Morena and welcome students, staff and College council members. I especially welcome our new students and staff who are officially joining Motutapu Karete, Lindisfarne College, the Lindisfarne whanau today. And a very special welcome to College Council Chair Mrs Sharon Wards, Board of Trustees Chair Mrs Gretchen Stone and Chair of the Board of Proprietors Dr John Wakeman. I thank Matua Pomare for representing both the tangata whenua of our college and the manuhiri, our visitors at this special mihi whakataau, which is a variation on our usual powhiri event.

Today is a special day for the whole college, and we would normally share it with our caregivers and friends of the school. For it is today that new staff, new students and their whanau join our world. We all know why that’s not possible this year, but as we’ve shown for the past two years, we accept, we adapt and we make the most of the hand we have been dealt. So, I do still welcome our caregivers and especially those new caregivers who are beginning their journey with us today – though they are not here in person, they too are a part of this important occasion.

I also want to acknowledge those members of the tangata whenua of our College who can’t be here today. There are a number of young men and a small number of staff, who are missing out on this special event as a result of them having to isolate at home under health department instructions. We can’t wait to have them back with us and our thoughts are with each and every one of them.

Today the new students of Lindisfarne join the rest of their peers and become part of a special band of brothers. I am sure there will be a mixture of excitement and nervousness as you enter this new chapter of your lives, but rest assured you are now part of a special place, and it’s our job to provide you with that sense of manaakitanga, that care and support that you need as you become part of our world. We also have new staff to take care of, as they too transition into a new environment. Welcome to you all and thank you for choosing Lindisfarne.

We are proud of our college. Proud of our special Christian character, our outstanding academic record, our sporting and artistic successes. We are proud of our history and traditions that support boys’ education and that provide us with our foundation to build outstanding young men of character. Yesterday the new Yr 7-9 students took part in several activities that helped them gain a sense of what we stand for here at Lindisfarne. A range of experienced staff introduced students to the values of our schools and how we can demonstrate those values. Service, Humility, Respect, Integrity, Courage and Kindness. I’ll return to those values in a few minutes.

Today’s mihi whakatau provided so many symbolic moments to begin our year. As our manuhiri, our new students and staff, entered the marae ātea here, we the tangata whenua of our college were standing ready to welcome them. The Haka Powhiri was performed to welcome our guests as they joined us and took their place.

Matua Pomare delivered whaikorero on behalf of all parties, as we listened respectfully while he honoured God, people past and present, and the spiritual places of this land. He laid down many challenges to us all, including the importance of us making the most of the opportunity to learn and to develop our potential at Lindisfarne, along with the challenge of looking after and guiding our new students and staff. The school haka was performed by students on the tangata whenua side, symbolizing the respect we have for our guests as you welcomed them so passionately.

This was not just a physical act, but also a symbolic one, as our manuhiri joined us, to become part of our whanau from this day forward.

And now we are one. No one is a visitor anymore. There are no guests. We are equal and we are the Lindisfarne whanau of 2022. And whilst each year are whanau grows, no one leaves it. At the end of this year, our Year 13s will reach the end of this stage of their Lindisfarne journey and pass on the baton as the rest of our boys continue to run the race as hard as they can, reaching their potential in all cornerstones, but those departing remain a special part of our whanau forever. They become old boys. And staff may depart too, but they remain a part of our community and a special part of the history of this great College, a history that we all write each and every day with our words and actions.

I want to speak with you briefly now about our words and actions as we reunite as a community and embrace new members of our whanau. We are living in an interesting time as we all adapt to life in school at the Red setting of the Traffic Light System. It’s another “new norm” for us with masks in classes and another year of physical distancing and hand sanitizing. We are now getting used to these health measures inside and outside of school.

But there are some aspects of this pandemic where we have choices and families have the right to make their choices based on what is appropriate and right for them. And the whole notion of vaccination is an example of this. You’ve heard plenty about this, I’m sure, and for the first time in this pandemic under the traffic light system, vaccination status impacts on what people get to do and that includes things that we love doing outside of our school day such as sport and for adults the places they visit. It’s not how we like to live and operate, but for now it is the reality and this time will pass. But to go back to our values that I mentioned earlier: We will be living by our Lindisfarne values, our Christian values, if we respect the privacy and the rights of others in their choices and in their families’ choices about such things.

I expect us to all show kindness and empathy to others and empathy  means putting yourself in someone else’s shoes. If you do those things, and check that the words that come out of your mouth are words of encouragement, words of support, words of kindness, then you’ll be displaying many of those other character values. You’ll have shown the courage to do the right thing, not the easy thing. You’ll have shown that you are serving your fellow students by looking after them and being respectful. You’ll be a young man of integrity. Finally, you’ll be a young man who others want to be around, because you’ll be displaying the qualities of a young man of exceptional character.

So, with those important words, I thank you all for the part you have played today and will continue to play, to ensure the start of 2022 will be memorable and special for every single one of us. We’re going to achieve incredible things together inside and outside the classroom and we will do that in spite of whatever challenges are thrown our way.

The last two years provided challenges in education, but we found creative solutions. This year we will do the same, just like we are today as our mihi whakatau and later on our blazer presentations are a little different, but we adapt, we make things work and we still do things the right way with our usual high standards.

I urge all of our students to take as many opportunities as you can in 2022. Our school vision is that the young men of Lindisfarne will be men of good character who will go on to lead successful and significant lives. So whether you are in Year 13 and poised to embark on your last year of school, or whether you are about to begin your Lindisfarne Career, I wish you well. On behalf of all staff, we look forward to supporting you in everything you strive to achieve this year and in the future.

Thank you all once again for helping to make our 2022 mihi whakatau such a special occasion.

Nā reira kei te kura whānui, nau mai, haere mai, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātau katoa.

Article added: Tuesday 01 February 2022