‘Inclusive Education’, what does that mean?

You may feel it is educational jargon. The reality is that it is the ‘commitment schools to being a truly inclusive setting where all children are engaged and achieve through being present, participating, learning and most importantly, belonging.’

It is the aspiration of the Ministry of Education and the commitment of Fendalton School to deliver. The role of education is to nurture, grow and realise every child’s potential and gradually over the last 18 months we have been reviewing and adjusting our practices to ensure we are offering a setting that is welcoming, safe and exciting to come to as a learner, as a parent, and as a family and whānau.

We value individuality and also the backgrounds and past experiences of each child and we want to link their learning to what they know and also encourage them to engage in new learning opportunities and challenge.

As a Board, staff and school in general, we believe we are making positive change and addressing challenges, we also recognise we have more to do and the continuous improvement is essential in a school.

We need your feedback. How well are we tracking and delivering for your child/children?

I shared the link for a survey earlier this week. Please do have your say and help with how we continue to keep improving as a school for you and your families and whānau. We cannot identify who the feedback is from but we can get trends and also get a sense of how we progressing with other schools. I am sharing the link here as well.

https://www.nzcersurvey.org.nz/survey_belonging.php?icode=AAws013&ilogin=jjyckxkcs&plogin=

Last week, we had children out and about representing our school with pride. It was wonderful to see the West Zone Sports finally take place and I also was thrilled with our front of stage group at the ‘Strike, Strum, Blow’ event. Again we value the commitment of teachers and the support of parents to help make these type of activities happen.

Next week we have the student led conferences for our year 4 to 6 children, an opportunity for these children to articulate their learning and for you to share their progress and achievement to date, this year. They all have a lot to be proud of.

If you are in school there are a few new things to check out. Desna’s library displays are always worth viewing but the current one for the 75th anniversary of the famous Little ‘Golden Books’ is a real delight, so pop in to the library. Also, the work of the environment team in co-operation with the Orchards in Schools programme. We are planting fruit trees in behind rooms 10 and 11 as an extension of the edible garden and also a few at the back of the field. Thanks to Kath O’Regan and Chessa Crow for driving this initiative.

Again, we have appreciated your understanding as the new fence evolves. We are nearly there and while it has been a little inconvenient for some, I am sure you will agree the outcome will be well worth it.

Warmest regards

Raewyn