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Kia ora te whanau ō te Kōtuku

Rutherford College Board Reaffirms Commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi

The Rutherford College School Board wishes to reaffirm its ongoing commitment to upholding the principles and intent of Te Tiriti o Waitangi in all aspects of our school life.

Our commitment to Te Tiriti is deeply embedded in the school’s core values. We believe that Te Tiriti o Waitangi is a cornerstone of our identity as a school in Aotearoa New Zealand. It guides how we build relationships, shape our curriculum, and create an environment where all students feel seen, valued, and supported to succeed.

While recent national discussions have raised questions about the place of Te Tiriti in education, Rutherford College remains steadfast in our belief that honouring Te Tiriti is essential to a fair and inclusive education system. Our ongoing focus will be on strengthening cultural understanding, fostering equity in learning outcomes, and ensuring that the voices of all our students are heard and respected.

The Board understands that we hold a responsibility to protect the wellbeing, cultural safety, and educational success of all students, including Māori.

A History of Commitment

Rutherford College has a proud history of supporting Māori in education. Our leaders have engaged whānau, hapū, and iwi within our communities to support and build the essential partnerships needed to ensure the academic, sporting, and cultural achievements of our rangatahi. Notably, Rutherford College was one of the first mainstream secondary schools to offer Te Reo Māori as a subject in the early 1970s, and we established one of the first school marae in 1981.

Standing in Solidarity

Along with many other schools, our Board is writing to the Minister for Education advising that Rutherford College is opposing the removal of the statutory requirement to give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi. 

This collective movement is grounded in kotahitanga and a shared responsibility to ensure that Māori ākonga, whānau, and staff feel valued, protected, and represented. By remaining steadfast in our commitment, we continue to foster a culture of educational excellence and wellbeing for Tangata Whenua and Tangata Tiriti for all students, staff, whānau, and our wider community.

"Kā tū tē Mana, Kā tū tē Ihi, Kā tū Kotahi tātou." "Stand with dignity, Stand with strength, We stand united."

Junior Exams

I trust that regardless of the actual result that each student attained in their various exams, they have banked a learning experience from the process. Our Year 9 and 10 students can now look forward to the two days of Wider Living Activities next week.

” At Rutherford we respect ourselves, other people and the environment.”

Preparing for WLA takes a lot of time for many staff.   The best way for students to show the staff involved that you appreciate the effort put in, is to model positive behaviour. The behaviours expected don’t change but the context and people who you are with will be changing.

 Wider Living Activity Days

The expected behaviours all comes back to:

At Rutherford we strive for personal excellence in all situations.

How do we live our values during our Wider Living Activity Days?

Respect - Manners/courtesy remembering to say please, thank you and excuse me must remain something that we do. If something happens that requires you to say sorry then be authentic with your apology.

They cost you nothing but have a substantial positive impact on other people. So please remember the importance of these words.

I invite you to live by the mantra that you leave whatever environment you visited, better than you found it.

Responsibility-In your activity you will be on time, which means at least 5 minutes early, be prepared, follow instructions which support everyone having a better time. Right time, right place, right thing.

Integrity- We want our young people to have the opportunity to experience the activity chosen with the appropriate amount of freedom. Integrity is about your character, and doing what you know is right, without the need for constant reminders or supervision. 

Excellence-Striving for personal excellence means you display respect, your actions make respect a verb, a doing word. Take responsibility as outlined and do not take shortcuts or forget that what we do in each moment builds our brand image, people’s faith in us. Are our words deeds and actions, mana enhancing for me and for those around me?

Tuckshop Closed 

Please note that our Tuckshop is closed during the Wider Living Activity Days. Any students and staff remaining at school to do activities will need to bring their own morning tea and lunch.

What's coming up?

28 November - Music Extravaganza - School Hall - Some Tickets still available. 6.30pm
05 & 08 December - Wider Living Days
10 Dec - Junior Prizegiving and last day of the school year. Year 9, 10am and Year 10, 12pm
21 Jan - Second Hand Uniform Sales
22 Jan - School office opens
28 Jan - Course Confirmation and New Staff Induction
29 Jan - Staff Only Day
30 Jan - Year 9 & New to Rutherford Induction
02 Feb - Y9 and Y10 Induction
03 Feb - All Year Levels
06 Feb - Waitangi Day-School Closed

Ngā mihi
Gary Moore