Welcome to the Westburn Board of Trustees. Please find below a general introduction to what a Board of Trustees is, then more detailed information on our Board, and it's membership. On this page you will also find links to meeting minutes, Charter, meeting dates and other relevant news.

As most of you will know the Board of Trustees were established in NZ with the introduction of Tomorrow’s Schools in 1989. They consist of elected and/or co-opted members from the school community and their role is of governance. In other words, they are responsible for establishing goals and priorities and ensuring that management, led by the Principal, have the necessary resources to achieve these.

Board Members

• Chairperson — Brent Lattimore - Finance
• Trustees

Kim Dawson - Deputy Chairperson & Self Review (incl Policy)
Richard McCance - Health & Safety
Richard Smith - Property
Claire Sparks - Personnel & EEO
Shane Zheng - Community Liaison

• Principal  - Tumuaki — Susan Jennison
  
• Staff Trustee — Jo Fairbrother - Health & Safety
• Board Secretary — Vicki Smith
  
  

The Board’s Role in Raising Student Achievement

See the diagram below

(2014) NZSTA Effective Governance Student Achievement: the board’s main focus for use with primary schools., p3.

As the diagram on the left shows the Board’s role continues to evolve and as of June 2013, the primary focus is raising student achievement. This has meant that we have had to become quite knowledgeable on reading graphs, analysing statistics and ensuring that we are have a range of resources in place to support the various needs of each of our students. The diagram also shows the relationship we have with the management of the school and the differentiation between governance (the board's responsibility) and management (the principal's responsibility).

We are extremely lucky at Westburn as we have a very talented and enthusiastic team of people who are committed to this school and the community. We meet monthly on the last Tuesday of every month except for two meetings a year when we meet during the afternoon; dates as listed below. The two afternoon meetings also include presentations by the students as it helps to remind us as to why we are here. All meetings are open to the public, and speaking rights are granted at the discretion of the board chairperson.

This year continues to be a busy year for the school and the Board, compounded by our involvement in the Christchurch Schools' Rebuild programme.

Brent Lattimore

Chairperson

Board Profiles

Kim Dawson - Kim, with husband Howard, currently have two daughters, Maddie (Yr8) and Kate (Yr 6) attending Westburn.  She has experience in property law and this is her second term on the Board.  She has been instrumental in revising our school policies, and has ensured that we are meeting our legislative and administration requirements.  Kim enjoys supporting her girl's activities, especially football and swimming.

Richard McCance - Richard is a newly elected member on the Board.  Richard and his wife, Mary, have one child Ciana (Yr 6) at Westburn.  Richard brings a great wealth of educational experience to this role and is currently employed by the Ao Tawhiti Unlimited Discovery School, and is completing his Doctor of Education.  

Shane Zheng - I originally come from China and have been living in Christchurch for more than 15 years. I have 2 children attending Westburn School. I am a professional software engineer and am interested in sharing my knowledge and programming skills and anything technology-related with the Westburn community. As an immigrant to this beautiful country, I am fully aware of the challenges that can arise from cultural differences from time to time. I truly enjoy being part of such a culturally diverse school community with students from all over the world. I am looking forward to working with the board, the school and the community to ensure the school delivers the best possible outcomes to all.

Richard Smith - Richard and Flo have two daughters at Westburn, Romy and Morgan.  Richard, in his second term on the Board, is a construction and property professional and is a key player in developing our property plan during that time.  Richard's goal is to ensure we get the best bang for our buck as we move from the success of the refurbishment of rooms 13 - 15 to involvement in the CSR programme.

Brent Lattimore - I was born in Christchurch and have three children aged 18, 12 and 6 with Jess (12) and Daniel (6) currently at Westburn School. I have worked in the finance industry for over 25 years. The last eight years I have been self-employed. Over these years I have been involved in a variety of businesses but mainly Focus Financial Group Ltd., which helps arrange finance for clients. I’m very active with Jess and Daniel’s activities in and out of school. My oldest Harri works fulltime, has a car and unfortunately doesn’t need his Dad so much anymore…. I enjoy swimming, reading and keeping active.

Claire Sparks - Born in Christchurch, Claire with husband Richard, currently have two children at Westburn with one more to come.  She has an education background and a strong interest in and knowledge of meaningful integration of IT in learning.  She is extremely busy with her children who keep her very active.

Please click the link  below for the latest ERO Report. 

http://www.ero.govt.nz/review-reports/westburn-school-21-11-2013/

2018 Board of Trustees Meeting Dates

• 27th February 6.00pm
  
• 27th March 6.00pm
  
• 01st  May 6.00pm
  
• 29th  May 6.00pm
  
• 28th June 12noon
  
• 31st July 6.00pm
  
• 28th August 6.00pm
  
• 25th September 6.00pm
  
• 30th October 6.00pm
  
• 27th November 12noon
  
• 11th December 6.00pm