Read the latest news from Rutherford College

Kia ora te whanau ō te Kōtuku

At Rutherford we reinforce that excellence is not an act but a habit, and it’s about little deliberate steps in the right direction, toward our goals. If we had a choice of which ladder, we could climb to achieve our goals, logic says that it would be much better to be using the ladder on the left-hand side, and take manageable steps, each day. 

The ladder on the right-hand side looks like a much tougher climb. 

If you are at school every day you are on the left-hand ladder, Attendance below 90% you are likely to be on the right-hand ladder. Missing days from school means more you to have to learn as there will be gaps in your understanding. The same can be said if you are late for a class, you are behind, maybe not intentionally, but the result of lateness is that you are behind. You also come in and distract those that are already there and working. You might not mean to put yourself at a disadvantage or distract others, but that is the reality. What we expect at Rutherford is for our people to have the integrity to take responsibility for being here on time all the time and only being absent or late when it is something that is out of your control.

At Rutherford our teachers are expected to be developing or have developed well understood classroom management practices. Setting clear expectations and making them habitual. Know what you want, students then know what to expect. Certainty and consistency provide safety and security, indecision creates uncertainty.

It starts with the first five minutes, entry to class involves students being greeted at the door, having a clear 'Do Now'  (He Mahi) to focus student attention. These two classroom practices are teaching 101 encapsulating the basics. A good teacher does them; a poor teacher does not. Students at a secondary school usually enter 6 classes a day and possibly have up to 8 teachers in a week. There needs to be some set routines that do not change from teacher to teacher. This will allow for basic routines to be set in stone, so their teenage brains can focus on the tough business of recapping what they have learned previously and then learning the new material. 

Deftly performed classroom routines are the touchstones that all students should recognise and expect. Safety and security are housed in consistent practice, that creates a classroom culture to focus on what’s important- the learning at hand.

 NCEA Evening - March 23 at 6.30pm - Information Commons

Parents and Caregivers are warmly invited to the NCEA Information Evening held in the Information Commons at 6.30pm on March 23. This event is suitable for families with students from Year 10 upwards who are new to NCEA. There will be a brief overview of NCEA with a focus on Level 1 (Year 11) and the new literacy and numeracy requirements (Year 10). You will have the opportunity to ask questions. 

Please complete this form to let us know if you are coming or if you have any questions or topics you would like us to cover. Please be seated by 6.30pm.

Giving Week - March 23 - 27

Mufti day - Monday 23 March

As part of Giving Week students are able to take part in a mufti day fundraiser on Monday 23 March. A gold coin donation is asked of students who are going to take part. It is a ‘Blue’ theme to recognise our efforts to support the swimming pool improvements and aligns with the other activities planned for the rest of the week.

Students can wear nautical attire, like floaties or a snorkel and mask. We ask that students wear respectful mufti and if anything is deemed inappropriate you may be asked to return home to change. Please do not mix mufti and school uniform.

This is optional and students who do not want to take part should wear their normal school uniform. You find about more about giving week here

School Policies and Procedures

Rutherford College subscribes to SchoolDocs for all policies and procedures. These policies are available to any staff, student or whanau to review or just view. 

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Term 1 Reviews are open now. 

Click on the blue review button to review or provide feedback on a policy. The feedback received goes to the board at the monthly meetings.

Ngā mihi 

Gary Moore