My 4 kids have been through Rangiora Borough School, and I have been on the school board for 5 years.

Being on the board is a rewarding role that I encourage parents to look into at election time. I have been a volunteer on other community boards and am in my 5th year of being Commodore of the Waimakariri Sailing Club.

Being on the board has allowed me to grow as a board member from a governance perspective, my leadership skills, my professional network, and the ability to support and help others. The professional support of the SBA, and the opportunity to learn at their well run conferences has been amazing.

I joined the Board of Trustees in 2023 and enjoy being involved in the governance of our great school. The Board supports the leadership team to deliver a learning environment for children to achieve. The Board is made up of parent-elected representatives, a staff representative and our principal.

Later this year the school will be reaching out to parents and seeking nominations for parent reps on the Board. This is a great opportunity to contribute and be involved in setting the strategic direction of our kura. You will work alongside great colleagues who are committed to high standards of education for tamariki and support for staff. Whether you are interested in children achieving, curriculum, property, HR or finance, there are lots of ways that individual Board members and the team support our school.

This year we are celebrating 10 years since Ngā Rākau e Rua was established. The learning environment and programme was born out of a recognised need to revitalise te reo and cultural identity in our community in a way that brings whanau together and improves learning outcomes for our tamariki. Ngā Rākau e Rua is producing great educational outcomes for tamariki who learn the NZ curriculum while conversing in both Māori and English. Our teaching team and tamariki are not only keeping Māori culture alive, but helping bilingual education and tikanga thrive across the kura/school. Throughout this milestone year we’ll continue to see the Ngā Rākau e Rua team leading the way in cultural education and social activities here at RBS.

The recent Waitangi Day event was a great example of how our kura, with full staff involvement and the generous contribution of  Ngā Rākau e Rua whanau came together to commemorate Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Whanau from across the school and members of the wider Rangiora community came along and shared fun family activities.

If you know of anyone who is considering bilingual education for their tamariki, encourage them to contact Whaea Liana in Ngā Rākau e Rua liana.abraham@rangiora.school.nz to learn more about the learning and life opportunities being created at Ngā Rākau e Rua. Ngā Rākau e Rua takes students from within and from outside of zone because of the special character for this specific learning area at our kura.

 Ngā manaakitanga / Kia pai tō rā

David

David Brandts-Giesen