Kia ora Koutou
By the time you read this we are well into the school holidays. I am sure this is a welcome break for both students and staff before we begin Term 4 and the run down to end of year and NCEA Exams. During Term 4 we celebrate through a variety of events the achievements of our students but also we recognise the additional pressures on our students in completing term work, assessments, portfolios and exams, so again will be doing our best to support them through this period.
Term 3 has been a busy one for the Board. We are looking at further property work to update and modernise parts of the school, and have continued to review our health and safety procedures, including discussing preparedness for any Measles cases, and developing a Traumatic Incident Response Plan. We have decided to take up the Ministry of Education’s support for fees relief for parents, as we realise school fees can be a significant burden on our whānau. The Senior Leadership Team has spent considerable time reviewing our procedures to ensure they align with board policies and current practices in the school and it is fantastic to have these all up to date. We recently had elections in the College for the student representative on the board and are delighted we have Sam Anderson back again for another term. We certainly appreciate the perspective that our student and staff representatives bring to the board table.
As usual this term we have been getting regular reporting on the academic achievement of our students, and are very grateful for all the extra time staff are giving to support students to achieve their goals. Thank you to all those parents who provided responses to the survey on the curriculum conducted earlier in the year. At Board meetings we have been discussing the changes to our curriculum which Staff have been involved in the planning of for the last 18 months. We are looking forward to seeing these changes implemented in 2020 – with lots of innovation and differentiation in terms of curriculum occurring within a structure we know works well. During Term 4 we will be assessing progress on our annual goals and reviewing our activities as a board over the last year. It is always exciting to be looking forward, and to be considering our goals for 2020, and how we can best facilitate them through the setting of a budget.
Meanwhile I look forward to meeting many of you at our end of year school activities and events – it is so great to celebrate growing successful young men and women together!
Ngā mihi nui
Juliana Mansvelt
Board Chair
Horowhenua College Board of Trustees