Kia ora e ngā whānau

It is the last week of Term 2 already and the days have started getting a little bit longer. Overall, the students have coped very well with the grass surfaces being out of use for a number of weeks now. We hope the school holidays will bring dry and warmer weather to allow “Lake Heaton” to dry out for Term 3.

This is a brief update on the progress of the Heaton Rebuild. The first work to be done will be building 9 new classes which will begin in January, 2022. Southbase has been contracted to complete this work which will take about a year. We are pleased that our original architects, with whom the overall Masterplan for the school has been developed and approved by the Ministry of Education, will stay involved through the Rebuild/Refurbishment of our school.

The 9 new classrooms ( 3 hubs of 3 classes or houses) remain largely single cell but with some flexibility to open to bigger spaces. Each hub/house will have a smaller breakout space. The 9 classrooms will be built on an area of ground running across from Room 11/12 to the Food Technology Room. This will mean that class groups in Rooms 11 and 12 will need to be relocated within the school for a year but no other classes will be affected. 

The completed Rebuild/Refurbishment of Heaton will have teaching spaces forming a U shape and all facing into a central courtyard. This is an exciting change to the current layout of the school, bringing a “village” learning environment in order to deepen a sense of belonging and connectedness which is so important in any school.

We are also expecting in spring/summer this year, the main field to be drained and repaired and new courts built at the end of the field. We are keen for this to be completed before any building begins.

You will have received information about 2 vacancies that we have on the Board of Trustees. It is a very exciting time in the development of the school and we are very keen to add 2 more trustees to our BOT team. Nominations close on 23 July at 12.00 noon. We are looking for parents/whānau who have time and are committed to supporting our school in this time of growth and development. You may have specific skills and/or experiences to add to our team but a passion for supporting the best possible learning environment for early adolescents and our staff is the most important requirement. If you have any queries about these roles, please contact me; knighta@heaton.school.nz or Rebecca Wilson our presiding member of the Board of Trustees; becwilson789@gmail.com

We have begun the very important process of developing the Cultural Narrative for our school. We have support from our Manu Whenua Education Facilitator but want to develop this in partnership with our whānau. If you are interested in participating and contributing, we would love to hear from you. Please contact me if you are interested.

Thank you so much to Kit Clarkson, our staff and students for an amazing effort in supporting the 40 Hour Famine again this year. It has become a Heaton tradition to raise as much money as possible for this organisation and support their wonderful work around the world. It is always very positive when students think beyond themselves and want to support others. This attitude was also seen on Pink Shirt Day held on 20 May. The school was a sea of pink.  This important day, focusing on kindness, is also a Heaton tradition. Thank you to Jason Naidoo for all his organisation in providing a great opportunity for our students to think about and support others.

Well done to all students and staff involved in the Inter-intermediate winter sports tournament so far. It is great to see mountain biking and fencing added to the options for students who are not involved in the interschool competition. Thank you to Katy Smeele and Fiona Taylor.

The biannual Book Fair, held in week 7, celebrated the importance of reading by providing the opportunity for students to buy books and dress up as book characters. Many of our students and staff dressed up as a favourite book character. It was a grand sight. Thank you to Jane Boniface for her infectious enthusiasm in cultivating a love and passion for reading.

At the end of this term, we are farewelling Rachel Bates our extension maths teacher. Rachel has been teaching our highly capable mathematicians at Heaton for 14 years.  She has accepted a fixed term position at another school till the end of this year. Rachel is an exceptionally skilled, highly qualified and passionate maths teacher. We have been most fortunate to have had someone of her calibre here on our team for such a long time. I know her past and present students think incredibly highly of her and have been inspired over the years to reach for the stars in maths. Our very best wishes and love go to Rachel for the next exciting stage of her teaching and learning journey.

My best wishes for a very relaxing and enjoying holiday with your tamariki. We look forward to seeing you all refreshed and ready for a wonderful spring term.

Ngā mihi

Andrea Knight, Principal