Home is what you take with you, not what you leave behind.

I loved my time as principal of Massey High School in West Auckland. One of the truly special things about the school is that we built six houses a year. They were three, four and five bedroom houses and we shipped them all over the upper North Island. Students spent five days a week building, and we ran the curriculum through a building and business lens. Secondary schools from all over New Zealand and from overseas came to look at our model. We were very grateful to Kainga Ora and their support of our Academy. I was delighted that we were able to support a number of schools into having their own building academies – we always gave away anything that was working for our students, to anyone that needed it. 

Tui was a fabulous student and an outstanding Year 13 in the Building Academy. She was showing a large group of New Zealand principals around the building site and said, “This is where we build the houses and this is how we organise the week’s work.” She kept talking about houses. After the principals had left I asked her, “Why do you call them houses instead of homes?” She said, “Matua, a house doesn’t have a heart. When you put people in it then it becomes a home, then it has a heart. We build houses for people to turn into homes!” 

Just before I got married my mum took me and my fiancé down to the bottom of our road, and we ate fish and chips. We lived on a hill in Dunedin and you could sit on a big park bench where you could see all the homes on the “flat”, from St Clair to Forbury, to St Kilda. Mum said, “See all of these homes? The roofs are shaped like two hands in prayer, looking after all the people underneath. In every home there are rooms. People think that the rooms are for kitchens, bathrooms and lounges but they are more than that. In every home there is room for improvement, there is room for second chances, there is room for kindness and understanding, and most importantly there is room for aroha. If you fill your home with those rooms you will never go wrong!

I thought about that a lot when I was a principal in London. My school in Croydon was surrounded by sub-par houses.  I remember making a home visit, with two of my SLT, and I was struck by the thick black mould that covered the bedroom ceilings. Young families were living in overcrowded housing and there was mold and damp in almost 95% of houses, which led to significant health issues for those that lived there. Skin irritations, asthma and fatigue were prevalent. The TMOs (Tenant Management Organisation’s) were overrun with requests and woefully under resourced. As a school we, as staff, decided to split into teams, and spend a day painting and doing our best to fix up the homes of our students. It was very humbling for us and we felt very honoured to be allowed into people’s homes to support them.

I think of Wellington College like a home. Always room for improvement, always room for understanding and aroha. I also know that homes aren’t always bricks and mortar. Home is a feeling. Home is a place where you are truly seen, a place where you are loved and understood, and a place you will always be welcome.

Boys, I am hoping that you will always see Wellington College as a home, as a place to come to when you need help. Long after you leave we want to be that place that you feel you will always be welcome, no matter how old you get. I have talked in assembly about leading with our words and how important it is to uplift others with our words, our voices. We will always subscribe to purpose and not power. We are only together for a very short time. Take this time to lift your classmates and our teachers. To be genuine and generous with your praise of each other. To look for the good in people and situations. My faith in you is unshakeable. The future of our country and the world is incredibly bright with you all in it. 

Remember that you can always come home to us whenever you need us. We will always be here.