Kia ora e te whānau

One of the special things about being an educator in this wonderful country is being committed to what makes a difference for our young people - going to where the hard work lies and engaging in it!

For example, have you heard about the community of principals looking at how to improve educational outcomes for Pasifika young people? This community, Tautai o le Moana, is made up of two clusters, one in Auckland and one in Wellington.

The overall aim is for leaders of the participating schools to understand a Pasifika world view and the style of leadership that nurtures Pasifika students. Tautai o le Moana is being evaluated by Dr Rae Si’ilata. Progress to date has been outstanding, so much so that government has funded an expansion of the programme for 2021 with significantly more schools able to participate.

It is exciting to experience the energy, passion and commitment of the Tautai o le Moana Advisory Board ably led by Jason Swann, Principal of Otahuhu Primary and President of the New Zealand Pasifika Principals’ Association.  

More than ever, as a profession, we are asking ourselves how schooling enables the language, culture and identity of every young person to flourish. Tautai o le Moana is an example of the dynamism of our profession and the hunger of participating principals in seeking to focus their leadership and schooling on success for Pasifika youth. 

I am excited to see so many new schools express enthusiasm for this important work. I look forward to Tautai o le Moana being more widely shared in 2021 so that Pasifika youth in more and more schools across the country can experience powerful learning outcomes.

NZPF Executive
I write after our first day of the final Executive meeting of the year. It has been a pleasure working with the 2020 Executive. You can be proud of their advocacy on the issues you confront in schools. I am particularly grateful for their insight as it enables me to focus on seeking the change necessary to be able to lead our schools more effectively. The NZPF Executive has worked hard this year to drive for ‘real’ change that delivers tangible results.

I count it a privilege to work with these gems - Cherie Taylor- Patel (VP), Julie Hepburn (Sec), Karen Brisco (Treasurer), Leanne Otene, Stephanie Thompson, Martyn Weatherill, Gavin Beere, Bruce Jepsen, Phil Palfrey, Kay Tester, Jason Miles, John Bangma and Sandy Hastings.

A wonderful team. Ngā mihi e hoa ma.

Ngā manaakitanga

Perry Rush
perry@nzpf.ac.nz