Ko Krista Huber toku ingoa,
I have been elected the new Board chair and I am very excited about this opportunity. I am looking forward to working with the 'old' and new members on the Board and in partnership with Andrew to build on the fantastic work that has been done by the previous chairs (Steve Bielby and Tim Wake). I would like to welcome Olivia Paterson and Stuart Stock to the Board. They bring a wealth of new experience to the Board and will add constructively to our team.
The first task at our meeting was to set up the subcommittees. These committees, which are outlined below, are an important part of the Board's work.
Community: The role of this committee is to liaise with the parent community and put together and analyse our annual survey. This committee also works closely with the Home and School and te kura o te Muritai Whanau group.
Health and Safety: This committee oversees our health and safety policies and procedures to minimise risk of injury and identify hazards. It also receives timely reports on evacuation procedures during an emergency.
Finance: This committee makes sure we have good policies and procedures that ensure we run the school in a fiscally responsible way. It keeps the Board informed of our budget to date to make sure we are tracking according to the annual financial plan.
Property: The school has a five year and ten year property agreement with the Ministry in regards to modernisation and maintenance against a bulk-funded property allowance. General maintenance and any new building work such as the library has to be managed and financed within this framework.
Documentation and Review: This committee reviews our Charter, overall school and student achievement and makes sure the annual focus achievement targets are set by teachers and the principal. It also directs the review and rewrite of school policies.
Curriculum: This committee's role is to inform the Board on current curriculum developments. This involves understanding national education policy direction such as National Standards as well as understanding school innovations and the development of the Muritai curriculum. It has also organised parent information evenings.
Administration: This ensures all Ministry documentation is completed and all legislative requirements are adhered to such as length of school day, days at school, etc.
Our committee personnel are as follows. Please note all committees work alongside Andrew, our Principal.
Finance Peter / Stuart
Curriculum Lisa / Olivia
Health and Safety Lisa / Olivia
Administration Andrew
Community Krista / Arini / Peter
Documentation and Review Olivia / Krista
Personnel Krista / Stuart
Property Arini / Stuart / Lisa
We also received two reports from the school this month.
- Muritai School curriculum development - Matt Skilton's detailed presentation discussed the complexities of transferring the NZ curriculum to a live and working Muritai School curriculum and showed examples of how the school intended to merge 21st century learning with traditional foundation skill development. He also discussed progress with the National Standards and the reporting to parents procedures that will be in place for late June. We have attached Matt's presentation for you to view. The Board will host a parent community meeting in term 3 to share the Muritai curriculum.
- School leadership structures - Andrew documented the leadership roles and responsibilities within the school and discussed the benefits of the current stable management team. He further commented on how capability is built within the school and outlined existing processes in developing leadership from within the staff. Andrew also touched on student leadership systems ranging from the key responsibilities of the year 7-8 students to the school-wide leadership expected from all children to contribute to our school culture.
Board meetings are open to the public and if you ever want to or are interested in seeing the governance side of the school's working, you are most welcome to come along. Dates for meetings are listed below and you are most welcome to contact us. Our details are on the website.
Naku na,
Krista Huber
Chairperson, Muritai School
