Jess Suisted
Local mum and community worker

As a born and raised, proud and passionate Ōpōtiki local, a past student of Ōpōtiki College, and now a parent of young children who are at the beginning of their formal education journey in our community, I would love to see Ōpōtiki College thriving and retaining more local students.

I believe, a key to helping our school thrive is helping our students and wider community know their innate value and realise their full potential (the new build, authentic leadership, local families choosing to keep their kids local for schooling – among other things – will also contribute to the positive future of Ōpōtiki College.

E Tu Tangata Aotearoa (www.etutangata.nz), a nationwide initiative which seeks to tackle tall poppy syndrome in New Zealand, promotes three values that could be life changing for our school and wider community if adopted: “You Have Value”, “We Succeed Together”, and, “Others Matter”.

These simple but powerful values, if weaved through every aspect of our school life, could make a meaningful impact and help our students know their worth and discover what they can achieve if they dream big and work hard.

The ripple effect of this in our community and beyond would be positively widespread and create a culture shift that is much needed community and nationwide.

I’m not sure what Ōpōtiki College “glory days” were exactly, but a school where everyone knows that they are of value and created for a purpose, sounds pretty good to me.

PS: A big shout out to the awesome teachers I know who give their heart and soul to their job teaching our kids and helping to shape their future. You guys are inspirational. You know who you are.