Tumuaki / Principal News

This is the penultimate newsletter before we leave this temporary site. We will give the children an opportunity to say farewell to the site because, as a parent reminded us at the recent hui, this is the only school site that many of our children have ever known. Thank you to everyone who attended that meeting either in person or by zoom. You have placed so much trust in us to manage the rebuild, and shifting home whilst maintaining our school values and pedagogy. We could never do it without the teamwork, partnership and respectful relationships that you have built with us. Thank you.

It’s time to say thank you to a huge list of people who have brought us to this place in terms of the rebuild and preparing to go home.

Today we saw the new logo and manifestations installed in the new school. Our special thanks to Erin Stewart who worked closely with us to capture everything we wanted to say about our school in a clear clean design. Many people have commented on the simplicity and beauty of the symbolism.

Duane Major and Paul Ferguson have been a huge driving force over several years as board members, to convince the ministry of education that we deserved a new school. Several other board members also stepped up and join the programme to ensure that we got what we were asking for on behalf of our tamariki and school community.

Riki Edmonds our Project Delivery Manager from MOE has faithfully walked alongside us and guided us through design hiccups and possibilities as this project became a reality. He has always responded to us with a determination to be a problem solver. He has always taken our phone calls even when he knows it’s going to be another complaint about the buses. We have shared many laughs during this project and I suspect that we have tried his patience to the nth degree.

Sean Donohoe from TBIG has run our PCG meetings with patience and foresight. There have been a lot of hurdles to overcome and we have been able to rely on his expertise and dedication to seeing this project completed. Sadly we never did get the issue of razor wire around the pool sorted. 

Our thanks to Andrew Richmond who has been a project manager on the ground as part of the Brosnan construction team. Andrew is a details man and has never been prepared to let anything go, if he felt that the job could be done better.

Our support team at the Ministry of Education include people like Averill Manning, Linda Youl, Michelle van Dyke. They listen to our complaints and worries and have supported us through the whole process of being offsite. Our SWiS Jess Bird has been an absolute stalwart working with students who need a little extra help.

Te Mana Ake has also provided many support people for our students particularly in a time of change and turmoil. 

To our exceptional staff and school board members, please accept this as our thank you for all of your support, long suffering and trust that we could see this project through. As I write this there are 11 days left on our temporary site. It’s unreal that we are on the final approach and trimming the foils to land this baby.

I know that I have missed people out and it’s not intentional. Please take this as a personal thank you if you have been one of the many who have helped us on this epic journey towards a brand-new school.

Landscaping

Several sections of the school will be seeded with grass and cordoned off while we wait for the detailed plans and then the tender process. In the big picture it is a small inconvenience and our children and staff will take it in their stride. We have had interest from some in  “ high places” for them to be invited to a grand, grander opening once all of the landscaping is completed and the school is a show piece. I hope our board and staff get credit for their mahi as it has been hard work, but so worth it.

Our thoughts prayers and best wishes go out to all of our school Whanau who were affected by the mosque attacks two years ago. Sadly we live in a world where the actions of a few deeply wound many. We stand with you as our family. We are here for you if you need us. We will not be defined by the violence of a few.

Even though we do our best, from time to time, schools are not safe for children or staff. There are times when children and staff  have to deal with aggression from other students. It makes all of us unsettled and for children it can be frightening. We are not making excuses for the children who do upset their classrooms, but we do understand why sometimes it happens. At the end of each day find time to talk to your child about how the day has gone. If your child mentions that he/she has been upset or frightened by an event at school, please let us know. There are always bullies schools. Bullying is about the deliberate targeting of another student or students on a regular basis. The effects of bullying on a child can be very noticeable, or more seriously,  go unnoticed until the child can’t take it any longer.

Our most important role as parents is to set boundaries for our children. The most powerful word your child will ever learn is “NO”. Often children will cry with frustration when they are told no. No more telly; no more biscuits; no more screen time can lead to full on hissy fits. When those tears of frustration become tears of sadness and they realise that there’s not going to be a negotiation or push back, children will adapt and adjust. We have to teach them that sometimes the only thing that is going to change is them. It’s not easy as a parent to stand firm. I’m hoping to be able to run some parent sessions when we go home on how to deal with issues like counter well, aggression and alpha children. I can speak from experience.

Ten days to home time.

Take care of each other.

Best regards

Marriene