Dear JCS Whanau

2022 looks to be another unusual year with the pandemic still with us. Just to give you some understanding and reassurance around how the school will be handling the situation as it unfolds.

Under the guidance of the MoE (Ministry of Education) and MoH (Ministry of Health) we will continue to follow the necessary safety protocols of: hand washing, regular use of sanitiser, wiping down of surfaces, face masks wearing from year 4 up and having good ventilation. We will not be having large group meetings at school for the moment. Staff meetings are held in larger spaces where social distancing can be practised. Learning area assemblies will be held outside or in large spaces. There are some outside providers coming on site such as the music and chess teachers, speech and language therapist and counsellors. They too follow the necessary safety protocols.

It has been such a delight to see everyone back on site. We have had very good attendance with everyone keen to be back. What we want is to keep things as normal as possible and to keep school open and running. Face to face learning and interacting with friends and teachers is far preferable to distance learning. Having said that I am sure you are very aware of the widespread Omicron cases across our nation. In the event that we do have a positive case on site we will follow the protocols and steps given to us by the MoH and MoE. Those who are deemed close contacts will be contacted and will require to self-isolate for a period of time. Those who are self-isolating will move to distance learning. The whole school will be notified if we have a positive case on site.

Whole school closure is not necessary unless there is spread within school with multiple positive cases across the school. If there are a significant number of staff having to self-isolate or who become unwell with the virus, we may have to move to distance learning. This will be our last resort. We have a strong base of relieving teachers who are ready to jump in and assist if necessary.

I do ask that if you or your child have a positive Covid test result, you contact me immediately so that we can take the necessary steps to limit the spread and protect our community as best as we can.

If you have any questions or concerns around what I have said please get in touch. We are here to support you and your whanau and one another. We are in this together and together we will continue to lean into the ever-powerful arms of our Saviour, who loves us and holds us in the palm of His hands. This pandemic and the many other undesirable events in history have not caught Him off guard. He has chosen us to be alive at this time in history, in this place, to show how, we His people, walk through adversity.

And now on to far more interesting things. We have welcomed about 35 new families and 3 new staff members over the last 2 terms. Jireh Christian School is in its 5th year of existence. I would like to share some of what we have achieved and how we have arrived at our strategic focus for the following 3 years.

The first 3 years were spent introducing and embedding new systems and building community. We introduced a new mathematics programme, Prime Maths, developed a three-year learning cycle for Years 1-6 and a 2- year cycle for Years 7 and 8. We have opened 2 new classes and an additional learning area, the Wai learning area, to ensure that teaching and learning is tailor made for each year level.

The campus has had a lot of work done to it. A third playground was put up. Renovations on the administration block were competed. New carpets, blinds and heat pumps have been installed. Several classrooms have had a face lift. The field and quad between Ika and Tiwai were drained so that these areas can be used all year round. Eight archgolas have been erected. Painting continues across the school. A Makerspace was created to facilitate the inclusion of more intentional STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) skills. In terms of assets, smart TVs, devices, reading books, sports equipment, different Bots (Robot kits) for each year level to compliment the digital technologies curriculum and much more were purchased and are in use across the school.

JCS belongs to a Kahui Ako/community of learning, Ki Atua hei te kororia/to God be the glory, which is made up of three Christian schools, KingsWay School in Orewa and Westminster Christian School in Unsworth Heights on the North Shore. The main focus for the last 3 years has been developing and designing teaching and learning programmes which facilitate accessing the curriculum for those who are English second language speakers.

The next focus for our Kahui Ako over the next 3 years will be on wellbeing, which is very timely and pertinent to the times in which we live and circumstances we find ourselves in.

In consultation with the Board of Trustees, parents and staff, and with the support of Springboard Trust, who run professional learning and coaching programmes for school leaders, we developed a strategic plan for the next three years.

There are 3 broad goals in the strategic plan for JCS to be carried out over the next 3 years.

1. Grow achievement with a focus on priority learners. We want to ensure that all students have equitable access to the curriculum.

- Students who come from homes where English is not their first language often require additional support and a different approach to help them access the curriculum. A whole school approach has been designed and will now be embedded into the way we do teaching and learning at JCS.

- The Pasifika Education Plan is an excellent resource outlining how best to help our Pasifika tamariki learn. The staff will become familiar with this resource and implement it. As part of this initiative, we will continue to talanoa/dialogue with aiga/family at Termly Fono.

- We would like to continue to grow in our honouring of tangata whenua and the Tiriti O Waitangi. The staff and students are part of a 3-year professional learning and development, (PLD) programme, Whakamānawatia Te Reo Maori, which has us all learning te reo Māori every week.

2. Developing Staff Capabilities- our next steps as a school will be focussed on a rigorous academic programme. In order to facilitate this, we require highly skilled staff who are able to authentically weave God’s truth into learning.

- Leadership development within the school, where both capacity and capability are increased, will help assist with a growing school.

- Enable and equip staff to deliver a programme of excellence, through targeted professional learning. One of the initiatives is a three-year PLD programme through Writers Toolbox, which provides PLD for teachers and students.

- There will be a focus on developing a students graduate progress profile which will incorporate future focussed learning dispositions and the JCS student outcomes of; Christ-centred, confident, connected, contributing and continually learning. This will be used to track progress over the years.

3. A growing Christian School of choice

- Creating avenues for Christian education to be accessible to more whanau. We are looking at starting a charitable trust to support whanau financially.

- Create vibrant, dynamic, stimulating learning programmes that develop the STEAM skills as part of learning in the Makerspace. This will involve design processes of problem solving, ideating, collaborating, doing research, creating prototypes, critiquing, reflecting and perfecting.

- Work with the proprietor and stake holders to develop the school site. Part of this is seeking a change of class to grow to Year 10 and have a Primary, Yrs. 1-6 and a Middle school model, incorporating Yrs. 7-10. The idea is to raze some of the current buildings and build a purpose-built school around the edges going to 2 or 3 stories whilst preserving as much of the green spaces as possible.

There is much to look forward to and get excited about.

One of the things that I and so many others treasure about JCS is the amazing culture of care, community and the honouring of all, no matter their age or stage. As we commit 2022 into the hands of the Father I am reminded of our founding scripture:

Romans 11:36 For from Him and through Him and for Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen

May God be central to all we do throughout this year as we journey together to grow and nurture your children.

Your is His service

Sandra Bosman