Tena koutou te whānau o te kura Muritai
Well, it's been another fantastic and frenetic year in the life of Muritai School. There's been so much going on that, a bit like a kid in a sweet shop, you barely have time to savour one moment before grabbing the next. It's only when you sit down at the end of the year and reflect that you realise just how much has gone on.
Particular highlights have been the various performance groups that have visited the school such as Strike, the Royal New Zealand Ballet and Jungle Bungle; tremendous individual and house achievements during the swimming sports at the start of the year and junior and senior athletics in November; wonderful performances by the Art Splash Choir and Dancesplash at the Michael Fowler Centre and of course the spectacular production The Life of Riley in September.
The Eastbourne Carnival was once again a roaring success and this year looks to have raised in the region of $53,000 which, together with money raised from previous carnivals, will enable us to commence work on the new school library in 2011. Once again thank you all so much for your time and energy and support for the Carnival and special thanks to the Carnival Committee who all worked so hard for many months to make it all happen.
On the subject of the school property, you may have noticed that the desks have all been removed from the classrooms in the main block, which is to enable much-needed new carpet to be laid over the summer break. While the rest of us are sunning ourselves on the beach our hard-working (and newly married) caretaker Mark will also be repairing the windows and supervising the installation of new blinds to all the classrooms in the main block. We are excited that 2011 will also see the classroom renovations completed with modern wall linings and improvements to the heating. Our thanks to Ali Brown for her valuable interior design advice.
As a Board we have had a particularly busy year. There have been two board elections, the implementation of National Standards and the new New Zealand Curriculum, an ERO review and approval and implementation of a new 10 year property plan - all in addition to the usual business of governing the school.
We would like to pay tribute to the excellent staff, both teaching and support, we are privileged to work with at Muritai School. Throughout the year we receive detailed and comprehensive reports on every aspect of school life most of which you can find on the Muritai School website. These enable us to make informed decisions and assist us with planning. If you have some time over the summer break, we recommend you have a look at them. They are incredibly informative and give you an appreciation of just how much thought and planning goes into our children's education. Staff set the highest standards of excellence and commitment for our children and constantly look at new and exciting ways to capture their hearts and minds . They thoroughly deserve their time off over the summer and we are sure you will join us in thanking them for their magnificent efforts this year. A special mention of thanks to Carole Lowe for her exceptional administrative work on behalf of the Board. We really would be lost without her.
The American social writer and philosopher Eric Hoffer wrote “in times of change, learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists". One of the hallmarks of Muritai School is our focus on developing learners and it is a process that doesn't just stop at the end of term. Kicking around on the beach or tramping through some of our beautiful forests and parks over the summer are wonderful opportunities for us as parents to be part of this wonderful journey with our children. Jung expressed the same sentiment when he said "Education is not the filling of a vessel but the lighting of a fire". The discovery of a starfish, the effect of the tides or even the detail of a leaf provide an opportunity to explore and investigate; to participate in the lighting of a fire in the imagination of our children. Carpe Diem.
To our students and families who be leaving us in 2011 we wish you all the very best for your future and hope you have enjoyed your time at Muritai.
For those returning in 2011 we would wish you the very best for a wonderful Christmas and safe holiday period where-ever you spend it and look forward to seeing you in the New Year.
Mere Kihirimete
Olivia, Lisa, Griff, Andrew and Stuart
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