End of year reflections 2015

This is the speech I made at our end of year show and awards presentation at the Riley Centre (WHS).

We started the year full of hope for new buildings and are ending without any sign of them. But this is not slowing us down. Looking back through the calendar was a tiring exercise today, chess club, code club and garden club, I saw the PB4L Rewards (wheels day, art day, water fight – what are we thinking?)

This year we started our kappa haka group and already they are looking like seasoned performers as you saw earlier.

We’ve had large teams of children going to, and being successful at Zone and Inter-Zone tournaments. Marimbas. Art exhibitions, Science day & Matariki family celebrations.

In term one we helped our students build resilience by allowing them to play on the bank, now, after a massive hole digging day, we are building the resilience of the 500 new plants by not allowing our students to go on the bank for a while.

We’ve had a fire engine at our disco and many more adventures.

Our year has had it’s sad times too. We fare welled Ingrid Hyde, but she will forever be with us. We know that she would have loved our show tonight for the chance it has given our students to have a great time.

If our students and teachers look tired, they are. They’ve been busy. Busy learning.

We’ve introduced GAFE (Google Apps for Education) and we’ve seen students develop their writing skills online by giving each other feedback , constructive criticism and support. Our students are learning new ways to learn that will enable them to develop the skills necessary for their future.

These are not a simple matter of being able to read words, add numbers or write letters.

Although – we will deliver the best set of National Standards results to the MOE this year that we’ve ever had.

The skills of the future are about being able to communicate clearly in written, verbal and visual modes, think and act flexibly and independently, be critical and creative, use initiative and be able to learn new skills and tricks for those jobs that haven’t been invented yet.

Our world is changing rapidly – what was good for our parents, a good education and short back and sides leading to a job for life, is not a reasonable expectation for all of our children. The world has changed and will keep changing. We’ve held fast to our values of respect, responsiblility , resourcefulness and resilience, because we know these are the things that will survive any amount of change.

We’ve watch our current school of graduates grow over their time at Ridgway. They are now large fish in a small pond and it’s time to send them on their way, to the lakes of secondary education and the oceans of life.

We send them off confident that we’ve done our best to provide them with the opportunities to become those respectful, responsible resourceful and resilient learners that will meet the future ready to thrive.

To our graduating class – thank you for the contribution you’ve made to Ridgway. Remember the 4 Rs, and remember also that we are proud of what you’ve achieved with us, and we are confident that you do have what you need to achieve your dreams.

Kathryn