Podcasts about auckland grammar

One of the country's largest schools has been hit by the latest measles outbreak. The current number of confirmed cases is now sitting at 13 nationwide. Auckland Grammar is closed for years 9 and 10 today, due to an infectious measles case at the school last Friday. Headmaster Tim O'Connor spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

On today's episode, Oyster farmers are outraged after what is believed to be the biggest Wastewater spill into the Mahurangi River, this year; Fonterra shareholders have voted in support of the sale of its major brands, including Mainland and Anchor, to French dairy giant Lactalis; Auckland Grammar has been hit by the latest measles outbreak; A Halloween fanatic Christchurch woman and her husband pour their time and money into decorating their house; And it's Friday so we check in with our Aussie correspondent Kerry Anne Walsh.

What a treat to catch up with a mate and CQ Alumni Tim O'Connor at Auckland Grammar recently. Tim was one of the biggest influences in our evolution at Collective Intelligence, opening the door to more and more people from other industries and backgrounds – not just business focussed. If you are a parent, this is worth a listen.

In Leaders Getting Coffee episode 50, our guest is the Mayor of Auckland, Wayne Brown. Wayne Brown is probably New Zealand’s most colourful and best qualified city Mayors. His has been a fascinating life, with experiences ranging from building a mine in Australia to chairing not one but three of our District Health Boards. He grew up in Auckland and went to Auckland Grammar which he says he didn’t particularly enjoy. But an engineering degree from Auckland University set him on a course that would take him around the world and back to New Zealand where his fifty years in business and politics has seen him make a substantial impact. Along the way, he established his own engineering firm and he was good enough at surfing to participate in competitions and good enough at rugby to play on Eden Park. Engineering turned into property development and following a move to the north of Auckland, he developed subdivisions and built factories, apartments and commercial buildings. He developed a reputation for ‘sorting things out’ which led him to chair not one, but three district health boards, a semi political forerunner to him winning the mayoralty of the Far North region, a role he held for two terms. And then came the big one. He ran for the Auckland Mayoralty in 2022 with a promise to “Fix Auckland”. He won by a margin few had predicted and despite some setbacks, including the Cyclone Gabrielle flooding in early 2023, has made consistent and steady progress against his goals for the city. During the Leaders Getting Coffee podcast Wayne Brown talks to Bruce Cotterill about a very full life, the decisions he’s made and his hopes for Auckland’s future. He speaks with enthusiasm about two major pieces of infrastructure that will be completed in 2026 – the Central Rail Loop and the Convention Centre at Sky City – both long overdue but both set to make a major impact on the future of the city. And he talks about a health and fitness regime that sees him going into an election where he is seeking office for a term that will take him into his eighties.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Another instance of violence on our sports fields. A brawl broke out between parents and students during the rugby match between Auckland Grammar and De La Salle College. The match was called off, with eight police officers needed to break up the chaos. Former Springbok and Kings College Rugby 7s coach Kevin Putt told Mike Hosking while all-out brawls aren't common, they see intolerance and volatility in the crowds nearly every week. He says that we're living in a much more intolerant and volatile society, and even if another person tries to shut down abuse and poor behaviour, it can instead result in it escalating. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So here we go again. A national conversation about whether NCEA is C.R.A.P A damning Government briefing presented in June has raised significant concerns about the credibility of New Zealand's main secondary school qualification. It's worried about the flexibility built into NCEA, including regarding what assessments students sit, means courses can be structured around those perceived to be “easier” to accumulate credits. The briefing says the system encourages students to stockpile credits across often disconnected subjects at the expense of engaging in a “coherent” course that supports a clear pathway for their future. The kids are also passing courses based on internal assessments. Many are avoiding external examinations. More than 250,000 kids students skipped exams last year. The briefing says that the qualification is hard to assess if you're an employer and it's hard to compare it with anything internationally. So Erica Stanford is working on proposals, and I'd like to know what you think she should do with the system. This morning Mike Hosking asked Auckland Grammar's Headmaster Tim O'Connor what he would do: "I think you change it to an examination based system. We make it pretty simple. Here's a thought, we assess at against the national curriculum because currently in NCEA doesn't do that. So the primary mode of the system is examinations that would give benchmarking across the country. Every student whether you're in Invercargill through to Auckland. you'd know where you stood. And you can have some internal assessment in it because not all types of content, you know, are best under exam conditions, but these should be marked by NZQA. Teachers wouldn't mark their students own work, no, and they shouldn't receive their marks back before they get their externals back." Now, both my boys did NCEA and they're literate and numerically great. It did not fail them In fact my oldest had the choice of doing NCEA or International Baccalaureate. So, why did we go NCEA? It's because that boy was dyslexic and dyspraxia. He cannot write well and his spelling is atrocious. So a system that had a large quotient of internal assessment catered for his learning difficulty. But the difference between his school and others is that the school made sure that the standards of IB were replicated in their teaching of NCEA The concentrated on the basics, which is not just reading writing and arithmetic. They also included science and social studies. Social science, including history and not just New Zealand history, but the history of the world over the past 200 years in particular. They didn't include the so-called cheat courses like barista studies reasoning if you want to learn how to be a café worker you can enrol in extramural courses He got a great education and has gone on to have double degrees and a thriving professional life My point here is that one of the main problems of NCEA is not the system, but the way the schools teach it and the abdication of parental input into the student's choices. You can't just sit back and complain that you don't understand how it works as a parent. You have to educate yourself if you want your children to be adequately educated for their future and the chance to do even better than you did. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There is a growing belief that NCEA should be abolished and replaced all together. The Government is signalling that big changes could be on the cards - including the potential to ditch NCEA level one entirely. Auckland Grammar Headmaster Tim O'Connor told Mike Hosking that there should be a simple examination-based system, to give benchmarking across the country. He says NZQA would mark everything, so every student knows where they stand. LISTEN HERE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A dozen Auckland High schools are voluntarily making changes to their competition rules to stamp out the use of so-called Year 14 players. Year 14's are students that return for an extra sixth year of high school so they can carry on playing sport. They're considered to have an unfair advantage due and age, size and experience. The issue is in the spotlight after Marlborough Boys' College confirmed it's fielding a first XV team with five year 14 players in this season's Miles Toyota Premiership. Auckland Grammar is one of the schools making changes to their rules to avoid the issue. Principal Tim O'Connor spoke to Lisa Owen.

Catherine Ross is the Director of Library at Auckland Grammar, and today she's recommending creepy books with teenage protagonists.

Dozens of schools are giving their students and some teachers a four day weekend, choosing not come back to class on Friday after the Waitangi Day holiday. That is despite Associate Education Minister David Seymour demanding better attendance and outlawing teacher only days during term time. Auckland Grammar has given its staff and students the day off, Principal Tim O'connor spoke to Lisa Owen.

Schools are preparing for a dip in student attendance the day after Waitangi Day. Westlake Girls High School's holding an online learning day this Friday, requiring students and teachers to work remotely. Other schools like Westlake Boys and Auckland Grammar are closed. Secondary Schools Principals' Association's Vaughan Couillault told Mike Hosking they've seen abysmal attendance on days like Friday in the past. He says that's parents turning those days into a long weekend. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It is the end of the month. There's only 12 of them in a year. Into the first month of the year and still there are schools that are not back yet. Could someone please explain to me how it is reasonable in this day and age to have such disparate and wide-ranging start dates for the school year? I don't know about your particular school, or your area, but of the ones I know about, Auckland Grammar borders have been back for two weeks. That seems perfectly reasonable. Mount Albert borders have been back one night, one day, and now they're off for the weekend. Another college, one of our colleagues has a son at that college, they're not opening the gates till the 10th of February. The 10th of February. Some primary schools started back this week, our kids start back next week. But then of course, there's Waitangi Day in the middle, so that's a bit disruptive. No slight against the teachers. I've been helping out a bit with pickups and childminding and whenever I've gone into school to pick up the kids from their holiday programme, teachers are there getting their classrooms ready for the school year and prepping and doing what they do. But why on Earth hasn't the school year started? Why are we still prepping for a school year that is now one month gone? Most kids that I've spoken to, of numerous ages, are desperate to get back to see their mates, to learn new stuff, to play sport, to have some routine. And a lot of parents are coming to the end of their respective tethers too. The days of mum and dad disappearing with the family to the batch over Christmas and then mum and the kids staying down there for weeks on end, being oiled up with suntan oil and put out to fry in the sun while mum read the Jilly Cooper's. Dad, going to work Monday to Friday, then coming back on Friday and you could hear Dad coming from miles away because they'd be towing the trailer with the Swappa Crates in the back, and they'd be clanking their way down the driveway. Those days are long gone. I'm sure some families still do that, but for most families, you have to work. For a lot of parents, the pay packets from the first few weeks back at work goes straight to the holiday programmes that the kids are enrolled into so parents can keep their jobs. And as for the poor parents with children at primary, intermediate, and secondary, it is absolutely impossible. There must be a really good reason, she said optimistically and perhaps naively, there must be a really good reason why school start dates are so disparate, random and arbitrary. But for the life of me, I don't know what that good reason would be. Do you think while the government is focused on revamping our education system and bringing some form of uniformity to what is taught and how it is taught so that it's not so random, depending on which school you go to and which part of the country, do you think while they're at it, they should be looking at standardising the start of the school year as well? I certainly do. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are school prizegivings harmful or helpful? Discussions have surfaced as the school year comes to a close. Auckland Grammar headmaster, Tim O'Connor, says prizegivings are an opportunity to celebrate student achievement. He says it doesn't mean everyone should get an award. "It's a ritual or a trait of education where, actually, we should learn how to be a contributing member of our community - and that includes being able to respect high-level achievement." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Youth vaping rates in New Zealand have dropped more than 50 per cent over the past three years, but one headmaster's calling for stronger regulation. An annual youth vaping survey's found a promising drop in secondary school aged children vaping. It's consistent with what Auckland Grammar's Tim O'Connor's been seeing. But he told Mike Hosking it remains a significant issue for young people. “I still think there's something that needs to be done about the ready access of vapes – these vape stores that look like they're selling iPhones to teenagers.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Auckland's final round robin NPC clash will look a little bit different this week. They're saying goodbye to Eden Park and hello to the field at Auckland Grammar, taking the game back to the grassroots. Auckland Rugby CEO Jarrod Bear told Heather du Plessis-Allan that it's an opportunity to get out to different corners of Auckland, they've had great feedback. He said that Auckland Grammar has a fantastic connection to the game, not only with their participation opportunities, but also in the number of All Blacks and Auckland players they've produced over the years. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So the Government's 'Phones Away For The Day' regulations came into force in state schools and kura at the beginning of term two. Schools must ensure students do not use or access a phone while they're attending school, including during lunch time and breaks. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced the policy before the election last year and there were the typical naysayers saying that'll never work. How can you enforce it, the children need their phones to be able to contact their parents, it's going to put more pressure on teachers, and so on and so forth. The ban was part of National's plan to eliminate distractions and lift achievement within schools. And the press release cited studies that were themselves cited in the 23 Global Education Monitoring report which showed banning mobile phones improved academic performance, especially for low-performing students, and the results of the ban are starting to come in. We read about Mt Albert Grammar today saying that they're seeing really positive results within their school. Some Taranaki high schools were ahead of the game - they're already reaping the benefits from banning mobile phone use. I've mentioned them before, but from the beginning of last year, Waitara High School students in years 9 to 12 had to put their phones in a magnetic pouch when they arrived at school. And Waitara is an interesting case, because initially the ban was on phones for years 9 to 12. Year 13s, Darryl Warburton the principal said, could keep them - because after all, the year 13s can wear mufti, they can sign out without parent parental consent, they're transitioning to adulthood, it makes sense for them to keep their phones. He said he was reluctant to ban a device that's so central to modern life, it was better to teach them how to use it responsibly. That was last year However, not having phones had got rid of a significant distraction in class, and last year the academic results in years 9 to 12 were up 15 - 20 percent, and that is not insignificant. The only year that didn't go up was year 13. So Darryl Warburton, being a bright guy and seeing the results went - you know what? Year 13s, you've got them banned too. This year, with the total ban, senior academic performance has also increased and other schools are reporting much the same results. Education Minister Erica Stanford says the results so far are promising. "Yeah, we're seeing it all over the country. I mean, there was a little bit of grumbling from especially kids like my daughter straight away, but actually we're seeing really positive results from all of the principals I teach to. And actually, interestingly, the kids as well. And the biggest difference this has, we know from research, is our low socioeconomic girls and their mental health and that's a massive win." Massive win indeed. I found it quite amusing listening to the Secondary School Principals President Vaughan Couillault on the ban this morning. "I still believe that vaping is a bigger issue than cell phone devices. However, I am always happy to take it on the chin and say the cell phone ban probably has added value to the work that we're doing on campus rather than distracting from it." Talk about damn with faint praise. Spit it out Vaughan! It's a good policy and let's introduce it for vaping now as well. To his credit he did say - yes it's probably making life a bit easier in the classroom, not out of the classroom, though and vaping is a bigger problem, but yes, okay, yes, it is working. You might not like the party or the policy but if it's good for the kids, if it's improving their mental well-being, if it's improving their academic performance, if it's making life easier for teachers to teach, where's the harm? So yes, as he says, when it comes to vaping, if you can introduce the ban on cell phones, if you can see positive results as a result of banning cell phone use during school hours, why not ban vaping? I just can't understand how it's not. It was a known thing that you did not smoke at school. I mean, everyone talks about having a few fags behind the bike sheds. I don't think at Sacred Heart Girls College, Hamilton, there were even fags behind the bike sheds. You just didn't smoke at school, so - how is how is vaping even a thing at school? These days when I'm emceeing, I have to go through the health and safety in the event of a fire, and I say there is no smoking or vaping on the grounds and no vaping or smoking anywhere near the venue. The only place you could probably find to vape or smoke are the Auckland Grammar girl's toilets, that seems to be about the only place where you'll hear of people vaping. In the school loos? How is that even possible? How are they not banned? And for people who say banning doesn't work, - well, you'd have to say that the cell phones which are ubiquitous, which everyone said would be incredibly difficult to police. Well, no, not really. Vapes are smaller, they can be hidden on your person - and you can see the puffs coming out of the school loos. You know what's going on. If Vaughan can grudgingly, through clenched teeth, concede that yes, perhaps the ban on cell phones has been a good thing in schools, then I can agree with Vaughan that he's right, that banning vaping would also be a very, very good thing to do. Give the kids some boundaries, give them some rules and watch them actually enjoy having those boundaries, having those limits on what they can and cannot do and benefiting from them. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Christchurch school hopes to address falling attendance rates by allowing some students to work from home two days a week.  The trial will be run by Hagley College, who will be offering 20 students the opportunity to do “hybrid learning”.  Students will attend 16 hours of the core subjects —maths, science, and English— a week, with three days of in-person learning, and two days of online learning.  Tim O'Connor, Headmaster at Auckland Grammar, told Kerre Woodham that Hagley is entitled to make whatever decisions they see fit for their school community, but from his point of view, they need students attending school on a daily basis.  He said there's much to be learned from being in a physical classroom, such as socialisation skills, routines and scheduling, and the Socratic style of learning that occurs within a classroom environment.    LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Three unknown New Zealand high schools are refusing to enrol students expelled from their prior schools in defiance of legal orders sent by the Ministry of Education. New reports confirm the Ministry has sent 261 letters to unwilling schools, requiring them to enrol students excluded or expelled from elsewhere. While 251 schools have accepted the Ministry's orders, two schools in Auckland and one in Waikato have refused to comply. Auckland Grammar Headmaster Tim O'Connor says taking in expelled students can potentially open up schools to additional risks. "The board has an obligation to create a safe environment for the students in its' care, so it becomes a bit of a conflict of interest when the Ministry is then directing a school or board to accept a student who has been deemed unsafe." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on Taxpayer Talk is another episode in our MPs in Depth podcast series where we get to know Parliament's new MPs. In this episode, Connor sat down with National Party MP, Carlos Cheung. Carlos caused one of the greatest upsets at the 2023 Election when he unseated Michael Wood, winning the Mount Roskill seat off the Labour Party for the first time since it was created. Carlos was born in Hong Kong and moved to New Zealand as a teenager to attend boarding school at Auckland Grammar. He shares his early life experiences, challenges in adapting to a new culture, and his career shift from academia to property management. He has a PHD in biological science and did his thesis on diabetes-induced cardiovascular disease. He reflects on his motivation for entering politics, emphasizing community service and the desire to create impactful policy changes.Carlos' maiden speech can be watched here. Follow Carlos on Facebook here.To support Taxpayer Talk, click hereIf you have any comments, questions or suggestions, feel free to email podcast@taxpayers.org.nz  Support the Show.

The Government has announced a two-year delay to changes to NCEA.  Auckland Grammar Headmaster Tim O'Connor tells Heather du Plessis-Allan the delay comes as a relief after poorly communicated time frames previously caused confusion.   Five different websites must be visited to access information on the change rollouts.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wayne Brown grew up in Auckland, attended Auckland Grammar, and went on to get a degree in engineering. After spending several years overseas he returned to New Zealand and set up an engineering consultancy, diversifying into property development and kiwifruit growing. He's chaired health boards and been a director of organisations including TVNZ, Māori TV, Vector and Transpower, including appointments by both left and right-wing governments. He first entered politics in 2007, becoming Far North Mayor until 2013 and in 2022 he of course successfully ran for the Auckland mayoralty.He was Simon & James' guest for this weeks Six and a Song. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Principal of one of New Zealand's top schools has slammed New Zealand's education system - saying it's heading towards rock bottom. Auckland Grammar head Tim O'Connor says the profession isn't as valued as it once was. He told the Herald's Leaders Getting Coffee podcast that's evident by people not wanting to enter the profession and the fact that schools can't easily access specialist teachers. He says the system's not doing itself any favours by lowering standards within the curriculum. Tim O'Connor joined Simon Barnett & James Daniels to discuss his thoughts. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Graham is a Rugby Union Coach.He started coaching in 1975 while teaching at Auckland Grammar school. His coaching and teaching continued and in 1993 he was to win the first of 4 consecutive Provincial Championships with Auckland. In 1996 he resigned as a headmaster to take up full time coaching with the Auckland Blues, leading them to back to back Super 12 titles in 1996 and 1997. He then took on the role as Head Coach of Wales and In 2000 led them to the 6 Nations Championship and the Grand Slam.While coaching Wales he also led the British and Irish Lions on a tour of Australia. In 2003 he was appointed coach of the All Blacks and went on to lead them to the 2011 World Cup. In 2012 he was awarded a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (KNZM) in services to rugby.[17] In this terrific interview some of the key highlights are: The way the teams culture was built from its purpose which was to be the best sporting team in the world. And the role that humility played in bringing this to life. How by the time he was appointed All Blacks Coach he had learnt the importance of empowerment and moving from a coach driven environment to a team driven environment. And how this was the catalyst for the leadership groups he put in place. The way the difficult decision he has made in his life have gone on to benefit him in the longer run. And how in his words “'learning about yourself under pressure” has been a key part of his development as a leader. If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at paul@thegreatcoachespodcast.com or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There's concerns some enrolment requirements could be preventing children from accessing their local school. Last month, the Ministry of Education had to intervene after an Auckland school told a woman who lived within zone that she couldn't enrol her child without a 12-month tenancy agreement. Auckland Grammar headmaster Tim O'Connor says a short-term tenancy agreement is worth monitoring- to ensure nobody cheats the system. "The problem is- we have so many people making choices about the school that they want to go to that's not their local school. In our instance for example, we had 752 out-of-school enrolments in form 3 this year." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Showing up. Turning up when you're supposed to. That leads me neatly to the Prime Minister's comments yesterday when he visited Browns Bay School.  He said parents need to wake up and be a part of solving the problem of low school attendance. He said wake up, talk to your kids and get them to school. And I'm not going to argue that parents need to take a whole lot more responsibility when it comes to doing the right thing by their children.  Feed them for one, decent food. Read to them. Books are free from the library,buses are cheap to get to your local library. Love them. Give them boundaries. And ensure they understand that there are expectations upon them. And one of those is going to school, especially if you come from a family that's doing it tough. There is all sorts of help, all sorts of assistance for those parents who are doing it tough. I understand it makes it even more difficult if you're not in one permanent home. If you are constantly moving, having to shift because you've got no place to call your own, that makes it even more difficult, but it also makes it even more imperative that you give your children the skills they need to get out of that.  You don't want them to live like this. You don't want them to have itinerant lifestyles. You want them to have choices and one way of them having choices is getting them educated. I'm absolutely passionate about that. Our low school attendance is a disgrace. Taxpayer funded lunches in schools haven't helped. So after Labour dipped into the Covid emergency fund, now National has committed to it and is going to have to find $330 million per year out of taxes as we don't have the slush fund anymore. All well and good.  You know, they seem to help in some schools and others they don't. I'd like to see the problem of the wastage fixed up so that those who need the food are getting it, so that it's not going to happy pigs. That it's not being redistributed to all and sundry and that it's going to hungry kids. That's what it's there for. Certainly hasn't helped with the school attendance, which I thought would happen and which was one of the reasons why free school lunches were promoted, that it would improve school attendance – it hasn't. Free sanitary products hasn't got the girls skipping through the gates either. I agree with the Prime Minister that parents need to wake up, talk to their children and get them to school. But what do you do when your kids won't go?  We had a caller last year who had a teenage son who was twice her height and he wouldn't go to school. He did the work at home and then he gamed and then he caught up with friends who also weren't going to school. And she remonstrated with him and said, you need to go to school. He said no, I don't.  I've been told for the last two years that I don't need to go to school, that I can do my learning from home, and in fact it's more efficient for me to do it at home. I can get the work done in a third of the time and then the rest of the time is my own. So he was still actually doing the work, but he wasn't going to school. And she couldn't make him. She couldn't drag him out of bed. She couldn't pick him up and carry him into school. So that was one clever kid who was doing the work but on his terms and as he saw it, perfectly entitled to work from home because they had been bashed into him for two years over Covid.  It's exactly what so many educators and people who are passionate about learning feared when schools were closed for Covid and for rain and then more rain. The children couldn't help but see that going to school is not a priority, not a priority to the authorities. I think it's only Auckland Grammar that sees it as a priority and they get absolutely excoriated in the social media. The MoE in its briefing paper to incoming Minister Erika Stanford, said post Covid there are high levels of disassociation from school and early learning, challenging behavior and a marked increase in anxiety, as well as more severe mental health trauma for young people. So you've got also parents who are driving their kids to school, and these are young teenagers and their children have a major meltdown. They can't face going into school. They're so anxious after being away from groups of people. So all very well and good and I tend to agree with Christopher Luxon that parents need to take more responsibility. Absolutely.  You can't outsource raising your children to teachers and to truant officers and to taxpayers who will feed them and caring teachers who will love them. You've got to take responsibility for your kids, but you have to understand that parents are dealing with our whole lot in the wake of Covid. And that the kids who were told going to an actual school is not a priority, have taken that message on and they're running with it.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I want to start the show with tributes to 3 people. The first is Brooke Graham. My neighbour and friend from the Coromandel who died recently at the age of just 42 from brain cancer.  A fast death inside 9 weeks but slow enough for her to make plans for her 10 year old daughter and her husband. Hers was a death of great grace and I am immensely sad. So to Carrick and MacKenzie, here's to your amazing wife and mother. Then there's Simon Barnett and his support of his wife, Jodi over the past 6 years in her fight against brain cancer as well. This was featured in the Weekend Herald on Saturday. Of course all of us here have on the afternoon show have known what Simon and his family have been going through. His strength, courage and love while still working this demanding job is amazing. It's good that you now know. And finally I want to acknowledge Richie Poulton, the director of the Dunedin study who passed away yesterday at the age of 61, again of cancer. Richie and I were at Auckland Grammar together. In the same cohort were people like Martin Crowe and Grant Fox and business people Ian Narev and Simon Herbert. But Richie is the best of all of us. At school he was smart and sporty.  I knew him as a nice bloke and a very good cricketer. I had no idea of the greatness within him. He was featured last night on the Sunday programme. It was a heart-breaking watch. Now, if you don't know, the Dunedin Study is a research programme that has followed the progress of 1,000 children born in Dunedin, New Zealand in 1972-73, from birth to midlife. Over 1300 papers have been published about how your environment and upbringing influences your situation. It's world famous, as is Richie. Last night, John Campbell asked him what the greatest finding was. Richie said poverty. He said you can't undo what happens in childhood. In 2016 the Dunedin Study published a paper called "Childhood disadvantage strongly predicts costly adult life-course outcomes". It found that nearly 80 percent of adult economic burden can be attributed to just 20 percent of the study members. The researchers determined that this “high cost” group accounted for 81 percent of criminal convictions, 66 percent of welfare benefits, 78 per cent of prescription fills and 40 percent of excess obese kilograms. Professor Poulton says that they also found that members of this group can be identified with high accuracy when as young as 3. Target these guys and you solve a lot of problems. But as he said last night no-one has talked about poverty in this election campaign. Labour made it their core goal over the past 6 years, and yet all they've done is throw money at all beneficiaries. And National doesn't utter the p word at all. It was- cut benefits and belief it can stem criminality with longer sentences. Yet back in 2017, Bill English quoted the 2016 study and talked about social investment. If we can identify the truly vulnerable, why don't we help them, and just them. National has abandoned all that work it did 6 years ago and I have no idea why. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An Auckland school that's banned phones for years is supporting National's promise to crackdown on cellphone use in schools. If elected, National will axe phones for all year groups - with some exemptions for those needing the devices for health or learning purposes. Auckland Grammar School has banned student phone usage for decades. Headmaster Tim O'Connor says it's a method that works. "As long as you set the standard and you're applying it in consistent basis, we find students comply- and that gives them a five hour window in the school day where they can actually concentrate on learning." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon has resigned from his role this afternoon over a failure to disclose a conflict of interest. Foon has conceded he made a mistake but says he personally received no money from the business deal involving a company he directed and the Government. And his departure has been welcomed by Act leader David Seymour who claimed Foon was too attached to the “left side of politics”. Foon, who previously spent six terms as mayor of Gisborne, was appointed by the Labour Government to the role of Race Relations Commissioner in July 2019 by former Justice Minister Andrew Little. Associate Justice Minister of Justice Deborah Russell announced Foon's departure late afternoon. “On 12 May the Chief Human Rights Commissioner wrote to me to advise that Meng Foon had failed to declare a range of interests, as required under sections 62-65 of the Crown Entities Act,” Russell said. It came after a company that was directed by the former Gisborne mayor Foon received income from Government payments during his term, which she said he had “failed to adequately declare”. That included more than $2 million for the provision of accommodation including emergency housing. “The Human Rights Commission conducted an inquiry and produced a report on emergency housing which Meng Foon had been involved in deliberations for, while never adequately declaring his interest,” Russell said. “Off the back of that and a report from the Human Rights Commission Board into his failure to adequately declare these interests which found that he breached his duties under the Act, I sought advice from the Ministry of Justice. “On 30 May I wrote to Meng Foon inviting him to respond to the Board's report and set out that my deliberations could result in him being removed from office.” Russell said she then held a meeting with Foon “where he explained his actions”. She said her preliminary view after the meeting was that “his actions were serious enough to warrant removal”. But Foon in the meantime resigned. “Had the process been completed it is probable I would have determined his actions represented a serious breach of the Crown Entities Act and I would have taken the next steps to recommend to the Governor-General to remove him from his office. “It is critical that all people appointed to public roles comply with their statutory duties. Meng Foon had multiple opportunities to adequately declare these interests and did not do so. “While he has now chosen to resign I think it's important the public is aware of the circumstances in which he has made that decision,” Russell said. In a statement tonight, Foon said he had informed Prime Minister Chris Hipkins that he would resign on Sunday. He said the “news has beaten me” in regards to his departure being revealed by the Government on a Friday afternoon. He said he was resigning for his “error of judgement on political donations and our company is an emergency housing provider”. He said he refuted “strongly” that he didn't “declare my interest of emergency housing to the HRC and MoJ . . . as they received my interest before I was appointed and before I took up my role as RRC “The sum received is about $2.3m over 5 years from 2018 to 2023. It started with about $9500 year ending 2019. I have been transparent with the commission. “At the housing inquiry board meeting I didn't declare a perceived conflict as I didn't think I needed to. I fully supported the housing inquiry. In hindsight I should off declare I made a mistake.” In April, it was revealed Meng and his wife Ying Foon donated $1500 to Kiri Allan's 2020 campaign, and a company called Triple Eight Investments Limited also provided a rent subsidy worth $9185. Meng and Ying Foon are directors of Triple Eight Investments. The pair also donated $1000 to the National Party's East Coast branch at the last election. As Justice Minister, Allan has responsibility for Human Rights Commissioners, and should have declared the potential perceived conflict with the Cabinet Office, despite the fact Allan was not the minister when Foon was appointed or when the donations were made. When Foon was appointed Commissioner by Little in 2019, Allan was a backbench MP. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said Allan had “taken the necessary steps to register the matter now that she holds the Justice portfolio. The minister has also assured me that she has not made any decisions in her portfolio that bring this potential conflict into play.” Political reaction Act leader David Seymour said tonight he welcomed Foon's departure. He said he was too close to the left side of politics and also took aim at the Government's timing of its announcement. ”It's a classic Labour Friday afternoon news dump,” Seymour said. “It is symptomatic of the fact Meng Foon has been conflicted throughout this role not only his donations to Kiri Allan who ended up the minister responsible for his role, but also the fact he has been unable to criticise egregious comments and actions from people he politically agreed with.” Seymour said the human rights commission roles, which include the Race Relations Commissioner, have “had nothing to do with human rights for a long time”. ”You only have to look at his outspoken,incorrect criticism of Auckland Grammar versus his total reluctance to criticise Te Pati Maori for openly stating that Maori are genetically superior,” Seymour said. National's Paul Goldsmith said the episode was embarrassing coming on top of other recent conflict of interest scandals. ”All this only came out as a result of serious queries about the justice minister's donations and so the government chose a lackadaisical approach to conflicts of interest throughout government,” Goldsmith said. ”I'm pleased that this has been dealt with but it does demonstrate a deeper problem across this government not managing conflicts of interest properly.” -NZ HeraldSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An Auckland headmaster says the Government's new vaping regulations aren't good enough. New rules include banning new vape stores near schools and marae, disposable vapes and flavour-names that appeal to children. Auckland Grammar Headmaster Tim O'Connor told Mike Hosking students will still mange to get their hands on products. He says there are five vaping stores near his school alone. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An Auckland headmaster says the Government's new vaping regulations aren't good enough. New rules include banning new vape stores near schools and marae, disposable vapes and flavour-names that appeal to children. Auckland Grammar Headmaster Tim O'Connor told Mike Hosking students will still mange to get their hands on products. He says there are five vaping stores near his school alone. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A top Auckland private school has so little confidence in the new NCEA Level 1 curriculum it is ditching the qualification in favour of its own Year 11 diploma next year. St Cuthbert's College informed parents Wednesday next year's Year 11 students would not take part in NCEA Level 1 but rather work towards the school's own bespoke Year 11 Diploma. Principal Justine Mahon said several of the school's senior academic staff had been on Government advisory panels for NZQA's proposed changes to NCEA and had become increasingly concerned by what would be taught in 2024. “We don't think it provides sufficient, in-depth learning for our students,” she told the Herald. Auckland Grammar School headmaster Tim O'Connor joined Kerre Woodham to discuss the development. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Top educators in New South Wales are set to receive pay rises of up to $40,000 in a bid to keep teachers in classrooms The election pledge of rewarding excellence to retain teachers is part of a larger long-term career structure reform. Is it time we start looking at ways of retaining teachers too? Auckland Grammar headmaster Tim O'Connor joined Mike Hosking. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This cyclone, much like the last storm that hit Auckland, has been a tale of two storms.  Some parts have been absolutely hammered; others completely unscathed. Some lost power, homes, cars, roofs or trees, others barely felt it.  The flooding was worse last time for Auckland; other parts of the country have been hit much harder with flooding with this one. Hawkes Bay, Gisborne and the West Coast of Auckland appear worst hit.  And there is room I think, as I said yesterday, for a more bespoke response to these events. Instead of blanket cancellations and shut downs of a whole city, to look at areas affected and who needs what most.  As I was out walking yesterday afternoon, I saw Auckland Grammar boys walking home from school, shops back open, cafes with big ‘we're open!' signs in the window, a little bit of action creeping back into the city.  If you were to read the headlines from overseas you'd think it was apocalyptic in New Zealand. And in some parts it is. But in many areas there's barely any sign of a cyclone, and there are people still trying to carry on, make a living, keep going, have their kids educated and run their businesses.  Don't get me wrong (I'm sure some will anyway), I'm not denying that for those hit hard it hasn't been utterly horrendous, absolutely horrific in the areas that have been badly hit, and I feel for them. But does that warrant closing down a whole city of more than one and a half million people as happened with Auckland?  So now as attention is turned to the clean-up, there's the other sting in the tail; what's this all going to cost? Billions to the economy and goodness knows how much for ratepayers.  What's it going to mean for insurance premiums, for infrastructure around beach and coastal communities, what's it going to mean for house sales. I know people currently looking to buy a house whose primary concern was whether it had a garage for the car and a lawn for the kids to run around. Whether it's fenced for the dog and has a good kitchen. That's all now changed. Their new and only concern now is drainage, whether it's low-lying, and whether it was affected by any flooding. What sort of roof is on it? What sort of guttering? Is it in an area that could be cut off with only one access road? These are the new and most pressing concerns of many people watching climate change crash its reality onto our doorsteps.  From here we need well run planning on infrastructure. We need sound and considered responses on how and where we build, who oversees it and how it's constructed. I'm hearing of people in brand new developments who've been flooded out of their homes in Hawkes Bay. There is of course a balance to be struck with how this is executed. I don't know how big built up cities like Auckland can really pull it off, but I just know it needs to happen. Because if this is our new normal, then we have to do better with vulnerable communities in terms of infrastructure, drainage, and development. And in many cases that's not just whacking in rebuilds over the top of damaged areas, but rethinking exactly how, where and what gets built.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Out of all the schools in Auckland today, this is the list of schools that made the right decision re: the weather  Auckland Grammar. That's the list. As far as we can tell, Auckland Grammar is the only school that opened today. Every other school chose to shut its doors and not teach kids today.  That decision has earned Auckland Grammar the opprobrium of social media, who have called the school elitist, entitled, irresponsible, ignorant. And the principal an a-hole and a dickhead. Turns out those haters are wrong, Tim O'Connor has been vindicated. He looked at the weather report like any one of the other principals could've, and saw that the rain wasn't due to start really coming in until around 3 o'clock. So he made the call to run school from 9am to 2pm and get the kids home before the weather really packed up. And as predicted, the rain started packing up around 3 o'clock. But until then it was, for the most part, just a wet day in Auckland. Tim O'Connor is a principal doing his job, which is to get kids into class and get them taught.  Unfortunately for us, since Covid, we seem to have got into a national habit of shutting schools too easily. Or giving kids a myriad excuses for not turning up. And what we're doing is a creating a habit.  There is a reason Auckland Grammar is as successful as it is. It is a state school, not a private school like many haters around the country seem to think. And yet, parents pay huge amounts of money to move into suburbs zoned for Auckland Grammar. This is why. Because it teaches the boys to turn up and not find the first excuse not to.  Good on Tim O'Connor for being the only principal to make the right call today.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On today's edition of The Huddle, NZ Herald senior writer Simon Wilson and independent journalist Clare de Lore joined in on a discussion about the following pressing topics: Auckland Grammar faced backlash online for being the only Auckland school that opened today, despite concerns surrounding Cyclone Gabrielle. Did they make the right decision by opening before the worst of the weather hit? Would you have wanted your kids at school today? The Taxpayers' Union wants Eleanor Catton to pay back subsides she's been given following her comments in an RNZ interview. Was this a fair request? Do you agree with The Taxpayers' Union? National and Labour are neck and neck in a new poll from The Taxpayers Union/Curia. What is National doing wrong? Does Luxon have an image problem? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's understood only one school opened in Auckland today. Auckland Grammar ignored Ministry of Education advice to close, instead opening from 9am until 2pm with reduced breaks. Headmaster Tim O'Connor says that was based on information the weather would worsen about 3pm. He says Covid-19 has created a habit of school closures - which sends a subconscious message to students and parents that education doesn't matter. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So the rain is hitting Auckland city now, but yesterday between 8.30 and 3pm when there was hardly any rain or wind and I wondered why kids in all the unaffected areas couldn't have been at school. Yesterday turned out to be an average rainy day. Yes I get it, precautions. It's better to be safe than sorry, but seriously, if this is a pattern of weather we're going to get more of, then we need to adjust our attitudes to it.  We need to dig deep on how we teach resilience and self-responsibility, over and above constantly looking to authorities to make the rules for us and dictate how we should live in a carte blanche fashion.  The coolest thing the Auckland Grammar principal did was do his own research on the weather, see that no heavy rain was starting before at least 3pm, and make up his own mind - and he was proven right to keep his school open. People who have lived in countries with monsoons, those who have lived in the States or the UK, anyone whose had to shovel snow from the driveway or the car before getting kids to school -  they know that just shutting everything up on a 'maybe', is not sustainable.  Visitors currently here from those countries think we're soft. The level of fear and anxiety leading up to this cyclone was akin to that which was stoked up in this country during Covid. But where does it leave us? Kids at home, the school year interrupted again, people worried sick and productivity ground to a halt while everything gets shut up.  This cyclone, much like the last bad weather event we had, has been isolated to certain places. There was no reason for the whole of Auckland to be shut yesterday, particularly the schools. The irony of Chris Hipkins yesterday on Mike's show saying there will be an announcement on truancy this week because they've ‘just got to get kids back to school' was not lost on any of us. He talked about how too many students are not turning up and how backwards we're going on that front, and how they really need kids to engage and yet, he said all that on the very day schools are shut. And not just for one day - but two full days.  If the message that comes from top down is that school is just something to be turned on and off like a tap, then what do they expect? What kids need is routine and structure. To get them to attend, you actually need the schools to be open. And reassure them they're always open. How else do you impart the importance of school? Are schools going to shut on days that are too hot? On more rainy days?  Someone said to me that shutting schools because there may be a cyclone arriving, is like teaching kids that they can take a day off school if they think they may have a stomach ache coming on.  I understand that these weather patterns are relatively new to us so we're not entirely used to them yet, but if this sort of weather is the new normal for us, then we have to find better solutions than just closing everything up, and then wondering why kids don't take school seriously.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thank God the flooding and torrential rain's abated and for parents thank goodness school's back. Although is it? The Ministry of Education spun the wheelie on school closures, but it's been an incredibly frustrating process as a parent. And not just me, I've heard from countless parents absolutely exasperated about the way this has yo-yoed around.  From saying all Early Childhood Centres will be closed, to then backtracking and saying some can open, to shutting schools but not making it a clear directive.  Hence the likes of Auckland Grammar announced they'd be opening regardless - only to then have to email parents again late that night and backtrack saying the Ministry had said they couldn't.  I heard from primary parents who'd been told that even though school was shut they'd still run a school holiday programme for children in the school hall, only to then have to tell them no, they weren't allowed to do that either.  My daughter's school emailed initially to say the school was undamaged and would open as usual, only to later that night email again to say no they weren't allowed to open. The Diocesan principal was ropeable in her email regarding such late confirmation of closures and poor communication from the Ministry. So that part was all a cluster.  The kids were bummed, parents were bummed, childcare situations were in disarray and of course there was no continuity about it.  Businesses could open – but advised people to work from home – yet that was up to individual businesses as opposed to ECE's which are also businesses but who had a directive to stay shut.  And then yesterday the U-turn.  Suddenly schools could open but problem is that many people had made other plans, schools had reorganized curriculums and schedules, parents had restructured work commitments so everyone's week was thrown into disarray again.  Schools were again left to communicate with parents as to whether they'd be opening or not. Some said they would – others said they wouldn't though and that the last minute turn around was not enough notice for them to back track all the changes they'd already put in place.  We didn't hear from our school until an email eventually arrived at 5.30 last night saying that it was ‘very difficult' to change with a few hours' notice so the school would remain closed today, but will open on Friday.  And then there's a long weekend so let's face it, in all reality, most kids are not back until next Tuesday. So it's been a haphazard start to their year, and after two years of disruption with Covid, they're well over it.  Won't it be great to have some precedented times for a change?!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Update: After this interview, Auckland Grammar School Principal emailed parents later on Monday to advise his school will now close until further notice.  There is much confusion tonight at one Auckland Secondary school after the Ministry of Education instructed all Auckland schools, early childhood centres and tertiary institutions to close until February 7 due to more expected bad weather. But Auckland Grammar Principal Tim O'Connor has emailed parents tonight to say his school will remain open tomorrow. Tim O'Connor talks to Lisa Owen.  

Students at a prestigious Auckland secondary school with unpaid fees will be entered onto a list of defaulters. Auckland Grammar School is threatening to withhold end-of-year reports from parents who haven't paid fees for exams, workbooks, school shop charges, and extracurricular activities. But the Ministry of Education says such an action may be illegal. Tom Taylor reports.

A dilemma for schools and parents alike. That's how the Principals' Association is labelling Auckland Grammar school's decision to hold students end of year reports for unpaid fees. One parent has accused the school of bullying tactics during a cost of living crisis. President Cherie Taylor Patel says some parents are pushing their luck, but some will be sincere. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today on The Huddle, we had Jordan Williams, Taxpayer Union executive director and Simon Wilson, NZ Herald senior writer here to talk about the following: Is giving money to an organisation better than an individual homeless person? Should 1st XV be televised? Auckland 1st XV principal say it will no longer be broadcast as it created at unhealthy level of scrutiny or pressure on students. After four months detained, two influencers left Iran. It sounds like they were seasoned travellers in the Middle East. Should we feel for the couple or is it travel at your own risk? Tim O'Connor of Auckland Grammar is threatening to withhold school reports if parents don't pay fees, is that okay? Does being bipolar / being mentally unwell excuse Kanye West for his racism / other behaviour? Are you glad to see Adidas cut ties? What is the Lower Hutt council up to? It couldn't find a huge rave in a bush when noise complaints were made, but journalists found out who was organising it and where it was after one phone call. All of these and more got discussed on The Huddle! LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More groups are issuing calls for streaming in schools to be abandoned.  The Post Primary Teachers' Association has recently claimed that there is no evidence that putting students of similar abilities together improves their academic performance. Tim O'Connor, Headmaster of Auckland Grammar, is here to speak in defence of academic streaming. "Streaming actually can help the less able, probably the most. Because you can actually direct extra resources to them, you can lower class numbers, you can put an extra teacher in there." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today on The Huddle: Jack Tame, host of ZB's Saturday Mornings and Q&A and Nick Mills, Newstalk ZB host are here to talk about the following- Does school streaming do more harm than good? PPTA wants to abolish it, but Auckland Grammar's Headmaster is all for it. This Ombudsman report should be a huge turning point for Oranga Tamariki's practices, shouldn't it? Big study out today finding rugby players are twice as likely to get dementia than the average population and 15 times more likely to develop a motor-neuron disease - is that the risk you take when you get into international rugby or does more need to be done to prevent this for high level players? Is banning online classes regressive? Disabled students in particular say the Uni may as well keep it as an option. The official sponsor of the climate change convention COP27 is none other than one of the world's biggest user of plastics, Coca-Cola. Absolute greenwashing! All of these and more will be discussed today on The Huddle! LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New South Wales are preparing to say goodbye to the traditional school hours.  Premier Dominic Perrottet is set to trial a pilot program across the state proposing alternatives outside the standard 9am-3pm, saying the hours no longer work for schools.   Questions are being raised as to whether it could it work back here and are NSW on to something?  Tim O'Connor is the Auckland Grammar School headmaster and he joined Mike Hosking. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As concerns about Hamilton's Soundsplash music festival grow, some high schools aren't taking any chances.  At least one Omicron case has been confirmed at the three-day event, and many more are feared. More than 100 students from Auckland Grammar went to the festival and have been ordered to isolate at home until they produce a negative test.   Other schools are advising their students to take the same precautions.  Auckland Grammar Headmaster Tim O'Connor told Tim Dower it's a no brainer.  “I'd rather have students off one or two days while they get a negative test result than having to shut down either an entire cohort or large groups.” LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thousands of school students have chosen to skip their end of year exams this year.Reports of as few as 15 per cent are turning up and taking the unexpected event grade.Papatoetoe High School principal Vaughan Couillault told Heather du Plessis-Allan that he didn't want students to turn up for exams as he thought exams in lockdown was a bridge too far with the Auckland lockdowns and wanted to do the work in advance."The sort of compromise to that was the unexpected event grade area was declared in Auckland and so students can get the grades that they want in advance with the work that they've done in class and the buildup, the flurry of activity that happened when schools were able to open, and then that takes away the pressure of cramming kids into a hall for a few hours."Auckland Grammar School Headmaster Tim O'Connor says the unexpected events grade should be used as a fallback option and not a starting point."Why would we say take a UEG when you can actually go into an examination, actually test yourself and measure yourself about what you know so that you can be better and if necessary, fall back on the UEG grade."O'Connor also reports a 95 plus per cent attendance for exams at Auckland Grammar.LISTEN ABOVE

Some teachers in Auckland ventured back into classrooms this week for limited in-person teaching in level 3, but for most students in Tāmaki Makaurau it's teaching by Zoom for a while yet. Educators are voicing concerns over the effect that the long lockdown will have on educational inequality, especially for Māori and Pasifika pupils. New research out from the Education Review Office this morning found that before the August lockdown, nearly one in five low decile students didn't have a device at home. For students at high decile schools, it was just one in 20.  At Finlayson Park Primary School, a decile one school in Manurewa, South Auckland, the school's supply of resources isn't enough to stretch to every student, many of whom rely on parents' limited cellphone data to access online learning. The picture is very different across the city in Epsom, where decile nine Auckland Grammar School has offered devices and wifi modems to every student who needs it.  Finlayson Park School principal Shirley Maihi, and Auckland Grammar headmaster Tim O'Connor spoke to Corin Dann.  

Some teachers in Auckland ventured back into classrooms this week for limited in-person teaching in level 3, but for most students in Tāmaki Makaurau it's teaching by Zoom for a while yet. Educators are voicing concerns over the effect that the long lockdown will have on educational inequality, especially for Māori and Pasifika pupils. New research out from the Education Review Office this morning found that before the August lockdown, nearly one in five low decile students didn't have a device at home. For students at high decile schools, it was just one in 20.  At Finlayson Park Primary School, a decile one school in Manurewa, South Auckland, the school's supply of resources isn't enough to stretch to every student, many of whom rely on parents' limited cellphone data to access online learning. The picture is very different across the city in Epsom, where decile nine Auckland Grammar School has offered devices and wifi modems to every student who needs it.  Finlayson Park School principal Shirley Maihi, and Auckland Grammar headmaster Tim O'Connor spoke to Corin Dann.  

The Avondale College exposure has left other Auckland schools racing to have their students tested. Thousands of Auckland school students have been mingling with Avondale College students over the weekend. Headmaster of Auckland Grammar, Tim O'Connor, talks to Lisa Owen.  

The head of a prestigious secondary school for boys is stunned by a Ministry of Education proposal to change rules around accepting out-of-zone students. Priority for children of former students and for siblings of current students could disappear under the plan. Tim O'Connor is headmaster of Auckland Grammar.

Auckland Grammar headmaster Tim O'Connor has just heard the news that Auckland is moving from Covid-19 alert level 3 to alert level 2 on Sunday at 6am. He talks to Lisa Owen about what it means for his school.

A group of parents, exasperated by a lack of repayment for school trips that can't proceed, has complained to the Ministry of Education seeking an independent inquiry into the endorsement and use of a non-bonded travel agent. They want support from the Ministry to bring a Commerce Commission complaint into the way school-travel specialist Student Horizons has gone about returning money for trips that can't be undertaken. The situation differs from one Nine to Noon highlighted four weeks ago, the collapse of Antipodeans Abroad. In that case, the company's insurer eventually agreed to honour claims and repay parents the cost of the trip. Here, parents feel the fact Student Horizons holds the contract with the school, not them, is stymying their ability to seek refunds. Kathryn talks to two parents, Kim Matheson and Guy Quartermain, about the situation they're in, and Brett Calkin, who is chair of the Board of Trustees at Palmerston North Girls' High School, about what the Board and school is doing to get parents' money back. Also joining Kathryn is Student Horizon's founder and owner Jamie Wansey.

Radio 531pi was set up in 1993 by the Auckland Pacific Island Community Radio Trust.  Twenty seven years on the station now broadcasts nationwide and this week we look at featuring some of the people who helped pave the way. Our guest this morning Sefita Hao’uli grew up on the island of Foa about 100 miles north of Nuku'alofa.  He attended Tonga High School before being sent to New Zealand to Auckland Grammar and continued his education at  Auckland University where he studied political science and psychology. Sefita Hao’uli is a veteran journalist who has worked for Radio Pacific, Sunday News, TVNZ, a founding member of 531pi and a former chief executive of NiuFM.  See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

A decision late on Monday by the government will give school principals the option of allowing Year 12 and 13 students back to school early for face to face learning during alert level 3. Auckland Grammar Headmaster Tim O'Connor has been imploring authorities to allow flexibility especially for students so close to crucial assessments. He joins Lisa Owen to discuss.

Claims senior school students in the Auckland region will be severely affected by the Covid-19 Alert Level Three lockdown.For the next 11 days, Auckland students in years 11 to 13 cannot attend school, and will have to learn from home.Other students are being told to stay home, but if they can't be supervised, they can go to school.Auckland Grammar headmaster Tim O'Connor told Francesca Rudkin it's an unfair disadvantage for students who are preparing for NCEA or Cambridge exams."The loss of face-to-face teaching, you can't underestimate the impact of that, it will be significant. So there will be two weeks loss compared to the rest of the country."

I wasn’t surprised to read how many of us are still texting and driving, a third of us, according to a new study, still do it.And that figure is just respondents to the survey who admitted it, I’d hazard a guess that number’s even higher when you include all the people who wouldn’t admit it.This week we’ve seen Auckland’s speed limits drop to 30 k’s an hour in the CBD, in a bid to have safer roads, but how much safer are they really, if people are still distracted behind the wheel?As parents raising a digital generation we’ve endured a lot of self inflicted paranoia about kids and phones, kids growing up glued to screens, neck or eye issues from staring down at screens too long, the blue light problem at night robbing them of all that melatonin.And that’s before we get to the content issues, the online bullying, and then as they get older, the fact they’re driving with their phones. It’s an extra worry our parents didn’t have when they were raising us.But what I’m finding is that this new generation of tech savvy teens is getting smarter at sorting it out for themselves.They understand that a lot of social media is a crock.They know where dangers are, they get what fake news is, they see driving with a phone as about as crazy and deadly as smoking cigarettes is.In other words, they’re probably better than us at all this.They’re growing up wiser and smarter.Where they are having trouble though, is with the vaping.This not so new trend is the scourge of the modern playground.Auckland Grammar says it’s getting worse among students, they’ve stood down 40 students over vaping at school, they’ve had about a dozen ask for help in curbing their addiction.So the school’s pushing, along with the Cancer Society, to have new legislation pushed through on this before the election.They’re asking the government to take the responsibility seriously, they say it’s not only a major distraction for students, but it’s also a concerning health issue.Some of the most popular vaping products being marketed to kids are 60 percent nicotine.Auckland Grammar’s not alone in being concerned, vaping is an issue for all schools these days so I’m not sure why the government’s dragging its heels on doing something about it.Teens these days are by and large better than us on knowing the perils of texting and driving, yes, but too many of them still think vaping’s cool. That’s an area we do need the government to tighten legislation on.Government continues to ignore the addictive and disruptive nature of vaping at its peril.. and sadly it's the kids who'll pay the price.

COMMENT:If the Government's own level system applied to their moods, in terms of 1 being the most relaxed, I think they might be red lining at a hard 4 right now.From kindness, teddy bears and happy dances, it appears our team of five million is not behaving itself at the moment. Mum's angry, and we're all being sent to our room. Or the naughty corner.So the PM's angry, Grant Robertson's "disappointed", and Stuart Nash yesterday was quite frankly apoplectic.He was "bloody angry", he said, with Auckland Grammar's headmaster Tim O'Connor, who had the audacity to suggest that the Ministry of Education had cocked up the free modems by sending a bunch of them out to the wrong schools and the wrong families.Nash was furious that O'Connor hadn't "come down from his ivory tower" to hop in a school van, and take those modems to a school in South Auckland. As though it was up to individual principals to solve the Government's problems and mistakes, rectify them by taking the law into their own hands and handing out modems wherever they saw fit.The bit Nash missed in his blind fury was that the modems are labelled to individual families, they've been sent out by the ministry, they are the ministry's property, therefore individual principals are not about to go ripping off labels and redistributing modems willy nilly.And imagine if they did? You'd never hear the end of it.Instead, O'Connor did the right thing, he contacted the ministry to let it know about its mistake. Embarrassingly, the ministry didn't even bother to get back to him. The ministry didn't quite seem to have the same urgency about it as Stuart Nash did.So a bunch of very expensive modems remain sitting in a cupboard at Auckland Grammar.This hasn't been a good couple of days for the Government.The sharp transition from smiles and hugs to disappointment and fury has left a bad taste.Retail NZ's told it to "be kind", others are asking it to cheer up.But this is what happens when the team of five million starts to have a few opinions of their own. Starts making a few of their own decisions. Starts pushing back a bit on what the Government had in mind.What the Government's experiencing is akin to parenting. They've treated us as toddlers for months; made up all our rules; told us what we can and can't do; given us handouts and asked us to behave.Yet here we are, the team of five million, now starting to flex a bit - show a bit of teenage push back. A few snarky remarks, the odd door slam, taking the handout but not doing as you'd hoped with it.The true test of leadership at this point is not to pack a big sad and shout at everyone, but to stay calm and steer the course.

Auckland pace bowler Kyle Jamieson has earned his maiden call-up to the Black Cap as an injury replacement for Lockie Ferguson.Ferguson is returning home from Australia after sustaining a grade two right calf-muscle tendon strain while bowling in the first Test in Perth.The injury is expected to require four to six weeks of rehabilitation.Coach Gary Stead confirmed 24-year-old Jamieson would join the Test squad in Melbourne in preparation for the second Test at the MCG on Boxing Day."It's an exciting opportunity for Kyle who has impressed in the Plunket Shield domestic four-day competition," Stead said."We've also been really encouraged by his progress in the NZC winter camps and his performances for New Zealand A."Standing at over two metres tall he obviously gets good bounce and brings something different to our other pace bowlers."He'll play for the Aces today in their Super Smash T20 match against the Kings, before making his way to Melbourne on Wednesday."It will be his first time in camp and we're looking forward to welcoming him into the Black Caps environment."Jamieson boasts 72 wickets in the Plunket Shield at an average of 27.9.Ferguson will travel home on Tuesday and Stead said the whole team was feeling for him."We're all absolutely gutted for Lockie," he added."He'd worked really hard to earn his Test debut and to have it cruelly halted by injury was truly unlucky."He'll return home to begin his recovery with an eye to India's tour of New Zealand starting in late January."11 things about new Black Cap Kyle Jamieson1) Jamieson was in the Auckland Grammar first XI for three years playing as an opener or at number three. He moved to Christchurch on a Lincoln University scholarship, studying for a Bachelor of Commerce.2) At 2.03m, Jamieson is even slightly taller than 'Two Metre' Peter Fulton, Canterbury's former New Zealand opener.Or to put it another way, he's about the same height as All Black lock Brodie Retallick.If he makes the New Zealand team, Jamieson will be in a group of players rated the tallest in international cricket behind the 2.19 Mohammad Irfan of Pakistan.Two fine former fast bowlers, West Indian great Joel Garner, and Aussie Bruce Reid, are among those about the same height as Jamieson.3) Jamieson has serious form...with the bat. Batting at number eight, he scored a 110-ball century against England in Hamilton during an unofficial game last year.England may not have done much homework on him. His highest first-class score at that point was 40, and his average 14.His onslaught led to a bit of a spat with a frustrated England bowling star James Anderson, although fellow paceman Mark Wood was very complimentary.4) His first-class debut for Canterbury against Wellington in 2014, when he failed to take a wicket in 30-odd overs and scored a duck.5) Jamieson comes from cricketing stock - his dad Michael was a premier batsman for Papatoetoe.6) He has received a decent tick from recently departed Black Caps coach Mike Hesson,who tweeted "An impressive bowler who at 6ft 8in can swing it....another one to add to the Black Caps stable".7) Black Caps star Tim Southee played against him a few years ago and said: "He's got something different to everyone else in first-class cricket, obviously his height and there's not many of those guys going around in the world, so he's got an added advantage there and hopefully of his major injuries are behind him."8) He was in the New Zealand team for the 2014 under-19 World Cup. He also made the New Zealand A side — which included test specialists BJ Watling, Jeet Raval, and Neil Wagner — who played against a Pakistan combo in Dubai late last year.9) Injuries have been an issue, including two years ago when he broke a foot bone while jogging after a ball in training. He was among the top wicket-takers in the Plunket Shield at the time. He had previously suffered an ankle stress fracture.10) There was no over-celebrating his 6-7 T20 stunne...

Taylor Howden we caught up with Taylz at Rugbytown 7s earlier this summer, but since then he’s recently inked a deal with the Houston SaberCats for the 2020 season. Taylor has had a massive playing career, from Auckland to Denver, Ohio, New Orleans and everywhere in between, he’s truly put a massive effort in growing the game here in the US. He is the one among few that has the ability to coach and play simultaneously, and continues to do so on the grassroots level no matter what city he’s currently residing in … Uncle Johnny and Logan brought the spice as usual, but Taylor was great and we wish him the best in 2020 with Houston! Taylor played his high school rugby in Auckland, "doing the dirty" and transferring from Mount Albert Grammar School (MAGS) to Auckland Grammar. Auckland Grammar has a long history of All Blacks... Auckland Grammar All Black List Ben Atiga Ces Badeley Vic Badeley John Drake Grant Fox Graham Henry (AB coach) Doug Howlett Akira Ioane Rieko Ionae Benson Stanley Jeremy Stanlet Kel Tremain Wilson Whineray (former AB captain and prominent businessman) Taylor would eventually move from Auckland, to Texas, to Denver CO (where he would spend many years with the Denver Barbarians) to Columbus OH. He led the Ohio Aviators in a memorable PRO Rugby season (which ended ... well, how it ended). He was heavily involved with Tiger Rugby and ran their youth academy while living in Columbus, and continues to put it forward each day and grow the game. Top 3 Kiwi’s you’ve played with (XV’s) Jaime MaCintosh - Ohio Aviators Dan Pryor - Auckland Blues Za Lawrence - AB 7s Grayson Hart - Bedford Blues (just missed) Top 3 Americans you’ve played with (XV’s) Ata and Nese Malifa Perry Baker Peter Tiberio Culture: Intro - Calvin Harris - Funk Wade Bounce - Slide Outtro - Rollin - Calvin Harris

I see we have the old hair debate back in the news, with an Auckland Grammar boy now wanting to take the school to court over its hair policy.The difficulty here is that the boy knew the school rules on hair before he started, and he cut it in January in order to meet them and get into the school.But that was the first and last time he had a haircut and he's now grown it to shoulder length. Which is in direct breach of the school rules, which state hair has to be above the collar.Having had two boys attend this school I am familiar with the rules. No, my boys didn't like it, yes they wanted to grow their hair and hated having to constantly cut it, but as I told them at the time, those are the rules.But it seems if you don't want to follow rules, or feel you should be excluded from them, you can just hire a lawyer. I personally found it cheaper and less stressful just to get it cut.As soon as my oldest son finished school and left, he just grew his hair again. It was something he looked forward to doing, along with not having to wear a uniform and Roman sandals everyday.Because most kids understand that schools have rules, that some of them you may not like, but that it's not forever.All schools have rules, there is nothing special here about Auckland Grammar. There are rules because most high schools are large institutions managing large numbers of kids - and if they didn't have rules it'd be chaos.A school is entitled to enforce a presentation standard as part of its uniform policy, the same way many other schools ban jewellery, nail polish, tattoos or particular items of clothing.Yes, hair is something that is "growing naturally" as his mother points out, but so are fingernails and it doesn't change the fact the rule is the rule, and they knew it before they started.Not only that, they abided by it at first. They signed and agreed to the conditions of enrolment and attendance, and now they're breaching that: why? Because they've changed their mind?The difficulty here from a legal point of view is how do individual students get to pick and choose which rules apply to them? Surely a dangerous precedent is set if we go down that track and open that particular can of worms.Also, how do you conform to a rule in order to get into a school, then knowingly flout it once inside? What message is that sending?It's hard enough for schools these days to manage teenagers with their many and varied issues, senses of entitlement and expectations - without having to juggle lawsuits over hair length.Surely it's an unnecessary distraction and a drain on resources, when a school whose job it is to teach and coach for exams, manage sport and other subjects, is instead being dragged into a legal sideshow over hair. 

An Auckland Grammar student is taking his school to court after he was punished for not cutting his hair.James Hunt, who is in Year 9, was stood down for a day last week after refusing to cut his hair. The school's rules state that students' hair must not touch the collar.James last cut his hair in January to allow him to begin school. The 13-year-old wore his hair long in memory of his grandfather Paul Hunt, who died a day before he was born and was once expelled from school for his long hair.James has employed lawyer Jol Bates to challenge Auckland Grammar's rule. Bates successfully defended St John's College student Lucan Battison in 2014 after the then-16 year-old was suspended for long hair.TVNZ Sunday Journalist Pippa Wetzell joins The Panel on The Weekend Collective to discuss this, along with the big issues making news headlines this week.

Isn’t it great when you hear grown-ups talking about the issues of the day and making sense? It’s something you don’t hear too often in our media, which is full of simplified slogan shouting in 10-second soundbites.So this is what I was thinking about listening to the Auckland Grammar school headmaster, Tim O’Connor, talking on Newstalk ZB this morning. He is part of a group called the Community Schools Alliance made up of principals from 42 schools around the country.The group is opposing proposals made by the Tomorrow's Schools Review taskforce, which has recommended a system of hubs to oversee groups of schools and take over many of the responsibilities of school trustees.This centralisation of school management has been described as ideologically driven by the current government and therefore a bad idea.What I liked about Tim O’Connor is that he didn’t get into Government or Working Group bashing at all, despite being pushed to do so. While he admitted the hub plan was ideologically driven, he didn’t dismiss it completely saying all he wanted was flexibility and choice.As Tim points out, there are 2500 schools in our country. Most are very well run by their community and they want to stay that way. A lot of our schools these days are very big operations indeed, with student numbers in some cases exceeding 3000. Add all the grounds, the staff and the contingencies and they’re complex beasts that are best run with the eyes close to the game and not some distant bureaucracy with multiple other operations in play.But particularly in the primary sector, there are many schools with rolls as low as 100. With a limited community pool of governance skills and funds, a lot of them are crying out for a bit of help. And there’s also a number of schools that for one reason or another have lost the plot. These are schools that would benefit from the centralising hub model.He wants schools to have the choice and I agree with him. The schools that are experiencing governance trouble are the minority in this country, so why change what ain’t broke for the majority. As Tim points out one size fits all is the wrong model.So well done Tim O’Connor for looking at the idea on its merits and advocating flexibility. Maybe flexibility is his New Years resolution because nearly two weeks ago Grammar quietly abandoned its long-standing ban on afros after a criticism that it was institutional racism. Which it was, a kid can’t help his hair.But Bali Haque, the architect of the centralised hub model, seems the inflexible one. He’s travelling the country consulting with schools on the proposed changes but according to the Community Schools Alliance, when confronted by people who think the idea isn’t that great he becomes quite defensive and confrontational himself.I would have thought the Working Group’s brief is to consult not to confront and to give principals what they need rather than what his political masters want.

Some educators say they are willing to march on Parliament in opposition to the Government's proposed Tommorrow's Schools plan.The board and headmaster of Auckland Grammar have written to parents, asking for help to fiercely oppose the notion, saying that the proposals are radical and would end the notion of the traditional secondary school in New Zealand.Auckland Grammar's headmaster Tim O'Connor says the vast majority of school boards are just fine, and there's no rationale for direct state control."It is a proposed attack on state education as we know it, and the only winners out of this will be private schools, who will continue to be able to establish a culture and a values base and operate in a manner that is purposeful to their community."O'Connor's main concern is idea of Education Hubs, taking over the likes of property, employment, and allocating government funding."That really would surpass the role of a board of trustees and boards of trustees would effectively become glorified PTA's or advisement groups to principals. So schools would lose their own personalities and their own cultures."Macleans College principal Steven Hargreaves told the Weekend Collective that if the recommendations were to be enacted, he believes there'd be people marching on Parliament."I know that sounds like a crazy thing to be doing, but we would, because there are some serious things here that I feel would interfere with the way successful schools are run."Hargreaves says that having 125 schools reporting to one hub logistically doesn't make sense. However, Bali Haque, Chairman of the Tomorrow's School taskforce, says that much of what the critics believe is simply wrong.He says the whole reform is based on developing an education system that meets the needs of all our students."Currently, the way we've got it set out, with 2,500 independent, autonomous boards, it really isn't working. That's indicated when you look at the stats of student achievement."Haque says that thet went around the country and spoke to boards about the proposals."We've attended 200 meetings, we've listened to Boards of Trustees, and what Boards of Trustees say is they want to focus on important stuff of teaching and learning, and that's what our proposals allow them to do." Haque is urging those claiming it will destroy the school system to calm down, sit down and read the report.Principals' Federation believes adopting Tomorrow's Schools would be the courageous option.Principals' Federation president Whetu Cormick says the consultation phase is really important, but then it's up to the Government."Will the Minister of Educations and his ministers have the courage to put in place some these courageous recommendations that are outlined in this document? So the proof will be in the pudding to see whether that really does land next year."Submissions are open on the drastic and sweeping changes mooted in the Tomorrow's Schools report.An online feedback survey will also be open next month and there will also be regional hui in February and March.Cormick says feedback is important, even if it means cutting into holidays."Whilst it's going to mean more work for school leavers, we're up for the consultation period and we want to have a strong voice in determining what's happening in education for the next 30 years or so." 

Teaching seems to be on life support in New Zealand, with shortages in parts of the country - particularly in Auckland.The Weekend Collective spoke with Tim O'Connor, the headmaster of Auckland Grammar school to get his opinion on how (or if) teaching can be saved in New Zealand.LISTEN ABOVE TO THE FULL INTERVIEW

In a programme highlighting talented singers, string and woodwind instrumentalists, the chamber orchestra Grammar Virtuosi and chamber choir Grammarphonics, Auckland Grammar School take us on a journey travelling through time and place. Featuring the music of the Italian baroque composer Arcangelo Corelli, Norwegian Nationalist Edvard Grieg, 20th century Brazillian Heitor Villa Lobos, and New Zealand composers Chris Adams and David Hamilton they move from the baroque period through to today to give a broad outline of our cultural heritage.

Blue Black Radio Episode 2: Auckland Grammar and Westlake Boys exchange Hosts: Ryan Bishop and Jayden Ball Special Guest: Mitchell Hay

Today I get to speak with a former colleague who has been all over the media recently, for the changes around compulsory Te reo Maori at Auckland Grammar. Neitana Lobb is a passionate educator who has been teaching for about four years now and is doing great things motivating our young people and advocating for Maori culture in education.

Today I get to speak with a former colleague who has been all over the media recently, for the changes around compulsory Te reo Maori at Auckland Grammar. Neitana Lobb is a passionate educator who has been teaching for about four years now and is doing great things motivating our young people and advocating for Maori culture in education.