Hello.
I hope you're feeling rested and refreshed after the holidays.
I'm certainly ready to get stuck in to all the challenges that 2014 will bring.
This is the time that many children are anticipating their new school year.
It's exciting and it's important because schooling is one of the foundation stones on which we build our adult lives.
As New Zealanders, we pride ourselves on giving everyone a fair go.
And I passionately believe that because I am one of those kids who came from a home that materially didn't have much, yet I have been able to achieve my dreams.
What made that possible?
One was the beliefs instilled in me at home -- to value education, to work hard, and to aim high.
Equally important was the education I received at my local primary and high schools in Christchurch, then at Canterbury University.
That education opened the world to me.
By international measures, our school performance is slipping.
That's not something this government is going to ignore.
The other day, I saw a small item in the newspaper about NCEA.
It quoted an Auckland teenager who was happy with her English results and she said, and I quote, "I studied before exams, but I was quite lucky to have a good teacher".
That's very telling.
This girl knew that her teacher made a difference, and I think most pupils know that.
But getting that inspiring teacher shouldn't be about luck.
That's why our very first big policy out of the blocks this year aims to lift the quality of teaching.
Don't get me wrong. We already have a very high standard of teaching.
But we're putting in a lot of effort, thought and money to make it better.
Building on National Standards, we're going to have executive principals, expert teachers, lead teachers and change principals sharing the best practices of top teaching.
These are forward-looking changes and I'm confident that all schools, all teachers and all our sons and daughters will be better off because of them.