With the shortest day of the year
upon us and winter in full swing what better opportunity to cosy up in your
favourite chair, sip your hot chocolate, gather the family around and read
aloud the latest gripping instalment from the Muritai School Board of
Trustees. OK so maybe flicking through
while throwing down a cup of coffee on your way out the door to taxi your
beloved children to yet another after-school event may be more realistic but we
thought it would be good to update you on the goings on of school governance
either way.
Board Elections
We'd like to take this opportunity to thank
everyone who voted and participated in the election process. We were privileged to have 7 excellent
candidates and in many ways it was disappointing to have to choose at all. We welcome on "board" though
(excuse the pun) Nick Brownsword. Nick
is a mechanical engineer by background and currently works as a consultant with
a range of manufacturing businesses in the Lower North Island to assist them
with operational and project management.
We were disappointed to lose Carolyn Patchett who
has been an important and enthusiastic member of the board for the last year
and a half. With her education
background Carolyn's input has been invaluable and she has coped exceptionally
well with the herculean task of managing a family and new baby with the
responsibilities of participating in the governance of the school. We take this opportunity to thank her for her
service to Muritai School.
Implementation of a Zone
for Muritai School
Late last year the
Ministry of Education (MoE) wrote to the Board and directed it to commence the
development of a zone due to the growth in the school role. The purpose of the zone is to allow the MoE
to make the best use of the existing network of state schools and avoid or reduce
the likelihood of overcrowding. The
development of a zone and associated policy provides the mechanism through
which the selection of applicants for enrolment at the school is carried out in
a fair and transparent manner.
All children who live in
the zoned area have an automatic right to attend the school. Existing out of zone children who attend the
school will not be affected as it will only apply to new enrolments. The MoE provides a priority list for students under a ballot. Priority for Selection of
students who live outside the school's home zone is outlined below:
1) Students accepted for
enrolment in a special programme run by the school and approved by the
Secretary; (Muritai does not run a special programme)
2) Siblings of current
students;
3) Siblings of former
students’
4) Children of former
students;
5) Children of an employee
of the Board or Children of a Member of the Board;
6) All other students.
As part of the
development of the zone the Board is required to consult the community on the
proposed boundaries for the zone, and the Board will commence this process in
July. The implementation of a zone is
not optional but there are a number of important decisions to make to ensure it
meets its objectives. The Board is
committed to working through this process to ensure that everyone is well
informed and has the opportunity to provide feedback on the policy.
Student Achievement Data
In our May meeting the Board met with the senior
leadership team and were presented our annual report on Student Achievement and
setting out the team's plan towards the annual goals. The Board was once again impressed by the
level of work that goes into understanding individual and cohort achievement. The senior leadership team provided a great
overview of the priorities for the year ahead. Parents always have the opportunity to meet
with teachers to find out about student progress as well as the formal
reporting milestones across the year.
Property Update
We continue to make progress towards our new
library and turning the existing one back into a classroom. The plans are out for tender and once all the
relevant bureaucratic hoops have been jumped through we hope to have a better
idea of when we will be able to put the first peg in the ground. We remain hopeful that this will be some time
this year.
The process has been complicated and delayed
principally as a result of the earthquake strengthening work required to the
main building. As you will recall, this
work, now estimated in excess of $600,000, will require financing from a
special earthquake fund established by the Ministry of Education and the Board
has been pushing them hard for some action in this regard.
Unfortunately, but not unsurprisingly, the sheer
weight of the problem, combined with the massive expenditure required in
Christchurch has meant that progress has been slow. We have been advised however this week that 6
additional (up from 1!) staff have been engaged by the Ministry to review all
its buildings across the country and establish a priority list. The engineering report received in respect of
the main Muritai building will be peer reviewed and the outcome of that process
will determine our place on the priority list. High priority buildings (for example
un-reinforced multi-level masonry) will be strengthened first whilst
lightweight single level timber construction buildings are likely to be part of
a 15-20 year plan. Obviously the Board
will keep the pressure on the Ministry for action as soon as reasonably
possible but we do recognise funds are limited and there are schools with
significantly more serious situations than our own.
ICT
Last year's Eastbourne Village Carnival was raising
money for new ICT technology to upgrade and replace aging equipment. We are excited to receive 32 new laptops, some
I-pod touches and some Chromebooks to add to our stock for the children to use
at school. The Board's goal was to match
the national average of 1:5 devices and we have managed to do this.
Community surveys
Towards the end of this term we will be offering
parents the opportunity to offer the Board their views on our School. It is always good to gather information about
the school and the Board will use this feedback to help planning processes
going forward. Please look out for this
and jump online to contribute to the discussion.
Pou installation
It was pleasing to see the Pou restored back into
the ground in a wonderful ceremony at the beginning of the term. Following the ceremony the whanau group of
2001 recalled how much tikanga and te reo maori have progressed at Muritai over
the last decade. Congratulations to Kirsten Berry, Rahania Chadwick and their
team for an exceptional job on restoring the Pou and to the kapa haka group at
the ceremony who once again did the school proud.
Home and School
We are so appreciative of our Home and School
Committee. A dedicated group of parents have raised significant sums of money
for the school and last year we were able to purchase 32 ipads, 5 scooter
parks, netball poles, a new data projector and a top up on maths textbooks for
year 3-8. The support of Home and School is gratefully appreciated by the Board
of Trustees and provides an excellent way for parents to make a contribution to
the school.
On a related final point please do take the
opportunity to contact any of the board members if you do have any comments or
concerns relating to any governance issue at Muritai. Our details are on the school website and we
are always keen to hear your feedback. You
don't need to wait for an annual survey.
We also are privileged indeed to have such an
accessible staff and management team. "If
only they would...", "I don't understand why...", "why do
they never..." is only helpful if the question is directed to someone who
is able to answer it. The teaching staff
and management of the school are here to help and are only too willing to meet
you or respond to an email to answer these questions for you.
