Board of Trustees

Dear Parents and Friends of KingsWay School,

Our Board recently received a letter from an external presenter who visited our school. They visit many schools, but were so impressed by the attitude, politeness and engagement of our students, they felt compelled to write to us commending the behaviour of these students. While there are always exceptions, we receive enough letters like this to know our Christian character is being embraced and lived out by so many of our students.

We have further reason to celebrate. Every three years, the NZ Christian Proprietor Trust conducts a formal external review of the Christian special character of its schools. June was our turn, and the review team interviewed many staff, management, Board members, students and parents, as well as examining documentation and other evidence. The school has just received the report, and I’m thrilled to say it was a glowing endorsement of how our Christian special character has become a ‘fingerprint’ of KingsWay School, becoming normalised as part of our culture. The intentional development of staff in ‘Teaching Christianly’ and the weaving of our special character and servant-hearted focus throughout the curriculum and co-curricular programmes was recognised as prime contributors to the success observed by the review team. I honour our Executive Principal, Graeme Budler, for his leadership in this area and all our staff who have delivered this so successfully throughout the school.

The team were impressed with the strong pastoral care provided for students at all levels of age and need. Feedback from both staff and students noted how Christian teaching allowed for different stages of personal faith journeys. While teachers bring Biblical truths to class discussions, they have been deliberate in creating a safe environment in which students can ask questions, express doubts and grapple honestly with complex issues.

The reviewers found a very united school, honouring of its leadership and its direction.

Staff are enthusiastic about the direction the school is headed with respect to Special Character, and relationships are good and positive at all levels within the school and with our stakeholder groups. In their words, “it is a real expression of Faith, Hope and Love”.

However, the review team did issue a note of caution. A concern that all Christian educators share is the ability of students to sustain their faith in a resilient manner after they leave school. The reviewers observed that when the school was founded 35 years ago, it was in partnership with parents and churches. Today, infrequent church attendance has become increasingly common for many families. Sadly, for many young people, the school has inadvertently become their prime source of spiritual input. While academic learning is important and occurs well at KingsWay, developing a strong relationship with Jesus before leaving school is the discipleship goal of the school.

As your Board Chairperson, I urge all parents to lead your families in the practice of regularly attending a Christian community, be that church services, youth groups or home groups. These all play their part in helping to grow and strengthen your children as budding disciples of Christ. Be intentional about bringing Biblical (not religious) principles into everyday discussions in your home (Deut 11:19). Encourage your children to develop the discipline of daily personal devotions at home. There’s plenty of great resources to help, such as https://throughtheword.org/. This is a brilliant devotional tool that older children and families can use for free.

The review concluded that “KingsWay School is in a good place to offer a very different and effective educational experience for children because its special character is increasingly sought after, it is authentic and real.”

I pray that your child and every other student may experience an enduring faith formation during their time at KingsWay and take this with them as graduates into the world they will serve as disciples of Christ. Thank you for your continued support of KingsWay school.

Peter Wilding
Chairperson
Board of Trustees