Rector's message - May 2017
Nick McIvor — May 31, 2017
We've been evaluated by the Education Review Office (ERO) as having ‘a positive and inclusive culture’ with values ‘well known by the students and actively taught and promoted’; where the curriculum ‘contributes strongly to what the school wants for boys, in line with its mission statement’; where boys ‘achieve well in NCEA’. And ‘boys who need additional support with aspects of their learning are very well provided for’, and those ‘with advanced capabilities value the increased opportunities they have to extend and enrich their learning’[1].
As a staff, student body, board, and
community, we are pleased to have received this affirmation from ERO after
rigorous scrutiny in Term 1. ERO came to
verify how effectively the school’s curriculum promotes student learning,
engagement, progress and achievement.
Our ERO report
also identified the priority we continue to place on ‘promoting success for
Maori as Maori’ and ‘educational success’ for Pacific Island students, and on looking
after our International Students. Thomas
House was appraised as ‘a significant, positive feature of the school’s culture’.
And in terms of the school’s identity, our
‘focus on involvement’ was seen as helping boys ‘to develop their sense of
belonging.’
Overall, ERO
assessed Timaru Boys’ as having ‘responded well to recommendations in the 2013
ERO report’, and as being ‘well - placed to sustain and improve its performance’. I wish to thank all of the staff, students,
parents, trustees, volunteers, and wider community supporters who got alongside
the boys so well in 2014 – 2017 to support, challenge, and foster them to
become better learners, achievers, and people.
This report represents the many efforts made, day in - day out, to do
what’s best for the boys in the best ways. The report has also given us good direction as
to the next steps we can take to develop over the next 3 years – enhancing the very
good trajectory on which we currently sit.
While this report is pleasing, it’s a ‘snapshot’ of the school that takes
account of its past and present; the future is where exciting new opportunities
await us.
To read a full
copy of the 2017 Timaru Boys’ High School ERO report, go to: http://www.ero.govt.nz/review-reports/timaru-boys-high-school-20-04-2017/
One
dimension of learning at Timaru Boys’ that has facets mentioned above, is
excellence in the arts. On or off the lesson
timetable, on or off site, in the capable hands of our arts staff or other specialists
well away from North Street, we have boys flourishing in the visual and performing
arts. For these boys, and others less accustomed
to the arts, the biennial TBHS Arts Week is coming up in two weeks. During this time, boys can choose to explore
new arts, to discover the extraordinary in themselves, as they try the extraordinary
throughout the week. Scheduled
activities will be available as varied as: working, sculpting or adorning wood,
stone, flax, or fabric; honing circus, sound mixing, calligraphy, photography, or
green screen skills; or trying guitar, hip hop, or magic trick performance for
the first time. There is a group trip planned
for a day sampling the North Otago arts scene too.
Please
encourage your son to sign on. He could gain
things from participation both unexpected and uplifting. At the very least, he might be able to
provide new conversation for the dinner table at home, or maybe even one or two
good new pieces to artistically embellish the house!
Nick
McIvor
Scientia
Potestas Est
Mā te
Mātauranga te Mana
[1]
Timaru Boys’ High School Confirmed Education Review Office Report, New Zealand
Education Review Office, April 2017, http://www.ero.govt.nz/review-reports/timaru-boys-high-school-20-04-2017/
