Kia ora e te whanau

Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of traveling north to Auckland to visit a number of schools that have built and are successfully using a C.O.L.A  Structure (Covered Outdoor Learning Area) at their school. Coming away from this trip has made me even more excited about this phenomenal addition to our playground space.  Here are a couple of images of the schools we visited.

To see one with my own eyes, and to watch children playing games and being physically active under them was just brilliant. While they are a relatively simple structure, they are grand in their stature and extraordinary in the atmosphere they create. Here is a reminder about what our C.O.L.A will look like at Clearview Primary.

It will be 1156m2 in size and approximately 14m high. We will install a new multisport turf underneath, include a sound system, lighting and post protection pads. This will be an all-weather facility that will enable our students to be physically active in multiple ways throughout the day (and even night). There are a plethora of ways we will use this; sports, assemblies, outside discos, picnic days ......and much more.

The timeline for construction has unfortunately been delayed due to the supply of construction materials, however, we hope to have it built early in Term 3. To say I am a tad excited about this for our school is an understatement. Watch this space!

Staffing News

At the end of last week, I was informed by two of our valued staff that they will be leaving Clearview Primary to take up a new and exciting promotions. 

Cara Carser has been appointed to lead the setup and development of the new Technology Centre which will be included in Rolleston’s newest school Te Rōhutu Whio School, in Acland Park. Cara will be starting her new role at the beginning of Term 2 which means this is her final week with us. Cara has been a teacher and Team Leader at Clearview since 2016. She has contributed so much to our school in this time and we appreciate all she has done. She has been an active member of staff across all aspects of school life, even contributing as a parent to our Clearview Fete organising committee.

Tracey Young has also announced her departure from Clearview as she has been appointed as the new Principal of Wharenui School in Christchurch.  This is such a well-deserved and exciting leadership position which Tracey is well and truly ready for.  Tracey started at Clearview as a Team Leader in 2012 and has been our Associate Principal for the past 7 years.  In this time, she has led multiple aspects across our school, taking charge of our Kapahaka group, teaching intervention groups, leading our journey with New Pedagogies for Deep Learning and much more.  Tracey will finish up at Clearview at the end of Week 5, Term 2.

While we are very saddened to see both Tracey and Cara leave us, I couldn’t be happier for them both. They have achieved wonderful promotions and they are equipped with the leadership tools to successfully navigate their next challenge.

Touch the Sky – Amazing Race

A few weeks ago, Clearview hosted a new and fun Amazing Race event called Touch the Sky. This event was planned and organised by a group of parents and it was aimed to raise money for the Child Cancer Foundation as well as to remember Nora Guise, a much-loved student at Clearview who died early last year as a result of cancer.

The inaugural Touch the Sky Event was a huge success with all 30 teams selling out. They set a target of raising $5000 for the Child Cancer Foundation, but they exceeded this by raising a whopping $12,000. What an impressive outcome. I congratulate Nora’s family and their army of helpers who made the day such a success.

It’s been a wonderful first term of 2021 and I know everyone is very much looking forward to the upcoming holiday. Thank you very much for your continued support and I wish you all a safe and relaxing break. When we start back, we will have Mr Dion Stechmann with us as our new Associate Principal and I look forward to welcoming him to our awesome school.

Thanks and take care.

Ngā mihi nui

Rob Rush

Principal / Tumuaki