Board Chat 2023
Kia ora everyone,
On behalf of the Te Kura o Ōpāwaho - Opawa School board, I would like to wish you all a fun, safe and relaxing holidays.
Community Consultation
Thank you to everyone who participated in the Community Consultation, be it through the online survey, Big Breakfast post its session, one-on-one conversations, and even our children via classroom sessions. One of the school's top strengths identified in the consultation is the school's community, and the breadth of topics and passion shown for making our school even better was shown through the responses we received.
The board has collated all the information to identify the key themes and opportunities that the board and school should work on for the next 3 years. These goals will be formalised in our 3 Year Strategy, which we will use as our guide for our decisions, investments and areas of focus.
Playground
Not surprisingly, one of the top themes from the consultation was the playground rebuild, both from wanting it completed, and wanting more information on its progress. My apologies for the lack of progress on this - and that the board has not been able to make too many public comments about it recently.
After further investigation, we have discovered the ground is not suitable for our current playground design. We are currently working through a process with our lawyers and engineers to confirm what steps should be taken.
As soon as we get certainty on the next steps and the current contract, then we can put our minds and efforts into how we best deliver the play areas our children what from the school - from the consultation, key themes in this area: "adventure" and "green areas and trees" (and also, I've had to look up what a "gaga pit" is!).
As soon as we can say more on this project, we will do so in the new year.
Academic Achievement
Over the past years, the board has invested additional funding to develop and improve how we deliver maths education, which was centred around the Developing Mathematical Inquiry Communities (DMIC) model.
At our meeting last week, the board was presented with how the whole school has been progressing over the year, and the results are very positive. Normally when a school switches approach, there may be a temporary dip in results, as students and teachers get used to the new approach. However, from the hard work of our staff and students, the number of students working "at or above" expected curriculum levels increased slightly compared to last year, and nearly 90% of students at all levels are progressing, which is a fantastic result. The board acknowledges the work you all put in to support our childrens' learning at school and at home, and we look forward building on these results next year.
Happy Holidays
Tom
(Presiding Member / Board Chairperson)
On behalf of the Te Kura o Ōpāwaho - Opawa School board, I would like to wish you all a fun, safe and relaxing holidays.
Community Consultation
Thank you to everyone who participated in the Community Consultation, be it through the online survey, Big Breakfast post its session, one-on-one conversations, and even our children via classroom sessions. One of the school's top strengths identified in the consultation is the school's community, and the breadth of topics and passion shown for making our school even better was shown through the responses we received.
The board has collated all the information to identify the key themes and opportunities that the board and school should work on for the next 3 years. These goals will be formalised in our 3 Year Strategy, which we will use as our guide for our decisions, investments and areas of focus.
Playground
Not surprisingly, one of the top themes from the consultation was the playground rebuild, both from wanting it completed, and wanting more information on its progress. My apologies for the lack of progress on this - and that the board has not been able to make too many public comments about it recently.
After further investigation, we have discovered the ground is not suitable for our current playground design. We are currently working through a process with our lawyers and engineers to confirm what steps should be taken.
As soon as we get certainty on the next steps and the current contract, then we can put our minds and efforts into how we best deliver the play areas our children what from the school - from the consultation, key themes in this area: "adventure" and "green areas and trees" (and also, I've had to look up what a "gaga pit" is!).
As soon as we can say more on this project, we will do so in the new year.
Academic Achievement
Over the past years, the board has invested additional funding to develop and improve how we deliver maths education, which was centred around the Developing Mathematical Inquiry Communities (DMIC) model.
At our meeting last week, the board was presented with how the whole school has been progressing over the year, and the results are very positive. Normally when a school switches approach, there may be a temporary dip in results, as students and teachers get used to the new approach. However, from the hard work of our staff and students, the number of students working "at or above" expected curriculum levels increased slightly compared to last year, and nearly 90% of students at all levels are progressing, which is a fantastic result. The board acknowledges the work you all put in to support our childrens' learning at school and at home, and we look forward building on these results next year.
Happy Holidays
Tom
(Presiding Member / Board Chairperson)