I feel privileged to have been given the responsibility of leading Matakohe School into the future. We are a small rural school catering for 36 children from years 1 - 8. We are situated on a picturesque, elevated site overlooking the Kaipara Harbour. With two fields, a bike track, swimming pool, school hall, native tree plantings, neighbouring paddocks with cows and sheep, and the world famous Kauri Museum at our fingertips, we feel pretty blessed to be caretakers of this little slice of paradise. Collectively we are working towards establishing a positive, rich learning environment that allows us to teach a scaffolded learning model based on our local resources to instil motivation and a connection with who we are and where we live, so as children graduate, they can go out into the world armed with knowledge, courage and inspiration, prepared for their future.