Ngaruawahia High School Yearbooks 1994-2009 Ngaruawahia High School Yearbook 2007 | Page 6

“Dad, where do I come from?”

Principal David Bradford’s address
at Senior Prizegiving.
This is my seventh senior prize giving
speech and for the seventh time I will say
Education for me is about empowering our
students with the knowledge, skills, attitudes
and values that will enable them to lead a
rewarding and fulfilling life. And for our
students to be able to make a positive
contribution to society.
Of utmost importance to this vision is the
availability of CHOICE.
“Next to life itself the power to choose is
our greatest gift.”
So much for the sermon from the pulpit!!!
School Achievements

Television advertisement

T

his advertisement means a lot more to
But there needs to be a closing of the
me than the promotion of a new car, or
gap between what is said to happen and
the creativity of a talented marketer. And,
what is happening.
it’s nothing to do with the birds and the
Some social commentators would say
bees!
that the inequities of Government policy
It’s obviously Kiwi, judging by the
have lead to such breakdown, I
background shots, and in my
say that material poverty does not
mind they are Maori!
’t it be automatically produce moral
...wouldn ar a
I like the interaction between
poverty!
he
great to
father and son – “Dad where do
Talking about material wealth,
ir
k the
I come from?”.
Father as hter – it looks as though they are
And although dad gets the son or daug
driving into a flash place, so they
your
wrong end of the stick its great to
must be doing well!
‘What is
do
see Dad making an earnest opinion? What
It gives to me the promise of
do
attempt at engaging with his son
ink? How o a better future for Maori, the
you th
in meaningful dialogue, with some
What d promise of a better way for
you feel? ve?”.
very graphical detail!
Maori, the promise of a better
lie
you be
You see in my job I often
nation for all.
experience the opposite to what is
portrayed on the screen.
Dad looks as though he has choices, and
The interactions between father and son
that’s what education for me is all about.
are not always positive or even engaging.
A staff member and I were at a hui about
In many ways they are often, short,
3 weeks ago, she said to me “So what is
sharp and sometimes barked instructions,
your Vision for our school?” It nearly
even those golden opportunities to further
knocked me for six.
cement or deepen a relationship goes
wanting.
I witness this at school, on the street, on
the side of a sports field on so many
occasions I have said to others wouldn’t it
be great to hear a Father ask their son or
daughter –‘What is your opinion? What do
you think? How do you feel? What do you
believe?”.
In this advertisement there is openness
and innocence about the interaction
between Father and Son
Yes they may be talking past each other
as it turns out, but to me there are far more
underlying positives.
The bond between a parent and a child
is so, so sacred and yet we hear or read so
many times of that trust being broken. The
most powerful educators are the ones
closest to our children, and the most
important unit is the family unit; yes, Television advertisement
whanau.
4

We are here tonight to celebrate the
achievements and acknowledge the work of
the school community over the past year.
It has been another eventful year for
Ngaruawahia High School. Progress has
been made across all areas of school life
and hopefully this progress will eventually
translate into better academic achievement
for our students.
It must be said that the 2006 results at
level one were disappointing; given the
progress we had made over the previous
four years.
Up until last year we had been
outperforming most decile one schools and
the majority of schools in the decile band 1
to 3 in the country at NCEA 1. We expect
and will get better results this year.
Staff have worked extremely hard over
the past few weeks to ensure that we have
prepared our students well for the external
exams.
Time and effort has been put into extra
classes, tutorials and further opportunities
for internal assessment.
Tonight you see many examples of how
our students have achieved in many
different fields of endeavor. I congratulate all
the recipients on their successes.
Acknowledgements
I acknowledge and pay tribute to the
teaching staff, office staff and support staff.