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Tēnā koutou e te whānau o Te Kāreti o Rangitoto
Dear Parents and Caregivers of Rangitoto College,
Welcome to the Term 3 edition of Vista, our digital magazine. We aim to provide unrivalled opportunities for students to make a positive difference in the world, and I am sure you will see that in action in this publication, as we celebrate the diverse achievements of our Rangitoto College students and the positive impact they have on our community. As if to underscore this point, we started the term with a high-five world record and significant fundraising drives, and finished with a very successful Winter Tournament Week, exam sessions, and Te Wiki o te Reo Māori.
Across the year, we profile our school values (Pride, Respect, Integrity, Courage, and Personal Excellence) in assemblies. While you can see evidence of all these values in this publication, today I want to focus on Courage in particular. I spoke recently to the students about two aspects of courage that provide for growth and future success: the ability to be brave in setting and striving for your goals, and the courage to persevere when managing adversity and setbacks. The first aspect is easy to imagine; it is good for us to dream big and go after the ‘hero’ moment, setting ambitious goals and working hard to achieve them. I like this direct challenge to the tall poppy mindset that is dominant in kiwi culture. Courage displayed in this way enables us to dream of, and pursue more, leading to growth regardless of the outcome. The second aspect is often understated, but arguably even more important. It is the courage we find to bounce back when reality doesn’t align with our expectations. In my experience, there is little that we can do to change reality, but we do have a choice about how we respond. As challenging as this is at times, secondary school is the ideal time to have this experience as students are surrounded by people who will help them navigate these times and come out stronger for the experience.
I have seen this repeatedly across the term as students set ambitious goals like world records, fundraising targets, sports and performing arts achievements, and goals for academic performance. I want to commend our students for the courage they have shown in setting, pursuing and often realising their goals. Additionally, I have been particularly impressed with how they have found the courage to try again when they didn’t get the outcome they were working towards. Most recently we have seen courage displayed through sports during the Winter Tournament Week. This one week captured what I have seen repeatedly across the term with outstanding national and regional success. Great stories have also emerged of the challenges and triumphs within the week as students and the coaching staff bounced back from setbacks and losses. The attitude and achievements of our students are incredible, and it is a privilege to share these stories with you in this publication of Vista.
Ngā mihi nui
Kind regards
Greg Thornton
