This week has been exciting as we interviewed for our new deputy principal.  

This is a fabulous process, as it is such a consultative model that we use. The appointment panel made up of the board, Glenys Hanley and Claire Duncan held interviews, and read the references and CVs but were also advised by the head students who took the four applicants on a tour of the school, and conducted their own interview process. We also sought advisement from the students who applied to be on the student interview panel, and who met with the applicants to ask their questions for half an hour. These students were supported by Helen Parsons. The applicants also all taught a lesson in the subject/class of their choice, and these lessons were observed by Rhonda Knight and Liz Schulze, and feedback was sought by them from some of the students in the classes, and fed these thoughts back to the appointment panel. So many opinions, and so many perspectives, but it was pleasing to have their thoughts to help us in the process. The board has offered the position to one of the applicants, and we are waiting for final confirmation before we announce it to the school and wider community. Huge thanks also to the team for the help behind the scenes on the day – organising relief, welcoming the visitors, etc.

We are getting excited too as a board with the nominations for the vacancies on the board. We have had a number come in, and these are on display in the school office area. There is still time to get your nominations in if you are interested, but they close on Friday this week.

As you will be aware, we have two teacher only days next week, where the teaching team are heading off across the country to visit schools to be inspired by great practice.

We have had a number of health issues brought to our attention over the last few weeks which we need your support with. Firstly can I thank those parents who have alerted us to the health issues that their children have been experiencing, as it is very helpful to know about them early on. Please be mindful if your child/ren contract viruses or diseases that are contagious that it is most helpful if you can keep your child at home until they are no longer infectious if at all possible, or to cover them to enable them to continue to come to school and keep others safe. It is timely also to consider vaccinations and to make sure that your child’s vaccinations are up to date. There has been a measles outbreak in the Waikato area this week, and it has had implications on some schools. If we were to have a child with a confirmed case of the measles (for example) and your child was not immunised, your child will not be able to attend school for two weeks. This is the law, and there are no exceptions. As you might have heard, one school has asked for written medical confirmation of vaccination before allowing any student to return to school. Measles have become a real issue for schools across the country – we had an outbreak at Oxford when I was there, and it is something you need to consider. How easily could you keep your child/ren at home for two weeks if they are not immunised? Please speak with the medical centre if you have any questions around this.

The school cross country is on this Friday with everyone encouraged to give it a go. Remember too as supporters on the day, that while we do focus on students aiming high, and encourage our talented distance runners to push themselves to achieve their best, for some of our students we celebrate their participation as much as their effort. We want everyone to join in, and we celebrate that. We are also acknowledging “anti-bullying day” on Friday with students being encouraged to wear pink or red shirts on Friday with a gold coin donation.

I was delighted in my walk about last Friday for Project day. The students working on making picnic tables with Chris Duncan and Tony Bell’s help did a great job on their first table, and were delighted with the outcome. We think they will be able to complete another 4 or 5, and we’d love someone from the community to support them with this in the woodwork room on Fridays. We also had a number of students working on clothing and sewing last week, with bean bags being created, as well as up-cycled clothing appearing. Very creative. We have a group of girls looking into town planning and are consulting with a town planner to see what they need to include in their ‘city’ and are hoping to head into Christchurch to spend some time in the office speaking with engineers and planners. There are some amazing artworks being created, and research being undertaken by students, and seating being designed for around the school. It is exciting times!

We asked the year 4-13 students to participate in the NZCER wellbeing survey again in Term 1 this year to see if the shifts we have made in the learning programmes have made a difference with engagement across our school. Below is the graph for the year 7-13 students showing last years’ graph and this years’ one. (2015 on the left, 2016 on the right). The aim with these graphs is for there to be as much colour in each wedge, except for the red segment, where the aim is to have as little as possible. I have shared this with the BOT, and am going around the year levels to share the results with them too. We are also looking deeper into the results, but the celebration for me is that clearly the year 7-13 students’ graph shows that they are feeling more engaged with the learning programmes on offer, and are more connected with their learning. There are still areas that we need to work on, both at a general level and at specific year group levels, but it is a shift in the right direction. We will do this survey again in Term 3, and hope to again have useful information to help us ensure the learning we offer is relevant and useful. Please come in and see me if you would like to see more information on these graphs as I appreciate that the photo is small and hard to read!

Nga mihi nui, Jen principal@cheviot.school.nz

Ko te manu e kai ana i te miro, nōna te ngahere, Ko te manu e kai ana i te mātauranga, nōna te ao.

The bird that eats the berry owns the forest, the bird that eats the knowledge owns the world