Board of Trustees Acknowledgment.
I would like to thank and acknowledge the mahi and service of the following three board of trustee members who contributed up to nine years of loyal service and commitment to governance at Rutherford College; Mike Hirst, Jeremy Tunks and to our outgoing chairperson Kate Couling. A big thank you, to all three of you for the support you have given to me personally and for the common sense, big-picture view you all took to helping shape the direction that our kura has been taking. You leave the waka in good condition and with a clear eye on the distant horizon we seek.

I would like to welcome back to the board table Faga Siaki (Chair), Amanda Bennett (Deputy Chair) Chris Larking, Sera Schwalger, and Donna Johnston. We also welcome to the team Erihapeti Ngata-Aerengamate.  I look forward to working with this group alongside our staff trustee Rebecca Ball over the next three-year term.

Building and Property Update.
We have had MOE sign off of our property project worth $1.8 million. This includes the re-roofing of the Administration Block with a pitched roof and the re-roofing of the Hall and later in the year re-roofing of the Technology Block. The school will have a full electrical and wiring upgrade. All these upgrades are in preparation for the intended building upgrades that include the staffroom relocating to the current administration space and the current staffroom being converted into the drama space, this will bring all areas of performing arts into a united space. The upgrade to science rooms 52 and 54 in D Block are planned for the end of the year which will minimise disruption to teaching and learning for this year.

The planning for the building of a new administration block on the current green space created by the demolition of the old library building now starts in earnest.

Planning process for 2020 and beyond.
Rutherford College is a community where striving for personal excellence is the focus. Students needs are put at the centre of a personalised learning system in which learning is made meaningful for all students. Looking ahead to our new intake in 2020, what does a citizen who graduates from Rutherford College in 2024 need in their kete? Do our current priorities accurately reflect what this needs to look like? What do we want? How do we get better informed? I have my own very clear ideas. Effectively it is the Principal’s role to set the vision having scanned and listened to the variety of stakeholders who are part of this special and unique community. Our vision statement needs to encapsulate our desired end state (future perfect) so that our aspiration and inspiration stay connected. This is important as it helps to create a laser-like focus on what’s important now and for the future and why it’s important. Along the journey, we need to develop stories that can be shared as narratives to explain the why in clear detail and give meaning to the statements of intent, this is the how and what we do.

What is Important, why is it Important? We need to keep linking back to this.

How do we get traction during any change in management? Firstly, we identify where we are now, imagine future perfect and get the coach ready. We need to remember to get the right people in the right seats on that coach, or bus, to support the how and the what. This will help support the ‘inspiration’ in meeting the ‘motivation’ and together get them striving for personal excellence.

So what next? One clear belief is that we need to develop a graduate profile. This includes surveying recent past students and current year 13’s about what we did well to set them up for happiness and success? This will ensure we know what to keep doing. What could we have done better to set up students for university, apprenticeships, the workforce and the job of life after school? Also, what is it that our current generation is passionate about and what skills and knowledge need to be shared with them.

We need to find ways to thicken the good culture that currently exists and create systems that make these influences and actions more widespread. What systems or processes need additional support to build better connections and synergy?

In term 3 we will be sending out our annual survey document to get a sense of what our community values about we do well and therefore clearly identify what is we need to keep doing and also what is the priority for where we go to next. The goal with our strategic plan is to have a limited number of clear priorities to ensure we stay focused on what’s important around here. By doing this we can put our focus and energy where it needs to go.