Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou katoa

Another month has passed  and with it another chance to reflect on the weeks that have been.

“Mehemea ka moemoeā ahau, ko ahau anake.

Mehemea ka moemoeā tātou, ka taea e tātou.

If I dream, I dream alone.

If we all dream together, then we will achieve”

– Princess Te Puea Herangi

We’re back in the office at the National Service Centre and getting in to another ‘new normal’ routine… Daylight savings has arrived, teasing us that summer is not far away and I’m enjoying being able to spend time outside in the daylight after work occasionally now too. And now the school holidays are here after a strange and somewhat difficult term for some; our thoughts are with you, our Playcentre whānau in Auckland who are still at Alert Level 3…  

I mentioned last month that the Kaihononga Māori team have seen some changes and over recent weeks, I’ve been supporting the team to bring Deacon Andrews on board in the Upper North Island region. We will be working together to develop more understanding of the role and what this will look like for kaimahi and how we support centres and whānau Māori.  Part of the role is to collaboratively support and guide kaimahi & whānau to develop Playcentre’s cultural capability by providing advice to enact the strategic plan and support all of us.  Another key focus is building reciprocal relationships and partnerships, internally & externally of our Playcentre whānau. We look forward to bringing more information to you in the future – you can see the latest from the team in this month’s Bulletin.

We farewelled our administrator Beate Noldan last week and we are looking forward to filling that role again very soon. And you will have seen the recent announcement that our new Chief Executive, David Moger, will be joining us next month. I am looking forward to handing the reigns over to David’s capable hands. I have found my past three months as acting general manager both challenging and rewarding. I am looking forward to returning to my role as principal advisor on the 1 November.  

Ko te pae tawhiti whāia kia tata, ko te pae tata whakamaua kia tina.

Seek to bring distant horizons closer; sustain and maintain those that have arrived.

Nāku iti nei, nā

Susan Bailey 

Acting General Manager