Term 2 is in full swing and as always there is a lot going on in the school. The school production of Footloose performed by AGHS and SBHS students will be the first production we have had at the new campus. It is a great opportunity to see what the facilities we have at the new campus offer our students, and since many of the tickets are already sold it seems like there are many of our school community that are keen to come and see our students perform.

The Ministry of Education has a number of changes to the Education and Training Act 2020 out for consultation. The board have discussed a number of these and their potential impact on the school. The proposed changes to the way that school board elections are held are generally positive, and the Avonside Board hope that there are changes to legislation to allow us to connect with our school community in a way that is meaningful to yourselves. The proposed changes to the priority categories for out of zone enrolments was discussed at length by the board at our last meeting, and it was decided that the board would make a submission against these changes. This is because as Avonside is almost 100 years old we have many families in Christchurch that are rightly proud of their association with the school that goes back generations and we believe this is an important aspect of our school culture. We will also be raising the issue of recognition of siblings attending a school on the same campus, as this was something that was raised by our community when we consulted on our re-zoning prior to the move to the new site, but were told by the Ministry that this couldn’t be accommodated without a legislative change.

The recent closure of the Trans-Tasman bubble with Victoria shows that Covid is still a real threat to New Zealanders, even though most of the time it is having little impact on our day to day lives in New Zealand. It is important to continue to follow the advice of health professionals, continue with hand washing and using the Covid Tracer app in case we have another outbreak in New Zealand.

Ngā mihi nui

Jonathan Brooks

tiamana o te poari Te Kura Kohine o Ōtākaro

Avonside Girls High School Board Chair