Kahukura principals strategic planning

Last week our 7 principals in the Kahukura Cluster ( that's not a cluster but a Community of Practice) met in Hanmer to discuss our aspirations and dreams for the children in our seven schools. Gavin Burn Cashmere Primary, Frank McManus Sacred Heart, Christine Harris Thorrington, Denise Torrey Somerfield, Trudy Heath Addington, Ross Hastings South Intermediate School and me have worked together for the past 4 years to ensure that our schools have consistent high expectations for all of the children across our cluster.
Our boards and staff have met together on several occasions for shared learning and the lead teachers of Maori, Depper Learning and Performing Arts work closely together on innovations to bring our schools together and maximise the talents and strengths across the seven schools.
We are competitive and each of us is determined to provide the best for our students; our bigger goal is to ensure that by working together we are ensuring that all children in our geographical area have the opportunity for the best quality education.
We like each other. We like each other's school values. Our lead teachers love working together. Our boards have the same hearts for children. Our community of practice us about distributed leadership and genuine collaboration for the benefit of all of the children in our schools.
Here we are working and thinking together. It's a tough life.