We had 120 learners participate in Jump Jam at the weekend. They have all spoken really positively about their experiences on stage. Special thanks to our staff who give up their valuable weekend time to support this.

Thanks to Miss Holly Miller, Miss Rachel Pickering, Miss Chrystelle Tinnion, Miss Jess Bensdorp [whose team will participate in the National Champs in ChCh later in the year], Miss Kendra Ward, Miss Frances Dench, Miss Sara Reedy, Mr James Hunt, Mrs Megan Murray, Miss Caitlyn Tinnelly and Mrs Amanda Skinner. The jump jammers are all allowed to wear their jump jam t-shirts with their school uniforms on Monday and we will have a special afternoon performance with some of the school.

We also celebrated the amazing success of our Year 5/6 boys basketball team who won the Canterbury Champs! What an awesome accomplishment with some tough competition. Big thanks to coaches Annette Hynes and Mr Kyle Seckold.

Yesterday it was exciting to be able to send a group of Year 5/6 learners to the snow. And, wow did they have some snow alright - it snowed for a lot of the morning. There is a huge amount of preparation, planning and paper-work approval that goes into this process so thank you to Miss Laura Finn [on parental leave], Miss Anna van der Voort, Mr Pete Northmore, Mrs Amanda Clarkson, Mrs Megan Murray and our school board for their scrutiny. Huge thanks to our parent helpers as well as we could not go ahead with these events without your active participation - Angela Hamilton, Hasitha Wijesuriya, Rhys Allen, Monique Gordon, Dena Greene, Aimee Roos, Joe Clapp, Mahwish Iqbal, and Joel Cameron.

Thanks also to our amazing staff and whānau who supported some of our Y8 children on the Godley Head Tramp on Sunday as part of their William Pike challenge work.

Early this week our Board's Presiding member Rob Hunt and I met with the school road safety advisor from the Selwyn Council and then on Wednesday Rob addressed our concerns at a public council meeting. Here is Rob's Presentation:

Presentation to Selwyn District Council Wednesday 16th August 2023 

Traffic Safety Concerns West Rolleston Primary School, Te Kura o Te Uru Kōwhai, is currently the 4th largest primary school in New Zealand. It provides education to almost 800 ākonga, hosts a satellite campus for Waitaha Specialist School and employs 70 teaching and non-teaching staff. While the traffic safety concerns of our Kura, should be well known to Selwyn District Council, the purpose for this presentation is to ensure that our needs are forefront to all of Council. 

In October 2022, a meeting was attended by Waka Kotahi, Selwyn District Council, NZUP Rolleston DBC Consultant Project Team, Ministry of Education and West Rolleston Primary School. The purpose of this meeting was to provide consultation and build awareness to the existing traffic management concerns and the planned additional impact that the Rolleston SH1 upgrade will cause.  In addition, Selwyn District Council, conducted a community travel plan survey between 8 May 2023 and 5 June 2023. The survey had a high response rate and highlights that 42% of respondents that drove to and from our Kura was a result of traffic safety issues or that they were worried about their personal safety. For respondents that travel to and from school using active transport, 56% of respondents considered their journey Unsafe or Very Unsafe. The survey also clearly outlines that the factor most likely to improve this would be to increase the amount of safe places to cross the road. The survey data shows that the intersection of Burnham School Road and Dunns Crossing Road, and the crossing of Brookside Road and Lowes Road were considered areas of concern. 

West Rolleston Primary School has taken significant action to support a Safe Travel Management Plan and encourage Active Transport to and from our kura. 

Implementation of Safe Travel Management Plan and including this as part of all learner’s induction to our School. 

- Compulsory High Visibility Vest/Bag Cover added to School Uniform 

- Self funding the build of Te Ara Eke Panuku, a $200,000+ bike park used by all our Selwyn Community (and beyond), to promote active travel. 

- Purchase of 50 bikes for learners to use in School, to build cycle confidence and road safety awareness. 

- Self funding the $50,000 build of an additional 18 car parks for our staff, due to the high level of health and safety concern caused by the roadside parking on Dunns Crossing Road. 

- Installation of kiss and go car parking to help with the traffic management of before and after school drop off/pick up. 

While we acknowledge that Selwyn Council has made some contribution to improving the safety around our school, there is clearly significantly more that could be done. Our Board of Trustees have been raising concerns about Road Safety since 2016. Since this time our roll has grown significantly, and it is the perceived view of our School and our School community that more could and should have been done during this time to help mitigate the identified risks. 

It is acknowledged that the growth of Selwyn District as a whole, and Rolleston as a township have been rapid and adapting infrastructure to meet this demand is challenging. Selwyn District Council published a Road Safety Strategy to 2020 in 2014. Nine years have passed since this was published and our community has changed significantly during this time. Selwyn has opened five new Schools during this tme. Selwyn District Council has shown that it can invest in safety initiatives around Schools, and we ask for fairness and equity in future decision making. 

West Rolleston Primary School is adjacent to a rural area. Other rural schools have been supported with variable speed limits 40km/h. We request that these be implemented with urgency, in line with the existing Council 40km/h approach to rural Schools, and that there is no need to wait for further consultation about a whole of Selwyn approach to road speed limits. 

West Rolleston Primary School has a kea crossing on Dunns Crossing Road. Selwyn District Council has supported the safe travel of students to and from other Rolleston and Lincoln Schools with Zebra Crossings (some raised). In the most recent installation outside Clearview Primary School, two have been installed within approx. 200m. We request that Selwyn District Council urgently review ways in which it can provide additional safe access to our School, recognizing that the road that we are located on is significantly busier than Schools that have had investment. 

West Rolleston Primary School invested over $200,000 in a community facility; our bike park Te Ara Eke Panuku. When we built this facility, we requested support from Council to improve the footpaths on Dunns Crossing Road. Since outlaying this capital, the park has become a cherished facility used after schools and throughout weekends. Users travel from all over Selwyn, in fact all over Canterbury to use the park. The parking outside of the park is dangerous and a concern to our School, the park users and our community request for Council to again consider funding safe footpaths and car parking. 

The Council is no doubt faced with many conflicting priorities, of which many parties will consider their need urgent. We request that our local Council, demonstrate their intent to safe travel, promotion of active transport and recognize the unique challenges faced by our School, and act with an increased sense of urgency in addressing these concerns.

Rob Hunt Presiding Member

How can you help?

Please use our roads safely and correctly [e.g do not drop children off on the yellow lines]

Please move to the front of the queue in our kiss and drop zones which includes Dunn's Crossing Rd

Please use the snap, send, solve app to the Council to report any traffic infringements

Please ensure your child wears their traffic safety vest and or hi vis vest