Tēnā koutou, Tēnā koutou, Tēnā koutou katoa.

Ko Puketotara te maunga i roto i te Waionui o Tirewa,
Ko Wai o Pariera te awa,
Ko Waitemata te moana,
Ko Crystal Marie te waka,
Ko Ngāti Pākeha te iwi,
Ko Cherie Taylor-Patel tōku ingoa,
Kia ora e te whanau.

Welcome back to school! It has been a stunning summer everywhere, so I hope you were able to take time-out to immerse yourself in the beautiful outdoors of Aotearoa, walking, swimming, biking, reading, and relaxing with whanau and friends. 

Thank you for electing me as your NZPF President for 2022.  I follow a long line of exceptional leaders, who have used their voices to influence education policy and create changes that have made a positive difference to school leadership, and to lifting the quality of education for tamariki in Aotearoa.  I will be doing my best to follow their example.   Thank you too, to the Flanshaw Road School Board of Trustees, Maggie Reid, the leadership team, teachers, staff, and whanau, for supporting me to take up this position. 

2022 – The year of Omicron

The year changed for everyone on Saturday, 22^nd January, when it was announced the whole country would be going into the Red Setting of the Covid Protection Framework, in anticipation of the onset of the Omicron COVID variant. 

Since 2020, as a country and a school sector, we have all worked with flexibility, agility, and speed through the logistics of mitigating the risk of COVID, in a huge range of contexts.  We have kept our tamariki safe, infected case numbers low and our death rate is one of the lowest in the world.  This year, I am sure you will face the Omicron challenge with the same leadership commitment, courage, and care for your communities as you have done over the last two years. 

Ministry updates will keep coming, as the Omicron variant takes hold.  What is predictable, is that we will be in a constant state of ‘review, rethink and go again’ to strengthen the layers of protection to keep our communities safe.  There is no perfect solution to every situation and guidelines you receive will not cover every scenario you encounter.  We are a collaborative profession, and I would like to acknowledge the leadership of principals’ associations across the country, who in the last month, have brought principals together, led forums and supported colleagues to plan for Omicron. None of us does this mahi alone, so please seek support as you need it. 

Help available to you includes the NZPF Helpline, NZEI Principal Liaison Officers, SPANZ Helpline, Te Akatea Executive members, Ministry Senior Advisors and First-time Principal Advisors, as well as your cluster and Kahui Ako colleagues.
 
Challenges and Opportunities:

In the last two years, the COVID pandemic has exposed deeply embedded inequities in our education system, and it has been said “One should never waste a good crisis”.   As parts of our system become unfit for purpose, we have an opportunity to think about what a ‘new normal’ could be and should be, in a ‘Post-Covid’ era.  Imagining a ‘preferred future’, I have been wondering. Is this the time to:

• Build upon the partnerships we have with our Ministers and Ministry of Education, so educators have a stronger voice, and systemic opportunities, to inform, support and lead a world-class, post-Covid education recovery plan?
• Redefine and strengthen our vision for school leaders in Aotearoa, as leaders of learning in a bi-cultural nation, as ‘culturally-centred’ community leaders in multicultural contexts, and as ‘world class crises leaders’.
• Design and lead an eco-system of leadership professional development that will support us equitably, at all stages of our career?
• Embed specific support for principal hauora and well-being in our system, so we build ketes of knowledge, skills and attributes, needed to support ourselves, and our communities’ well-being, with all that entails?
• Refocus on leading learning, within and across schools, using curriculum content and pedagogies that motivate and engage all students to achieve success – that is, ‘success’ as it is redefined in a ‘post-Covid’ era?
• Get connected, be connected, and stay connected, so principals’ collective voice is amplified through our system in local, regional, national, and international forums?

The New Zealand Principals Federation currently represents 83% of all principals in Aotearoa.  As your professional body, we represent you across a wide range of professional issues, at all levels of the system.  Through NZPF, you can join the Principals’ Advice and Support Scheme Limited (PASL), which provides legal advice for NZPF members.  This year primary principals also have opportunity to join the Primary Principals Collective Bargaining union (PPCB).  Subscription information will be available next week.

Finally, I have included a poll that I hope you will click on.  It is designed to give you an insight into our collective thinking around ‘what’s on top’ each week, as we go through the year.

Wondering of the week

Go well.  Stay safe, as you strive to be that steadfast rock, in the turbulent sea that is the start of 2022.  Please stay in touch. Your korero and feedback is valued and appreciated.

 
Ngā manaakitanga

Cherie Taylor-Patel

cherie.taylor-patel@nzpf.ac.nz