Principal's Page

Kia Ora Friends 

So, it's halfway through May already, and when you look at the origins of the name "May," it goes back to the Greek goddess Maia. Her name comes from a root meaning "mother, nurse, midwife, " so it's quite fitting that here in New Zealand, we celebrate Mother's Day in May, too.

Hopefully, our precious mums were well looked after this past Sunday - Mothers' Day - and hopefully, they will be equally treasured throughout the whole year.

As the saying goes, sometimes you don't realise just what you have until you don't have it any more.

My mum was the oldest person in New Zealand to be 'taken' by Meningococcal Meningitis. She was just past 70, as fit as could be, and had just won her seniors age group at the South Island Ballroom Dancing Champs. They think someone coughed on her drink at the award ceremony. Three days later, she was gone. So trust me when I say treasure your mums for as much and as long as you can.

As a staff we have been talking a bit lately about what kids need most. Two things we reflected on are that kids need to be loved, and also to love.

At a recent international conference Andreas Schleicher (Director for Education and Skills at the OECD) made special mention that one of their strongest findings is that children learn best from teachers they love.

At Western Heights we talk a lot about loving every child as our own son or daughter, as our own flesh and blood. It requires a level of commitment well beyond what is expected in most New Zealand schools. Our quite outstanding record as a school is because our staff take this expectation seriously. They do their best to love all our children as their own. As parents and as parents in place, we all lose patience sometimes, and we all have days where we find things a bit hard, but that foundation of unconditional love is what our success is built on.

The flip side of loving each child as your own is that you have to also be open and available for your children to love you. As a staff, we have talked about sharing aspects of our own lives with our children so that they can make connections, find common ground, and develop a personal appreciation and connection with their teachers and our staff. This is why sometimes I'll take children out and let them sit on my motorbike and take their picture - it's a way of connecting with these (mostly boys) and making them feel a bit special.

Reminder:

We have a Ministry-Mandated Teacher-Only Day on Friday, May 31. There will be no school for children on this day, but lots of learning will happen for teachers.

Thank you again for your support for our sausage sizzles. We have a small band of parent-helpers who are doing a magnificent job supporting Lauren Nummy, who is managing this twice-termly event.

If you would be able to help at our next one - Tuesday 11 June - could you let Lauren know? You could email her at laurenn@westernheights.school.nz

Thanks.

As always - if you have questions or concerns about anything school-related - email me at macash@mac.com, and I will get back to you asap.

My very best regards to you all,

Ash Maindonald

Principal.