FROM THE BOARD CHAIR

The College's Board met for the second time this year on Tuesday night and we dealt with a full agenda. Minutes of our meetings are posted on the College's website once formally adopted and the dates of forthcoming meetings are also available.

Most of the time at our meetings is typically taken discussing the comprehensive report presented by our Principal, Nicola Jacobsen. Nicola does an excellent job of highlighting for the Board the progress being made in achieving the goals contained in our Strategic Plan and she also ensures that the Board is kept informed of significant developments and issues that we need to address. We noted that our current Strategic Plan will need to be updated this year and we'll be seeking input from the College community in this important exercise.

We are always keen to know of students' academic progress, alongside the many activities that our students are involved in, typically with strong parental support for which we are grateful. We are engaged with other local schools in ensuring a strong focus on the importance of regular attendance and engagement with learning. Some funds have been made available from the Ministry of Education for this work.

We noted information on the continuing changes to both NCEA and to the New Zealand curriculum and the provisions that are being made for staff professional development. We are very aware that our staff are facing significant pressures at present, and we are hopeful that the current employment contract negotiations can be completed expeditiously.

We were presented with the results of a survey completed by our students last year regarding smoking and vaping. We have asked Nicola to provide you with more information on the survey results as we are concerned at the significant increase in the use of vapes by our students, and the associated health risks.

We continue to be concerned too that the College should provide a safe learning environment for all students, so we looked again at the results of last year's Student Wellbeing survey. We understand the place of the Sticks'n'Stones programme for Year 7 and 8 students and the Health programme also emphasises relationships, managing emotions and respect. Additionally, a Peer Support programme is being introduced this year.

As always, we dealt with routine issues such as staffing departures and appointments; property update; health and safety; and the updating of College policies. 

The Finance Committee reported that our annual financial statements for the last financial year will be submitted to the external auditor by month's end, as is required by statute. It's too early in the year to report much by way of trends for the current year but we do appreciate the ongoing support of the College community and we're gratified by the uptake of the new Kindo app.

The Board agreed to adopt a Succession Plan which will ensure a smooth handover to a new Chair when my current term in office is completed at the start of the next school year.

We continue to be grateful also for the ongoing support of the MAC Foundation and the Friends of MAC. Both groups are active nowadays and provide much valued support.

Our meetings take about two hours on most occasions, and all members of the Board are actively engaged in the debates and decisions. We believe that the College has made a positive start to the new year and we're impressed, as always, by the many achievements of our students. Through the terrific Students in the Community programme, our senior students are engaged with many events in our community as well as much incidental good work. We look forward now to the involvement of students with the upcoming Festival of Colour.

With my best wishes,

Ian Hall

Board Chair