Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa takitini; My strength is not that of an individual but rather that of a collective.

Ngā mihi nui kia koutou katoa - greetings to you all.

We are definitely well into the thick of all the action for the term, with lots of different things happening around the school. Across the two hubs there is much learning and research happening around various animals and habitats, linking to our inquiry about the living world, part of our year-long focus into how our world works. I had a wonderful discussion with two students who had just discovered that the blue whale’s heart is as big as a cow, and the excitement on their faces as they comprehended this, was a joy to behold.

As part of getting into the nitty gritty of the term, there are several areas to cover off in my editorial this week:

• Our school strategic and annual plan
• Details around food at school
• Continuing to introduce staff members

School strategic and annual plan

All schools have a strategic plan, previously called a school charter, that usually lasts for three years. This plan is set by the school board, in consultation with the community and staff, and maps out the key goals for the school over the next three years. This year the Ministry of Education has asked all schools to create a two year plan for 2024 and 2025, bringing all schools into line on the same planning schedule.

Our Amesbury School strategic plan for 2024 - 2025 can be found here. We have four key goals:

• Curriculum goal: Design and maintain a humanising curriculum; ensure curriculum delivery that is joyful, deeply engaging, and personalized to meet the needs of every ākonga

• Staff goal: Within a joyful and optimistic environment, grow, develop and affirm highly effective staff committed to meeting the needs of every ākonga

• Community goal: Be a connected and joyful community with a strong sense of place and belonging

• Environment goal: Continue to grow and maintain an inclusive, safe and healthy environment for all ākonga, staff, and whānau

Under each goal there are a range of sub goals to help us work towards and achieve the overarching goal.

Alongside the two year strategic plan, we have an annual implementation plan that maps out the actions our school will take to work towards and achieve those four key goals during the year. Our annual implementation plan for 2024 can be found here.

Our three key areas of focus for this year are:

• Integral design of learning: ensuring that our learning design is increasingly integral - integrating as many different areas of the curriculum as possible, to help learning connect and make sense for students, and be as efficient and effective as possible. This includes integrating mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) and culturally sustaining practices into our learning design.

• Engagement and contribution: Ensuring that learning is engaging and meaningful for ākonga, and that ākonga are contributing to their school and local community.

• Connection and belonging: Focusing on practices and ways of being that ensure staff, ākonga and whānau all have a strong sense of belonging, connection and contribution.

Our two year strategic plan and annual implementation plan can also be found on the Amesbury School Board page of our school website.

Food at school

Recently we have had several instances of ākonga (students) bringing lollies and/or chocolate to school. In each instance, our understanding is that parents were either not aware or not in agreement with their tamariki bringing these items to school. Pōhutukawa Hub kaiako (teachers) have spoken with their whānau groups to remind them of the school expectations around lollies and sugary food at school. Our school procedure around food at school can be found here.

It is important that tamariki have a balance of a range of healthy food at school, to give them the energy they need to focus on their learning. Sugary and highly processed food does not help with this. 

Our key message to ākonga has been that lollies and fizzy drinks are not allowed at school. We understand that ākonga may have an occasional treat from their whānau in their lunchbox, and this is okay. We are not looking to become ‘lunchbox monitors’. However, bringing bags of lollies, or quantities of chocolate or sugary food, is not appropriate, especially when it is being shared amongst other tamariki, generally without parental knowledge. We also ask that food is not sent to school to be distributed amongst students as birthday treats or holiday/festival celebrations.

We have let ākonga in Pōhutukawa Hub know that if we find that they have lollies or chocolate in this way at school, we will ask them to be given to a kaiako, and parents or whānau can collect it from the kaiako on their behalf - it will not be handed back to the child.

Introducing staff

And finally, we will continue to get to know our kaimahi (staff) a little better by introducing several staff members.

Lauren Brown

Lauren is one of our three fabulous year 2 and 3 whānau teachers in Koru Hub. She is in her second year at Amesbury School, having been a Masters’ of Teaching student teacher with us throughout last year. We love Lauren’s calm and measured approach to things, her friendly and welcoming manner, and the focus she places on building strong connections with ākonga (students) and kaimahi (staff). All of this helps to make Koru Hub a lovely place to be.

Lauren is a local, living just up the road in Tawa. She has a passion for dance, and loves sharing this with ākonga whenever possible. When it is warm Lauren loves spending time outside - whether this is for a walk or just to be out in the sun. She has two dachshund dogs at home and enjoys taking them out to play and even go swimming at the beach - so cute! Lauren’s love of being outdoors means she tries to get as much outside learning and activity happening at school for our tamariki as possible.

Much of Lauren’s whānau comes from the UK,and she makes time to ensure she stays well connected with them. Whānau is a huge part of Lauren’s life and she spends a lot of time catching up with family and friends. Having board game and card game nights with whānau and friends are one of her favourite ways of doing this.

Rachel Hosnell

Rachel is based in Pōhutukawa Hub, working across both floors with all six whānau groups. Her solution oriented approach to things means she is very adaptable, always looking to understand each situation and make things work. Her quiet and calm approach puts people at ease and makes them feel comfortable and welcome, and her focus on getting to know all students as unique individuals means ākonga feel known and seen by her.

Like a number of staff members, Rachel is a keen football fan and loves following the English Premier League and swapping banter about various teams. In her spare time, Rachel also loves to bake or cook. She loves hunting for new recipes to try out and expand her culinary skills. Rachel is a devoted animal lover and enjoys coming home to her new kitten for cuddles and play time. During the weekend Rachel enjoys family game time and values making memories with her loved ones. When she can she loves to travel over to Australia to visit her baby sister and dad.

Angela Herman-Childs 

Angela has been a member of Koru Hub since partway through 2020, when a short visit to Aotearoa New Zealand became an indefinite stay due to Covid. She is a hugely valued member of our wonderful team. Angela has a passion for nurturing young learners, and is a very dedicated kaiako (teacher) in our five year old nurture group in Koru Hub. As a very creative person, Angela brings a strong sense of exploration, curiosity and fun to learning, and we love the very varied teaching opportunities she offers ngā ākonga.

Originally from Ontario, Canada, Angela has spent some time teaching in Canada, and then spent much of her teaching career working in several international schools in Poland. Along with her husband Kris and tamariki Nora and Daniel, they came to Aotearoa New Zealand in 2020 and have not left, much to our delight.

Angela is very musical and enjoys singing and trying her hand at various musical instruments, most recently drumming. She also loves musicals and theatre, and will be delighted if you sing a show tune to her!

Jemima Colquhoun

Jemima has been a much loved member of Amesbury School since 2018, when she spent her first year with us as a Masters' student teacher. She is now in her sixth year of teaching, having moved through the school teaching students from year 1 up to year 6. We are hugely appreciative of Jemima’s knowledge of her students and their whānau, and she is working really collaboratively with other kaiako in Pōhutukawa Hub to share this knowledge and help them get to know ākonga too. Jemima’s passion for music and dance, sports, and te reo me ona tikanga Māori helps to bring fun and richness to the learning programmes.

Outside of school Jemima is a keen traveller and has spent time in England, Canada, Europe and Asia. Sadly, she will be leaving Amesbury School and Aotearoa at the end of this term to continue her travels. She’ll head to Fiji, to attend Sonali’s wedding, and then she will be heading to Hong Kong to take up a teaching position in an international school. Jemima is a keen follower of sports and a strong Phoenix fan, attending many of their home games. We have loved Jemima’s passion for teaching and curiosity about the world, and we look forward to many updates on how she goes in Hong Kong.

We will continue on this journey of discovery, learning more about our wonderful kaimahi (staff). We have nearly covered everyone - just a few more staff members to go. 

Kia pai te rā whakatā - have a lovely weekend and enjoy time with whānau and friends.

Ngā mihi nui, 

Urs Cunningham