are able to make a plan, monitor their thinking, evaluate their progress and work out new ways to proceed and learn.
• Successful students strive for accuracy and precision. They are not satisfied with ‘that will do’.
• Successful students ask questions.
• Successful students are open to continual learning and admit when they do not know something.
  (Acknowledgement: Habits of Success by Jenny Edwards and Arthur L Costa, Educational Leadership, April 2012)

At Rutherford we know that “We are what we repeatedly do; Excellence is not an act but a habit”.

We can all turn up to a new year with good intentions and those may last for a while but unless habits are being embedded which become routine then things can slip back. If you want changed outcomes, then you need to be the change that you expect. Outcomes and people will not change for you unless you change what you do. Habits of mind create the foundation for happiness and success. They take time to develop.

“The difference between a piece of coal and a diamond is that the diamond stayed on the job longer.” Thomas Edison