He Waka Eke Noa – We Are All On Board This Waka.

Kia ora Koutou

We have been open now for almost 5 weeks and the board have been busy with all sorts of things that relate to the opening of a new school.

The induction of both students & staff has been full-on for everyone adapting to a new way of learning & teaching. We have heard some amazing stories of students who have settled in really well, their parents reporting back about the positive changes they have seen in their child/children and then we have had some not so amazing stories of students who are finding it more difficult to adapt. This of course is quite normal for a new school and the EBoT want to assure you that we are working closely with staff, along with the support of the Ministry of Education to put into place processes & support systems where they are most needed.

Sadly for the EBoT two of our members recently resigned from the board to follow new opportunities outside of Christchurch. I would like to acknowledge the awesome work of Matt Walters a founding member who has been with us since the EBoT was established in May 2014. A special farewell also to Toma Petelo who joined the EBoT in 2015. MOE have been busy recruiting for these vacancies and I am delighted to introduce Marie Burke & Sam Uta'i* as our 2 new Ministerial Appointments.

Election of Board Of Trustees (BoT) in 2018

The EBoT will remain in place throughout 2017. During this time we plan on running a few community workshops in preparation for the election of a BoT.

A successful election campaign is one where:

• The school community has been well informed about the election process and the role of trustees.

• Informed people with a balance of skills and experiences, gender and ethnicity have put their names forward.

• A voting election is required.

• A large number of parents participate in the voting process.

• An effective group of trustees is elected.

The EBoT can help by sharing the challenges and opportunities of trusteeship, inviting the community to join our board meetings and encouraging them to understand what working together at the board table really involves

Introducing the EBoT

Haneta Pierce - Chairperson

Cheryl Doig - Deputy Chair

Robyn Nuthall

Sam Uta’i

Marie Burke

Sol Smith - Co-opted March 2017*

Mike Rondell - Governance Facilitator

Past Members

Tony Fakahau

Pauline Luafutu-Simpson

Dallas Hibbs

Matt Walters

Christine Njidam

John Ashcroft

Toma Petelo

* 13/03/2017 Three changes were made to reflect that Sam Uta'i is a ministerial appointee. The second change was to note that Sol Smith is a co-opted member of the EBoT - editor.