Principal’s Report

Tēnā koutou e te whānau whānui, e te hapori miharo o Rangitoto.

Ka nui te hari I runga I tō koutou kaha ki te awhina i nga kaupapa o Rangitoto.

Nō reira tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

Greetings to you all and a warm welcome to the 2021 edition of Panorama. This edition captures the story of our Rangitoto College community in a year of surprises, challenges, progress, and growth. Through multiple lockdown challenges, we have remained committed to providing our students with an authentic and meaningful education in keeping with our ambition statement and our core values. This has enabled Rangitoto students to make outstanding progress regardless of the location of their learning.

Our commitment to excellence has been at the forefront of achievements this year. Rangitoto students are ambitious, setting themselves high targets of personal growth, whilst committing to our key strategic pillar of achieving exceptional academic outcomes. In February, we were proud to retain our place as New Zealand’s leading scholarship school with 215 scholarships awards, two Premier Scholars in Friederike Voit and Cameron Senior, and a Top in Subject Award for Genevieve Kuan. This amounted to monetary rewards of over $200,000 from NZQA, breaking previous national records, and set many of our 2020 cohort on the path to tertiary education success. Our International Baccalaureate students gained similarly outstanding results, with Guy Wearn and Grace Blakey gaining scores over 40, putting them in the top 6 per cent in the world in this prestigious qualification.

Further academic challenge has been added with a number of students participating in international competitions. Students have competed in Science, Commerce, and Informatics Olympiads, with Mason Liu and Cameron Senior placing in the top 150 in the world in Chemistry and Biology respectively, and Jasmine Jared achieving a bronze medal in Economics. For our Year 9 and 10 students, the introduction of the Junior Diploma has provided us with the opportunity to celebrate all aspects of school life and has seen a growing commitment to extra-curricular and service activities alongside the traditional academic outcomes we aim for.

Pride in performance has been evident across the Performing Arts programmes despite ongoing disruption and a loss of formal competition. From Street Dance to Choir, Theatre Sports to Chamber Music, Rangitoto students have excelled. Outstanding achievements were gained by Amelia Ullrich, named as Top Senior dancer in the New Zealand Dance awards, and Abigail Lee making it to the Top 5 National Finalists in the New Zealand School of Music Jazz Improvisation competition. For the first time, our Advanced Open Debating team won the prestigious Auckland Schools Debating competition.

Rangitoto students have performed equally well in a wide variety of sports in 2021. We were able to complete most winter sporting codes and enjoyed early success in summer sports in Term 1. With four national title winning teams and four others making the podium it has been a great year for sporting achievement. Eight teams were named as regional champions, with our Premier Basketball Boys being denied a very realistic shot at the national title by lockdown following a dominant season in the Auckland Premier League. For the first time in our history, our Premier Volleyball Boys won the National Championships, with the girls placing third. This incredible set of achievements followed on from our Beach Volleyballers claiming two gold, one silver and two bronze medals at the New Zealand Secondary Schools Beach Volleyball Championships, with Kiana Stevenson selected into the New Zealand Junior Women’s squad. Our Sailing team backed up their success from 2020 with a dominant win in the National Team Sailing championship, winning 37 out of 40 races. Seb Menzies was named as Yachting New Zealand Young Male sailor of the year. Our Swimming team were exceptional in the pool, retaining the national title, with numerous swimmers winning individual golds. Not to be outshone, Luke Sipkes won four golds and three bronze at the Diving New Zealand Nationals. Water polo teams were once again outstanding, with both boys’ and girls’ teams winning silver in the Nationals. Our Sportswoman of the Year, Shaunna Li, achieved the phenomenal feat of three national titles in the New Zealand Badminton Open, winning the singles, doubles, and mixed events. Our joint Sportsmen of the Year, Ethan Skelton and Zach Riley, are looking to take up Basketball scholarship offers to the USA in 2022. At a participation level, we have seen many sports maintain or add to the numbers playing, and thank all the coaches, managers, staff, and parents who have enabled our students to represent the college.

Whilst we have been cut off from much of the world this year, it is important to appreciate the courage shown by our international students. Many have spent a second year away from their families in pursuit of their educational futures. I would like to thank all those responsible for their care, to their families around the world, and to the students themselves, for placing their trust in Rangitoto College. We hope that 2022 offers us the opportunity to reinvigorate this significant aspect of school life and look forward to the culture and energy that our international students bring to the school.

Covid-19 has forced many new challenges on all at Rangitoto College. I would like to thank the School Board, under the leadership of Mrs Maggie Winterstein, for their support and guidance. With the Board’s careful stewardship, we can look ahead with hope and ambition, being well placed to provide an excellent education for our families. In 2021, our teaching and support staff have been simply outstanding. Their tireless hard work, quick initiative, and huge commitment to ensuring our students have not suffered loss of opportunity, despite the lockdowns, has been remarkable to witness. To our Rangitoto students: you have been exceptional throughout the ups and downs of the year. It is often suggested that our young people lack resilience, yet this year you have gone above and beyond, coping with uncertainty, supporting each other while remaining committed to your goals. To our class of 2021, I wish you well for the journey ahead and am confident in your ability to chart your course ahead, applying the knowledge learnt and showing the compassion you have developed.

The efforts of our Rangitoto College students and staff this year make me very proud to be part of this community. I wish you all a happy, healthy, and well-deserved summer break.

Patrick Gale, Principal