Dear parents

It was my absolute honour to attend the Prime Minister’s Education Awards ceremony on Tuesday evening at Parliament with a group of students and staff. Nayland College was one of only three high schools represented as finalists in the 2019 awards, something the school community can be very proud of. Ultimately, we were unsuccessful in winning our category, which was awarded to Rotorua Boy’s High School. I am so proud that we made it as far as becoming finalists and it was a fantastic learning experience to hear the stories from other schools around the country and the success that each school is having in engaging their students and communities.

Our winter tournament teams were also very successful last week. Full results are included in this newsletter. However, congratulations to all students, staff, coaches, managers and parents involved. I was particularly pleased to see so many students and parents at Saxton Stadium supporting the teams playing locally. It was amazing seeing our Basketball boys make it through to the National Tournament for the first time in many years. They now have a large fundraising effort ahead of them as they look to meet their target of $10,000 to cover transport and accommodation to Palmerston North. You can assist by visiting the Givealittle page here: https://hail.to/app/nayland-college/article/view/5MK71Pi

Many of you will have read about the government contribution of $150 per student if we opt into the ‘donation-free’ scheme. If we decide to opt into this scheme it effectively means that we will no longer ask parents to contribute towards any curriculum expenses, including individual subject contributions or school donations. However, we will still be able to ask for contributions towards overnight trips and non-curriculum related expenses such as sport, music and other enrichment opportunities. We have calculated as a school that we are likely to lose between $150-170k of funding to join this scheme. The Board of Trustees have not yet made a decision, but if we do accept this new payment there will likely be reductions in some of the curriculum experiences we are able to offer. We are still able to accept unsolicited donations and fundraise, which could potentially make up the funding shortfall. I will let you all know when a decision has been made.

Ngā mihi nui

Daniel Wilson
PRINCIPAL