Candidate Statements

Kia ora, my name is Elijah Kira, Maori Deaf and I will be running for Student Rep 2026.

Little things to get to know me better, I’ve passion for art, completing work and am keen to learn new things. After I enrolled in Ko Taku Reo, they gave me a lot of acknowledgement I never knew I needed. Now I want to do the same and give back to Ko Taku Reo, help improve the system for everyone who needs it too.

I have no board experience, but I have experiences fighting for others who want their voice to be heard and I can help with that. Some of the students and other Deaf experience difficulty understanding and engaging in the hearing world. This leads to having a hard time building relationships, isolation. I want to connect all Deaf people, students, families, and everyone. With me, I can help with that, fighting for your voices and standing up for you whilst doing other things. It’s lovely to have this opportunity to become a member of the Ko Taku Reo Board, where I can utilise my communication and listening skills because I am a motivated and hard-working student.

With this, I am confident to represent the students of Ko Taku Reo, advocating the voice and ideas to the Board of Trustees and I hope to help if you vote for me.

Kia ora!

My name is Madison Kiri and I am fully Deaf. I am also a year 12 student at Naenae College.

I lIke to eat cake and carrots, BUT I hate carrot cake! I don’t like when they are mixed together.

I am connected to the Deaf community and I’ve grown up using NZSL. I’ve been to Deaf club, KIT days and Hub. Now I work at NZSL classes after school and I’ve set up a NZSL club at school where I am teaching hearing people, students and staff, who want to learn.

I would be a good board representative because I am responsible and I like to help people. I am also a good communicator and skilled problem solver. I want to help Deaf students fulfil their potential and achieve. In the future I want to go to university and when I graduate I am considering becoming a Deaf teacher.

I would love to be your student representative!

Hi, My name is Jean-Baptiste, JB, for short. (sign name).

I am a student at Ormiston Senior College, year 11. I am applying to be a student representative on the Ko Taku Reo School board.

I would like to apply and I would be great for this role because I have good and strong leadership skills and this will be a great opportunity for me to improve those skills. I have a lot of friends within Ko Taku Reo and the mainstream school with hearing friends. I started Deaf education at Ormiston primary (Ko taku reo) and have moved through the Deaf provisions at Ormiston Junior College and now Ormiston Senior College. I have been a fluent signer since starting at Ormiston primary.

I have been involved in lots of sports teams with hearing so I am very good at communicating with others and making sure everyone is supported. I was born Deaf and I wear 2 cochlear implants. I want to support Deaf students in making sure there is fluent NZSL. I want to build connections and make sure future Deaf students feel connected and encouraged to join things.

I want to help find ways to bring people together, socialise and keep connected. For example it would be great to set up some sports challenges and events where we can come together and meet. Like Auckland and Christchurch. We need to build connections. I remember I had the time of my life in 2015, I had all of my friends together, it was fun. Now they are in the past and we have moved on. I am now in Senior College and we lose those connections.

I love learning new things and improving myself. I want to be brave and try new things. I am really excited to try this opportunity to be a student representative for Ko Taku Reo Deaf students.

Thank you

Hello, Kia Ora koutou. Ko Starr tōku ingoa, my name is Starr.

I am a Year 13 student in my final year of high school at Ko Taku Reo – Hillmorton Provision.

My experience as a young Deaf Rangatahi, has been both challenging and wonderful. I have encountered many of the same barriers that other Deaf Rangatahi face. Being on the School Board would be an amazing opportunity for me to use my lived experience to advocate for and support other Deaf Tangata throughout their learning journeys.

This kaupapa is important to me because I would love to be part of positive changes that allow our Deaf community to continue to thrive and flourish across Aotearoa. I also believe it is important for our school to remain strongly connected to kotahitanga, the idea that we are all as one.

Being nominated as a Student Representative for the School Board would be a valuable and meaningful experience, and I would take on this opportunity with pride and determination.

Ngā Mihi Nui
Starr Phillips

Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.
Ko tirtirowhitū te Maunga
Ko te kakaho te Awa
Ko kutarere te marae
Ko te-poho-o-tamaterangi te whare tīpuna
Ko ani-i-waho te whare kai
Ko Ūpokorehe te hapu
Ko whakatohea te iwi
Ko mataatua te waka
Ko Lexus toku ingoa

I’m a Year 11 student at Ormiston Senior College. I’m really grateful for the opportunity to put myself
forward as a student representative because I want to help make sure student voices are truly heard. I
care a lot about making a positive difference for students at Ko Taku Reo and helping create a community
where everyone feels included and supported.

I believe everyone deserves to feel like they belong and that no one should ever be left out. As a student
representative, I want to listen to people, understand their experiences, and make sure their ideas and
concerns are taken seriously. I also think it’s really important that everyone’s culture and identity is
respected and heard.

I’m 14 years old and currently in Year 11 at Ormiston Senior College. I’m really interested in law, politics,
and supporting communities. These interests have helped me grow in confidence and encouraged me to
join clubs like the Environment Club and the Youth Law Club at school. Being part of these groups has
shown me how important it is to listen to different opinions and work together to solve problems. Outside
of school, I enjoy playing sports and spending time talking and laughing with family and friends.

One thing that matters a lot to me is access for Deaf students. I know there are still barriers in
classrooms, especially when it comes to communication and interpreters. I want to stand up for
students and fight for better access so everyone can learn properly. We deserve more interpreters in both
enrolled and outreach classrooms so Deaf students can learn with their chosen languages. Education
should be accessible for everyone, and I want to help push for that change.

My overall main priority as a student representative would be to listen carefully to students, support their
needs, and make sure their voices are heard when decisions are being made. Students should feel
comfortable sharing their ideas, concerns, and even complaints, knowing that someone will take them
seriously, all alongside, while ensuring we have equal access to our education across Aotearoa.

I’ve already had opportunities to build leadership skills during my time at Ormiston Junior College over
the past two years.

I’ve developed confidence in speaking up and standing alongside others. Teachers and students have
often told me that I’m a strong and confident speaker, and that I support people when they need help
getting their voices heard.

I want to do this role because I believe student voices are important, but sometimes they aren’t heard
enough. I want to help change that. When students and leaders work together, we can solve problems
and improve things for everyone. I will stand strong for students and work hard to make sure things get
done.

Nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

I am a passionate and determined 17-year-old student with a strong desire to lead positive change within the deaf youth community for the betterment of not just the deaf community but for our wider community of Aotearoa.

I maybe deaf but I am a listner, I'm eager to lead initiatives on behalf of my peers for the
benefit of my community.

My immediate co-horts would tell you that I do everything with a purpose and fully committed. I don’t do things half-heartly or to look good. And they’ll say that I am fun to be around with a cracking sense of humour. Furthermore, they would say I am very proactive about understanding what people are saying and the context within.

One of the things that drives me is to foster a sense of greater unity by increasing access for our deaf youth. In my experience, as a deaf student, access is the key fundamental to thrive and to reduce the divide between deaf and hearing. Access for me simply means being able to have an equal opportunity to integrate with the wider community. Anecdotally, I have been on the
recieving end of the misconception that deafness is viewed as a learning disability oppose to just physical disability.

This lack of understanding creates profound complications for deaf youth. This means that my peers, deaf youths, are consistently denied the correct tools and resources through no fault of our own.

The lack of this understanding directly correlates to access deficiencies, making it difficult for deaf youth to thrive, and to reach their-full-potential as an individual, as a community. Deaf youth communities experience a reoccurring significant negative impact on their educational, social and personal development due to the barriers, perceive or real, in access. This access limitation comes at a cost. The cost of missed opportunity.

I believe I can make this positive change that will proactively encourage students to embrace their uniqueness. To strive to be all we can be, to form a place of equal opportunity for the betterment of our society. It starts with knowledge, which fosters understanding which creates empathy. Empathy leads to informed solutions to narrow the divide between deaf and hearing,
between educational opptuintiy and missed potenetial. I want to start the conversation now for proactive positive change.