Welcome to 2019. Your Board are keen to keep you informed about what's happening within the school.

By way of introduction, on our board we have five parents (Bridget Frame, Brian Northern, Craig South, Jules Harris and Amanda Rooney), one teacher (Gaye Roberts), and our Principal (Andrea Knight).

We have another busy year lined up.

The buildings. The Board signed off the Education Brief last year, which was then accepted by the Ministry of Education for our repair. The school is now working well with the Project Manager to deliver on this: we will share when we have something to show you. The education brief has no wholesale changes to the way we teach. We are also pretty sure we can achieve this without too many interruptions to the operations of the school. We did look at spending some of that money on drainage for the sports field. However, you will appreciate that it would be extremely expensive to do this, and any work would be negatively affected by construction activity. We are of course concerned by the excessive heat in the class rooms so are looking at temporary solutions to this.

It’s Board Election year. Check out the NZSTA website for details on what boards do. Remember our meetings are open to the public, so you are welcome to come along and see what we do. Alternatively you can have a chat with any of us on the board. We are thinking we will also implement mid-term elections, which would be in November 2020.

Reviews. The Government is also doing a huge review on Tomorrow’s Schools. Have a look at the recommendations here. There are some big changes mooted with the operation of school boards, and of course the role of intermediates / middle schools. The task force is still consulting, so you can have your say by clicking this link. Please ensure you make the most of this opportunity: as parents we can sometimes feel sidelined in these conversations.

One of the stated reasons for the change from intermediate to middle school is around improving transitions. Heaton is planning a survey to our school community to understand this: we think we do a good job to help our students and families into the new school, but of course are open to feedback.

But the most important thing at school is the students’ learning. At the February Board meeting we had reports presented about reading, writing and maths. In 2018 our students have shown they have made great strides in their learning through the curriculum levels, and those who are struggling have been given the supports they need. Of course Heaton is far more than these core subjects. Your school donation helps us provide a tremendous range of other activities, like sports, arts, and of course all of the specialist subjects. While we are yet to measure our 2018 results, in 2017 95% of students were involved in at least two extra curricula activities.

To borrow a line from our vision “Respectful relationships between all members of our community are the foundation and heart of our school.” Sadly, some members of staff are not being treated with respect. As such, The Board has endorsed the Code of Responsible Conduct as a way to keep everyone safe. We ask that you read this document, and respect its content.

2019 promises to be an exciting year. It has started well with Parent Teacher interviews, so we hope you have made the most of this. Heaton Normal Intermediate School can offer so much to children if they wish to take part in the opportunities. We do hope that your child is able to be the best they can be this year.

Bridget Frame, Board Chair