This week marks exactly four years since I started at Amberley School. These last couple of weeks have given me a rare chance to reflect on the best job in the world.

Four years ago I was welcomed to Amberley School with a powhiri at the Tin shed a rousing haka by our students. I recall my first week was all about meeting with parents, staff and students to get a sense of what Amberley School was all about. I learnt pretty quickly that Amberley kids are awesome. I met one to one with every staff member and wrote down what they loved about Amberley School, and what they felt needed to happen to make our place even better. I still refer back to these notes four years on. Amongst the huge amount of very specific feedback, staff said:

"I feel connected to this place"

"PRIDE values are our strength"

"Families are supportive"

"We are losing our community feel a little"

Along with the Board of Trustees, we immediately started work on getting the community voice, through a comprehensive survey, followed up with a strategic planning evening at school which included students, staff, parents, PTA and Board members. From here we developed a succinct five year strategic plan with five key focus areas:

• Environment
• Communicating
• Connecting
• Achievement
• Culture

As part of our strategic plan, we worked with local landscape architect Jane Dowle to create a five year landscape plan. Once again we had input from students, parents, staff, Board plus the added input of our mana whenua - a representative of Ngai Tahu who was able to reflect the cultural narrative of our school in the plans. Our mana whenua also worked alongside Craig Burton (School Branding Matters) on revisioning our school by creating a logo that reflected the unique Amberley learning journey. 

Every year we set specific goals within this strategic plan - and this forms our school charter. Most parents don't look at the school charter - that's understandable, you get a lot of information from school. It's on our website and is submitted to the Ministry of Education each year. I've attached it to this newsletter too. I'm really proud that it accurately captures what our community want for our school.

Over the past four years I've come to grow fond of the people that make up our learning community. After working for a quarter of a century in education (that makes me sound WAY older than I really am...) I can proudly say that the teachers and support staff we have at Amberley School right now are absolutely stunning. The best. They are so incredibly committed to our children and families. This is not a job for them. Amberley School is not their workplace. This is their life and our school is an extension of their home. It is an absolute honour to be on a team with these incredible people. I really do have the best job in the world.

One of the most significant changes in our school community has been the evolution of our PTA - FAST (Fundraising and Social Team). When I first met with this group four years ago, it was an incredibly dedicated group who were managing a power of work among a small group of individuals. In time, this group has brought a vision to connect the wider community through establishing a limited number of highly successful and innovative fundraising ventures. The Amberley FAST team are led by some very clever and creative people and we are the envy of many schools. 

Amberley is a diverse town, we have a bit of everything here, and I love that we have such supportive local businesses at our doorstep. I enjoy and appreciate our close connections with the Hurunui Council, Police, Lions Club, Preschools, Inspire Church and many more community groups. We are all working together and it feels positive. There are challenges for many of our families - but we try hard to get support in place for everyone.

Our Board of Trustees have been incredibly supportive of my leadership, and have always held staff well-being as a high priority. This has been a major contributor to the successful culture of our school. Our Board members are 'real' people that want the best for our students, and our meetings are not as formal as you might think. With one year left on our strategic plan, it's an exciting time to revisit our vision. There are so many awesome opportunities for our school. 

As I type this from my office, I see Gordon, our caretaker, painting the roof and exterior of Te Ngahere (he's doing a great job by the way - it's looks sparkly new!). This building was a library and hall space three years ago - and now is a vibrant learning hub. Our refurbished classrooms (now Kowai and Arahura) are only a couple of years old, but now feel like they have been part of our school culture forever, and we don't know how we managed without them. What will our school look like in four years? I'm looking forward to finding out...

Simon