What a difference a month makes! None of us could have predicted the events of the last few weeks. While we’re relieved that our community remains free of the virus, the economic and social impact of both national and worldwide lockdowns has implications for us all.

The Board of Trustees extends its thanks to our staff team for the way in which they kept children engaged during the transition to online learning and for establishing learning programmes so swiftly once the lockdown was announced. We’re very fortunate to have such a professional and innovative staff team.

Policy addition as a result of COVID-19

At the board's March meeting the draft Zoom policy shared with parents was ratified. This policy has been adapted to reference ‘Online Learning Platforms’ rather than just Zoom and will be added to our SchoolDocs site.

Meet the Team

Following on from our previous newsletter where we introduced our Chairperson, Mr Shane Zheng, today we’re introducing our Deputy Chair, Mr Stephen Spence, and our two other current trustees, Mrs Ilda Nogueira and Mr Richard Smith.

Mr Stephen Spence - Deputy Chairperson

I am a Christchurch local with two children at Westburn, Tom in year 5 and Phoebe in year 3.

I am a Chartered Accountant and member of the Institute of Directors. While I don’t do much accounting these days finance, governance and an interest in sports and the outdoors are key areas of expertise where I add value to the board and School.

My wife Stacey and I both enjoy supporting the school. The funding provided by the Ministry of Education is barely adequate so parental support and donations are essential to enable our School to provide a superior experience for our children.

Mrs Ilda Nogueira

I am the mother of a Year 3 Westburn boy and two older girls; one of them studies at Burnside High School and the other at the University of Canterbury. We have been living in Christchurch for 7 years now and we are originally from Portugal.

Both my husband and I have had all our education overseas and navigating the New Zealand school system with our children has been an amazing experience, not without some bumps and misunderstandings at first, but extremely rewarding. It is a privilege to be in the Board of Trustees and involved in the Board’s quest to help each child get the best experience possible from their years at Westburn School.

Mr Richard Smith

Hello, I am Richard Smith, husband of Flo & Dad of Romy (year 8) & Morgan (year 6), so our family is in the final stages of our Westburn journey.

Our girls started their schooling at Westburn, and have had terrific teachers right the way through, forming great bonds, and it is exciting for Romy to have her new-entrant teacher as her year 8 final teacher.

Flo & I strongly believe that parent involvement and support is vital to the school system and to get the best results for everyone’s kids hence our involvement with WSCA & the Board. An effective Board of Trustees is a key part of this parent involvement, and with this being my third term on the Board, I have had the pleasure to be involved with many developments and improvements to Westburn systems, as well as personally learn about the stresses and drivers of the teaching profession.

Having grown up in development and construction and worked in that field for the last 20 years, although all Board members are responsible for all facets of governance, I have enjoyed my particular focus of being the lead advocate for the school during the long and at times frustrating slog of the CSR process. I would like to acknowledge the trust from and patience of the school community during this time. I do believe the outcome will be fantastic and well worth the perseverance and battles, and I see it as a legacy not just for the present generation of students but for our grandchildren as well.

Vacancy on the board

We have been delighted to have received substantial interest in the vacancy on our board and hope to be able to confirm an appointment in the very near future.

School refurbishment and other property issues

As you may be aware, demolition of four older classrooms by the adventure playground was scheduled for the April holidays as our school refurbishment finally got underway. Meetings with the Ministry of Education’s property team have continued during the lockdown and some aspects of the programme will be able to continue uninterrupted, such as the Christchurch City Council consenting process. Other aspects have inevitably been delayed, however we hope to be back on track within a few weeks once the lockdown is lifted and work can resume.

Alongside this will run board-managed projects to upgrade other aspects of our school site. Katie Costain of Billygoat Landscaping has been contracted to provide design work to enable the creation of a pump track on the field, a 'Musicians’ Corner’ between the playground and the new Music Suite, and the redevelopment of the school entrance. Katie is available to begin work on these designs as soon as the lockdown is lifted.

Thank you again for your support of our school during this challenging time. It is our hope that school can return to normal as soon as possible, providing both social connection and some welcome routine for our children.