KŌRERO FROM MEL
Kia ora e te whānau,
As we continue through the school term, it’s a good time to pause and reflect on a simple but important question: what is school for? At its heart, school is a place to learn, to gain a quality education, and to build the foundation for a successful and fulfilling future. Every student who enters our buildings deserves the best possible opportunity to achieve this. Your children are our greatest asset for the future of our country and society.
Central to this mission are our teachers. I want every student and parent to know that our teaching staff come to work each day wanting nothing more than to help students progress. They work incredibly hard to plan lessons, provide support, and guide students on their learning journey towards that successful future they are all capable of.
However, for this partnership to work, everyone must play their part. When students are in class and engage in behaviours like back-chatting, questioning every instruction, or being deliberately off-task by gaming or talking with friends about non-learning topics, it chips away at this essential partnership.
When these disruptions occur, it forces our dedicated teachers to focus on these issues more than the learning progress of our students, which then impacts on those students making great choices and causing frustration. This isn't just about managing a classroom; it's about the very real impact it has on the motivation and spirit of the people who are here to help our students succeed. We have the most amazing teaching team at RJHS and they deserve to be treated with kindness and respect.
So, I am putting a challenge directly to our students: If you want your teachers to be the best versions of themselves, so that you can get the best education and have the best possible future, then you need to think seriously about how you are engaging with what teachers have to offer in class each day.
Your choices matter. Let's work together to make every classroom a place of respect and focused learning, where teachers are empowered to give their best, and students are positively positioned to receive it.
