Dear Parents / Caregivers / Whanau / Community

This week has been a particularly busy one for our staff with Learning Partnership Meetings taking place on Tuesday and Wednesday.  Our teachers have really valued the opportunity to sit down with parents 1:1 to talk about your child.   Gaining insight into what your child enjoys doing at home and at school, what their passions and interests are, what your aspirations are for the coming year etc is hugely beneficial in getting to know the learner.  

These meetings were very well supported by our parents and caregivers and we appreciate you taking the time to attend and connect with your child's teacher.  Hopefully, you found them worthwhile and beneficial.

On Monday evening, I attended the PCG (Parent Community Group) Annual General Meeting and it was amazing to see such a great turn out of parents and friends of our school.  There were some familiar as well as new faces there and it seems the PCG are continuing with strong numbers of active and supportive parents which is fantastic.  

Our students and school benefit in so many ways from this group and I want to thank them for their continued generosity, both with giving their valuable time as well as donating much-needed funds to our school.  On Monday evening, they approved donations to a range of teacher requests that will benefit all our children.  On behalf of the Board of Trustees and the staff, I extend a sincere thanks to these wonderful people.

Public Service Pleas:

Firstly, attention all motorists! It has been observed on multiple occasions and reported to us by concerned members of the public that drivers are texting while driving, especially down Broadlands Drive.  Obviously, this is incredibly dangerous as well as against the law.  There are many young people as well as parents crossing the road and pulling out of carparks and a distracted driver will not respond in time should the unexpected happen.  Please be vigilant and attentive when driving around school, especially during the peak times of 8:15am - 9:15am and again 2:45pm - 3:30pm.  

Mis-use of our school grounds and buildings:

Our school grounds are open to the public outside of school hours and days and it's always great to see people utilising our facilities such as playing basketball, playing on the playground or using our sports field.   For the most part, people are respectful of our grounds and property which is much appreciated.

However, over the past few months, we have been experiencing an increased amount of inappropriate behaviour at night time with youth using our grounds for consuming alcohol and drugs.  As a result, we have had excess noise levels, vandalism such as tagging on school buildings, smashed bottles across court and playground areas and more recently speakers being stolen from outside the blocks.  This is causing us a lot of concern and costing us time and money to rectify.

Some of our neighbours have been extremely helpful in alerting us or contacting the police when things get unruly.   The police have apprehended some of these people but we still need your assistance in keeping our school grounds and buildings safe from inappropriate use.  If you see any of the above actions, please call 111 to alert the police and they will respond accordingly.  

Many thanks - we appreciate your support with this!

Enjoy the rest of your week and have a great weekend.

Nga mihi nui

Rob Rush

Principal /Tumuaki