FROM THE BOARD CHAIR

As we reach the end of another busy year, I want to express the thanks of the Board for the extraordinary support that we receive from so many in the College community. We're especially grateful to the MAC Foundation and to the Parents and Friends of MAC for the ongoing support that they provide, but it wouldn't be possible for the College to offer such a wide range of opportunities to our students without the involvement of so many people from the wider community.

The Board met for the last time this year on Tuesday night. I'm glad that Mark Sinclair and Ben Taylor have been re-elected to the Board for a further three year term. It's important to have continuity around the Board table, and both Mark and Ben have made significant contributions to our discussions and decisions.

It was a great pleasure for the Board to adopt a Minute of Appreciation to Vicki Ashton for her unique contribution to the College over a very long period of time. Emma Smith spoke on behalf of the College's staff and Zoe Laws spoke on behalf of the students, and both paid tribute to Vicki's work, mentioning the universally high regard in which she is held. We thanked Vicki for her years of professional dedication and wished her well for the future.

Nicola Jacobsen presented a comprehensive report, as is usual. We adopted a draft of the College's Strategic Plan which will have some further minor changes made and then be published in the New Year. We spent considerable time considering the results from this year's survey of student well being. We now have data from this comprehensive survey for the last 5 years, and clear trends have emerged. Nicola outlined plans for increased levels of student support next year and the Board has asked for these various actions to be brought together in a cohesive well being strategy.

We adopted changes to various policies and noted the legislative changes that have been made to physical restraint guidelines. It's likely that the new government will make further changes to legislation which will impact on our policies and operating routines. As information becomes available to the Board, this will be passed on to you.

In brief, we discussed: attendance (and moves taken by our local Principals to encourage regular attendance); the ongoing curriculum refresh and NCEA requirements; interactions with the Education Review Office (ERO); health and safety; stand downs and suspensions; staffing (noting that the College will be fully staffed for next year); events and meetings; and property. Many of these matters are routine but they form an important part of the Board's governance responsibilities. 

The Finance Committee reported that our financial statements for the 2022 year have now been audited, with no concerns raised and with the College in a stable financial position. The Committee will meet next week, and will adopt a budget for next year.

We received a comprehensive report on the performance of our Principal, and we congratulated Nicola on the results therein, which confirmed that Nicola continues to maintain high standards of professionalism and is providing strong leadership to the College for which we are grateful.

As reported to you previously, the Board operates in a collegial manner while openly debating important issues. I am grateful to all members of the Board for the time and expertise that they freely devote to the best interests of the College. 

I may have seen a number of you at this year's prize giving ceremonies of late but I do thank you again for your valued support of the College. On behalf of the Board, I extend the greetings of the season to you and your families. 

With all good wishes,

Ian Hall

Board Chair