Principal's Message

It has been a busy term for our sports teams and today the Dunedin Co-Ed Secondary Schools Sports Tournament is being held.  Five schools are involved and at the time of writing the tournament has just begun. This years’ production Bugsy Malone opens next Wednesday 5th July and runs until Friday 7th July. Tickets are on sale from the Bursars office from 8.15am each day.

During this term the teaching staff have attended Restorative Practices workshops. This is a modern approach to behaviour management and can be used at school or home.

The essence of restorative practices

The essence of restorative practices is disarmingly simple: that human beings are happier, more productive and more likely to make positive changes in their behaviour when those in positions of authority do things with them, rather than to them or for them.

Increasingly parents, caregivers and community groups are seeking out support and direction around managing the young people in their care. Building, enhancing and restoring relationships across any workplace, community group, school or culture, is absolutely essential for a strongly connected, empathetic, functioning society.

Restorative approaches in schools

Restorative approaches in schools are being sought as alternatives to more punitive disciplinary systems and procedures where often there have been little or no links between wrongdoers and those they have harmed, nor any real connections between the punishment and the actual offence.

Previous measures are also often failing to meet the relational needs of teaching and learning in 21st century schools. Increasingly schools are finding restorative approaches more effective in establishing long term lasting changes in relationships, more connecting of the members of a school community, more involving and hearing of victims, and more enhancing of climates of care within schools as a whole.

Punitive verses Restorative Responses

Punitive Responses focus on punishment

1. What rule has been broken?

2. Who is to blame?

3. What is the punishment going to be?

Restorative Responses focus on accountability, healing & needs

1. What happened?

2. Who has been affected? How?

3. What needs to be done to put things right

4. What do we need to do to move forward?

God Bless
Steve Read
Acting Principal