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KATIKATI COLLEGE

YOUR FUTURE IS HERE

Welcome, our door is always open

Choosing the right school for your child is one of the most important decisions you will make to prepare them for their future. At Katikati College we offer your child a balanced education that embraces the whole student; supporting, motivating and challenging them to achieve their personal best.

So please have a look around to learn what our College can offer you and get in touch with our office if you have any further questions on (07) 549 0434.

Ngā mihi nui

Louise Buckley

Message from our Tumuaki

Kai ora koutou,

At our College, our vision is growing connected learners who make positive contributions to our thriving community. Digital technology - from chromebooks to social media and gaming - is a powerful tool for connection, learning, and entertainment. However, harnessing these opportunities requires a shared commitment to ensuring our ākonga interact online with
integrity.

Our pastoral team is currently spending significant time investigating incidents - group chats, social media posts, threats, rumours, or inappropriate comments - that originate outside of school hours on private devices, but spill into the school day. While this involves a small
percentage of students, the impact on wellbeing and learning is substantial.

As a community, our core values must guide how we navigate these digital spaces:

● Whanaungatanga (Relationships & Belonging): Relationships underpin everything we do. Digital interactions should uplift others and foster a sense of belonging, rather than fragmenting our community through conflict or reshared harm.

● Manaakitanga (Kindness, Respect & Service): We give mana to others by treating them with care - both face-to-face and behind a screen. Liking, sharing, or encouraging harmful content degrades the mana of others and works against our culture of respect.

● Kaitiakitanga (Guardianship of Environment & Knowledge): As kaitiaki, we have a duty to protect the learning environment and use knowledge responsibly.

Bypassing Network Security (VPN Use)
To keep ākonga safe at school, our network is protected by Network for Learning (N4L) web filtering and firewalls. We are increasingly aware of students using Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) or proxy apps to bypass these safety filters. Circumventing school security in this way exposes our digital environment and peers to potential online risks. Using VPNs on school
grounds is unacceptable, violates our technology agreement, and will be met with clear disciplinary consequences.

Digital Harm and the Law
Online actions carry real-world consequences beyond school. Under the Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015, communications must not be threatening, offensive, harassing, or incite harm. Serious online harm is not consequence-free simply because it occurs off-campus, and matters may be escalated to Netsafe or the Police.

Ākonga, Whānau, and Kura Working Together
The College remains committed to providing a safe learning environment and will address the impact of digital incidents at school through our pastoral and disciplinary processes. However, we cannot take sole responsibility for investigating activity occurring on private devices outside of school.

We ask whānau to sit alongside your young person, look through their devices together, check for unauthorised VPN apps, and have open conversations about their online world. Ask what they are seeing, discuss boundaries, and remind them that passively encouraging online harm still contributes to it.

Also, a reminder that our government and school policy requires mobile phones to be away for the entire school day ("away for the day"). This means that phones must be in student bags, not in their pocket.

By working together, we can ensure our ākonga develop the judgment needed to protect their own wellbeing, uphold the mana of their peers, and make positive contributions both online and off.

Ngā mihi nui,

Louise Buckley
Tumuaki