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It is with great pleasure that I introduce myself to you, as the new Presiding Member (BoT Chair) of Cheviot Area School. As you know from the last Hail, I have taken over from Hamish Chamberlain. He has done a fantastic job leading the board over the last 13 months, in some challenging times. I wish to thank him for all that he has done in this role and look forward to working with him as my vice presiding member.

Some of you know me well but others of you I have not yet met. I work full time as a farmer, but I used to be a secondary school physical education, health, and life skills teacher. I keep my hand in the game by mentoring athletes and I help coach, coaches to help them reach their full potential.

As well as being an independent (my children are well past their formal education), I have over 21 years of educational governance, including being a past CAS board chair. I look forward to being part of the Cheviot School community again and working with my other outstanding board members, to have a laser beam on student progress, achievement, and your aspirations for your students.

One thing I will carry on doing is after each board meeting give a brief synopsis. (The full minutes are also available on our website.)

Parent / Whanau Survey Feedback

Terri Johnson, our LSM gave us the feedback from the recent parent & staff surveys. She was happy for me to share her parent / whanau executive summaries with you all.

Parent/whānau responses show a community who are relatively satisfied with most areas of the school, and are positive about the new leadership and direction of the school. Parents/whānau highlighted the school’s greatest strengths as the supportive community and invested families, the small class sizes that allow more individual attention for their children, and the school’s new Principal who is passionate, approachable and leading from the top. Weaknesses were highlighted in the school’s Senior School with a lack of subject options and declining student numbers. Parents/whānau would like more consistent and effective behaviour management for children that are misbehaving. They saw opportunity in improving the school’s physical environment, and in introducing more extracurricular opportunities for their children. This report reflects a parent/whānau community who are pleased with the school and are optimistically looking to see further improvement under the new Principal.

Parent / Whanau Survey Comparison between March 2023 and March 2024

Comparing results shows significant improvements in all areas surveyed. Section average changes over time show increases of between +0.3 to +2.2. The largest increases were seen in relation to the Principal’s leadership, with large increases also seen in relation to Communication and Parent/Caregiver Involvement. Considering all of these ratings, it is clear that there is a significant increase in parent/whānau perception in every area of the school.

Thank you to all of you who contributed to the survey. The time that you gave was insightful and greatly appreciated. There is still much to work on, going forward. We will keep you informed.

The staff are receiving their feedback next week.

Property & Finance

The scaffolding is just about to come down which is exciting after all the painting that has been done. Hopefully the Block 2 toilets will be completed by the start of term 2. Block 1 toilets will get their upgrade in the July holidays, The classroom canopy outside the junior rooms should also be installed during the term break.

We passed the draft annual 2023 accounts which have now been submitted to the MoE.

Policy & Compliance

Another way you can have a direct input into how the school is run is by doing our school policy reviews. You do this by going into https://cheviot.schooldocs.co.nz/, current reviews. You can give feedback on a) If we need to change the wording of a policy and/or b) If the school is adhering to the policy through its processes & procedures ie do we do as we say. I will let you know each term which ones they are. Don’t leave it to a survey to have your say.

Our strategic and annual implementation plan has been submitted to the MoE as well. Thank you to you all for your input by various means - surveys, hui, meetings and whiteboards. Once again, a copy of the 2024-2025 strategic plan is on the school’s website. The principal reports to this every meeting, with progress and any red flags if we are not going to meet our goals. From this, we can then adapt our resources to make sure we keep on target.

Cultural Responsiveness

We are in the process of completing our CAS Cultural plan, including our local history. Thank you to all of you that have had input.

Teaching & Learning

Emma Dawson is now teaching music in year 7-10.

There is a big focus on behavior management (as identified in the survey). Some staff are going on a 3-day course. They will then share / update this restorative approach with all staff and implement the same expectations across the school. Also, we will be doing a student Wellness@School survey in Term 2, to get some quantitative data for the next steps.

In learning support, students have been identified and there has been a plan developed for each student. If you still have any concerns, please contact your classroom teacher. Individualized Education Plans are also being developed for students with learning differences, these include goals, accommodations, and support strategies.

Our next meeting is on the 16th of May if anyone is interested in coming. You will learn a lot about the functioning of the school and how we are trying to ‘raise the bar’ for our students. Also, all the best to our students for CASAFest, enjoy the spirit of the competition and have fun.

Ngā mihi nui

Fiona Bush