During his address at the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi/Te tiriti o Waitangi Crown representative Lieutenant Governor William Hobson said the famous line “He iwi tahi tatou – we are one people”.

This is especially significant as we welcome our new students (over 250), staff and parents to the school. They have come from different schools close by or from foreign lands but all now share a special bond as members of our wonderful MHJC learning community.

This morning our Year 7 students and staff members were welcomed at a powhiri held in their honour. We look forward to sharing their learning journey and growing the greatness that lies within everyone and learning how we can honour the spirit of the treaty.

So let us enjoy the public holiday tomorrow, and reflect on the work so many people are doing and have done to bring people together to create this wonderful country. As we do so, let us consider what we can do to continue the nation building example of those who have gone before us. For pakeha this could mean learning more Te Reo Māori or becoming more familiar with the cultural traditions and practices or Ti kanga Māori and for our Māori community to support others on what can be a challenging journey. There was no better example of this than when our students taught their classmates and teachers the school haka last year!

At a school level consider how we can share our knowledge with our new recruits – support and guide them so everyone feels safe, valued and welcomed in this new environment.

Our Charter contains an important strategic goal of honouring the treaty and I urge our community to challenge ourselves in some way this year to support the inspirational words of William Hobson.

Growing greatness/Kia mana ake!