I look forward to meeting you as the year progresses.  The Riccarton Family is based on the strong relationships within our school community which consists of current and former students, parents, staff and friends of the school.  Together, these people have shaped and now shape our school culture, and we value and acknowledge their contribution.  The Riccarton Family is about support, encouragement, nurturing, celebrating success, and creating an environment where people feel welcomed, respected and valued.  The Riccarton Family is about service and responsibility: a commitment to work with and for each other, to meet expectations, and to respect the rights and privileges of all members. 

We welcome the more than 45 new families who have moved into our school zone from other parts of Christchurch, New Zealand and overseas.  This has resulted in a much larger school roll than we anticipated and reflects on our fine reputation.

The start of a new year is a good time for reflection by students and staff individually and by the school as a whole.  I would like to reflect on our performance by focussing on the idea of potential.  At the first assemblies I based my comments on the work of Gilbert Enoka, the mental skills trainer of national sports teams including the Silver Ferns, Black Caps and, more recently, the All Blacks.  He works to unlock athletes’ potential by giving them the skills and strategies to enhance self-belief and to overcome obstacles.  A quote Gilbert used recently is: "The greatest journey you can undertake in life is to cover the distance between you and your full potential."

Riccarton High School has the potential to be even better.  Every class, every student and every staff member in the school does too.  Potential includes "possible but not yet actual; unrealised capability; inherent ability".  Every person in this school has a talent gift.  Our challenge is to discover that gift and then have the courage to pursue, use, and develop its potential.  We all know people who have developed their talent gifts to a high level and we look to such people for inspiration and to be our role models.  They might be a parent, a friend, a teacher, a famous per-sonality, a sports hero.  We use these role models to help unlock our own potential, so it is important to surround ourselves with good people.  With inspirational people around us we dream, make plans, and set goals with deadlines. 

To do this we use the three most important "bones" in our bodies:  the wishbone – which allows us to dream big, the backbone – which gives us our work ethic, and the funny bone – which allows us to laugh along the way and to laugh at ourselves.  Such ideals are not always easy to carry out.  We encounter obstacles and the pressure to fit in with others can be a strong influence.  How many of us strive to be the best and to rise above the crowd?  Can we ignore those people who say we can’t or shouldn’t do things?  Do we simply try to please everyone? 

The film ‘"Coach Carter", a favourite of mine, includes this variation of a quote by the author Marianne Williamson: "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel less insecure around you. We were all meant to shine as children do. It is not just in some of us, it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. In realising our potential we have to learn to avoid concerns about how others view us and concentrate on letting our light shine." 

Each of us in the Riccarton High School community must ask what our legacy will be, what difference we can make, what potential we have to develop.  Why do some students say that they can not achieve academically if they haven’t even tried? 

As parents I urge you to challenge and support your sons and daughters to push themselves academically and to set themselves goals that reflect their potential.  As Principal I consider the greatest gift anyone has is self-belief.  Riccarton High School offers the positive, supportive and challenging learning environment where students who believe in themselves, who make personal sacrifices and who strive to achieve their potential can flourish. 

Finally, as I enter my fifth year as Principal, I continue my efforts to be an effective leader and Principal and to make Riccarton High School the school of choice for the students and parents in the local community. My mantra as a leader is: Leadership is influencing others to become better people, by becoming a better person yourself. - Patrick Duignan. My aim is to develop leaders, staff and students.  To do this I will continue to encourage and support new ideas and changes, and be open to the critical review of my own and the school’s performance. 

I am looking forward to the 2010 school year.  Please contact me if you have any important issues you wish to discuss.

Phil Holstein
Principal