Principal's Panui - 12 September 2025

Kia ora te whānau o te Kotuku

In recent weeks I have decided to disengage from daily news. I thought that I needed to know what was going on all the time. I don’t. 

Why did I stop? For my own wellbeing. The consumption of news makes me realize just how grumpy so many people default to. People get angry or outraged about just about anything. To avoid the negativity, I have stopped consuming the daily diet of dross and peoples’ outrage.  A recent British study showed that daily news feeds which by nature are negative increases the propensity for anxiety.

I sometimes liken real life to the hundred-acre wood, where Pooh Bear's fascination with honey is a singular happy focus, Tigger just bounces around enjoying himself and then we have Eeyore with his doom and gloom. Rabbit, Owl etc add their parts. My guess is that Tigger is unaware of the daily news, Pooh Bear does not have time for it, if he is to get his fill of the good honey and Eeyore spends all day in the thistle patch reading the latest news feeds and getting despondent.

And then there is the  nursery rhyme featuring Henny-Penny the daft chook who mistook a donk on the head from an acorn, for the sky falling in, and set off to tell the king that the sky was going to fall in.

She was joined along the way by many mates including Ducky Daddles, Goosey-Loosey, eager to spread the word of impending doom. Sadly, the whole lot were lured into a cave by Foxy-Loxy and we know how that turned out. People can be too eager to jump on the band wagon without all the facts. Social media is often a vehicle for misinformation and energy wasted.

I am not suggesting that all is right all the time, and everybody avoids the reality of what does happen. I suggest that we can make our worlds a little bit more upbeat by minimizing our exposure to some of the negative messaging and then choosing to pass that on, in our next conversation. At the very least don’t make big decisions on small acorns of information.

 Rutherford College: A Community of Lifelong Learning- 50 Years 

On Wednesday evening we celebrated 50 years of Community Education at Rutherford College. This is a wonderful milestone. Rutherford College has always been more than just a secondary school. Established in 1961 on land purchased in Te Atatū North, the school quickly grew to become the largest in New Zealand by the mid-1970s. Under the vision of founding principal Eric Clarke, Rutherford became a pioneer of Community Education, opening its doors not only to young people but also to adults seeking new opportunities. Evening classes expanded into full use of school facilities, leading to the development of the Sports Hall in 1981 and, in 1975, the establishment of a pre-school to support adult learners with young children.

For many, Rutherford’s Community Education has been life-changing. As one early learner reflected, “I was 24 years old with two children, and I was able to repair the gap I had in my education. That enabled me to move forward and achieve my goals.” 

Today, Rutherford proudly continues its tradition as “a school for our community and a community school.” Even as funding challenges emerge, our commitment remains to provide opportunities for lifelong learning—a true cradle-to-grave approach where people of all ages can connect, grow, and be part of something bigger than themselves. I would like to sincerely thank our Community Education team for their hard work and dedication in delivering this programme and for creating an event that brought everyone together to celebrate this accomplishment.

PPTA Strike Action

The PPTA (Post Primary Teachers’ Association) has confirmed the strike action is continuing next week. That means that Year 12/13 students are rostered home on Monday, Year 11 on Tuesday. However, there will NO change to the derived grade exams and students should continue to come to school as normal. We have enough non-union members to continue to deliver the exams.

At this stage we are expecting Year 10 students to be rostered home on Wednesday September 17 and Year 9 students on Thursday September 18. We ask that you make alternative arrangements for your children on these days. The school will remain open for instruction for all other year levels on these two days. If this situation changes, we will advise you accordingly.

Junior Performing Art Show - Wednesday 17 September
Don't miss out on this show which will showcase our younger students at their best.

Venue:  School Hall

Time: 4.30pm and 6.30pm (Two Shows) 

On line Price $5 At the door price $7 

Tickets at: https://www.trybooking.com/nz/ZIK

Election Update

Voting has now closed for the Parent, Staff and Student Elections. Results will be issued by the Returning Officer on 16 September. We will update you on the successful candidates next week.

Kia Kaha

Gary Moore