Macleans College Newsletter, August 2016

Having trouble viewing this email? Click here to view online

MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Dear Parents

Last term finished with a musical flourish and we congratulate the Director of Music, Steve Miles, and his team of staff and students in presenting the 2016 Macleans College Concert.

This year’s concert was held at the Vodafone Events Centre at Manukau and in front of a capacity house.

The Symphony Orchestra, Concert and Jazz Bands, Choir, Barbershop, Stage Challenge, our talent quest winner, nationally ranked pianists and other gifted soloists and groups all featured.

During the last week of term the small house choirs representing each of the eight whanau houses performed and the array of talent was most impressive. Congratulations to Snell House who were judged as 2016 winners.

Our involvement in the major inter-school sporting competitions run by College Sport Auckland continues this term with play-offs and finals looming along with the NZ Secondary Schools Tournament Week in August.

Many of our premier teams will be involved in these national competitions which are hosted in various cities across the country.

The school really appreciated the support of so many parents and extended family who are present at our concerts, productions and sporting fixtures.

Congratulations are extended to Mr Jim Lonergan a Deputy Principal at Macleans who has been appointed as CEO of Auckland College Sport.

Jim will preside over an organisation that has 105 Greater Auckland Secondary Schools as members and approximately 80,000 students who are involved in the array of inter-school competitions organised by College Sport every year.

He has been on the staff of Macleans for nearly 33 years and in the senior management team for many of those years.

Jim will take up this appointment in Term IV this year and more words of appreciation of his wonderful service to the school will be written and spoken at that time.

We have taken steps recently to bring more focus to how Macleans College can further protect and support our students from the harmful effects of harassment or bullying through the use of social media.

Some background –

There is no denying the positive effect to our students of belonging to a Whānau (family) House for the typical five year period they spend at Macleans. The House provides the “extra layer” of pastoral care and sense of belonging that students are able to experience at the school. The family atmosphere is deliberately fostered and does provide more impetus to their day-to-day interaction with their peers and staff, with it all being based on self-discipline and consideration of others.

For the great majority of students this mantra is lived up to, but if they are demeaned and bullied and their wellbeing threatened by fellow students deterrents have to be in place.

Under the school’s discipline and pastoral care plan the specific examples of student misbehaviour that lead the list of misdemeanours that will not be tolerated, and will almost certainly lead to suspension and an appearance before the BOT discipline subcommittee, are:

The use of, possession and sale of illegal drugs, theft and bullying, particularly when bullying involves physical violence and adjudged harmful harassment.

The “adjudged harmful harassment” misdemeanour now certainly encompasses the “misuse of social media” by students when that use demeans another student or staff member and this will not be tolerated, not only if the bullying/harassment takes place at school but also when posted messaging and/or photographs originating from outside the school affects the wellbeing of targeted students or staff in the school.

As well as being presented with the consequences of this type of behaviour at the special assemblies students were also asked to consider the following questions and statements.

How can this bullying be reconciled with the ethos of the Whānau/family house, which is an integral part of the life at school of every Macleans student? The short answer is that it cannot.
How can the concept of consideration and respect for others in the family/Whānau house, and by extension the school, be upheld if this misbehaviour is tolerated? Again, the answer is it cannot.
What can you do as students at Macleans and of a family/Whānau house to stop this misbehaviour occurring?
First, remember the golden rule; treat others like you want to be treated, ie with consideration and respect, and with a clear understanding that gentle teasing and joking around is a far cry from deliberate, careless and thoughtless messaging which can so easily be nasty and harmful and make the life of a fellow student miserable, both at home and at school.
Secondly, look out for others like you would like others to look out for you. Have the courage and maturity to stop any bullying that you see or get to read or know about by informing your parents and teachers if you cannot directly do anything about preventing it happening or continuing.
Thirdly, by working together as members of the extended family that comprise our Whānau house, and our school, we can do a great deal to prevent this often thoughtless, sometimes deliberate, bullying and cowardly behaviour.

Before you write something down (on paper or on-line) or post an image:

Imagine if the victim/your family, who would be most affected, were to see this. They usually do, eventually.
Remember it is traced back to you for your whole life.
Universities and employers will track your posts for the rest of your life. Deleting them does not prevent this. Opportunities will disappear.
Do you want the people closest to you to be treated like that? Your future spouse, your future children.
You cannot reverse it – ever. It will come back to hurt you.
Don’t blame someone else if you don’t like the consequences. It’s your fault.
Your reputation will be important in the future. Don’t ruin it.

We know that you, our parents, share our concerns over the misuse of social media; and the mutual support we can provide each other by highlighting and continuing to attempt to prevent this misbehaviour will certainly be most welcome here at Macleans College.

Thank you for your on-going support of Macleans College.

Byron Bentley
Principal

JUNIOR PARENT INTERVIEWS
2nd August 3.30 – 6.30 pm.
This ends this year’s cycle of Parent Interviews. Thank you for your attendance.

IN ZONE ENROLMENTS
In Zone enrolments for 2017 are on the 17th and 18th August in Batten House from 3.45 pm.

SUBJECT SELECTION
Subject Selection for 2017 will begin soon. CIE/NCEA parent talks are on 7 September 7.00 pm in Snell House.

SENIOR EXAM WEEK
30th August – 6th September.
All Senior Students will be receiving Study talks over the next few weeks.

UNIFORM SHOP
The Uniform Shop will be open Saturday 6th August from 10.00 am to 12 pm during the school open day.

MACLEANS COLLEGE NEWSLETTER August 2016

MACLEANS COLLEGE NEWSLETTER
August 2016