Dear Parents and Caregivers,
The teaching staff are very aware that next week may cause inconvenience for some parents now that the national teachers strike has been set for Wednesday 29 May. Unfortunately the strike will happen in the same week as the Teacher Only Day (Friday 31st) that we organised last year. Please be aware that the day chosen for the strike was outside of our teachers’ control. We believe that it was chosen because it is the day before the Prime Minister’s Wellbeing budget is launched.
Our teachers would like to share with you why they and other teachers are being so vocal at the moment. It is not an understatement to say the profession is reaching a crisis point, and the issues raised (e.g. workload, recruitment and retention) on the Sunday programme last weekend, resonate throughout schools across all of New Zealand, including our own.
Teachers at Cornwall Park District School know they currently have the support of the vast majority of you, our parents, for the stand we are currently taking. At the end of the day we all want the best people to be teaching our children today, tomorrow as well as into the future.
Teachers met yesterday to discuss whether we should consider postponing the Teacher Only Day next Friday. We discussed many different perspectives including;
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- the possible financial and organisational impact on families
- the fact that we have engaged the services of an external facilitator for part of the day
- the fact that this has been on the calendar all year
- how some families have plans in place for next Friday that won’t change regardless of whether the day is postponed or not
- that Remuera Intermediate is also planning a ‘Teacher Only Day’ for next Friday which will impact on a number of our families
We are aware that regardless of any decision, some people may be adversely affected. However, after much considered discussion the teachers have decided not to postpone the ‘Teacher Only Day’ planned for next Friday.
‘Teacher Only Days’ do provide the space and time teachers desperately need to undertake important professional development crucial for them to be the best they can be. It is a time when we have experts share knowledge and teachers reflect upon their practice, and teachers feel this day is very important for them and the teaching of your children, and the work they will be doing will impact on classroom programmes immediately. This day has also been calculated into the required days at school for the year and if it did not take place next Friday, a day would then need to be deducted from the remaining days at school.
The teachers are hoping you can appreciate and respect their decision and thank you for your continued support of the teaching profession.
Kind regards
Janine
On behalf of our teaching staff
亲爱的家长和看护人，
学校教职人员非常清楚，由于全国教师罢工定于5月29日星期三举行，下周可能会对父母造成不便。碰巧的是，罢工活动和我们去年就已经计划好的教师专用日（星期五，5月31日）在同一周。请您注意，罢工选择的日期並不是我们教师所能控制的。我们认为工会选择这个日期是因为它是在总理的身心健康福利预算案启动的前一天。
我们的老师想与您分享为什么他们和其他老师此刻如此直言不讳。可以清楚地说，这个职业正达到一个危机点，是無法轻描淡写的。周日晚上电视节目 Sunday 播出中提出的（例如工作量，招聘和保留）等相关问题，上周末在整个新西兰的学校里，包括我们自己的学校都引起了共鸣。
Cornwall Park 学校的教师知道，他们目前得到我们父母绝大多数人的支持。每一天，我们都希望有最好的老师，不论是在今天，明天或者是未来教育我们的孩子。
教师们今天开会讨论我们是否应该考虑将下周五的教师专用日推迟。我们讨论了许多不同的观点，包括：
对家庭可能产生的财务和管理影响
事实上，我们在当天已经聘请了其他活动机构帮忙小孩的托管服务
事实上，这个教师专用日一直都在今年的学校日历上
一些家庭如何制定下周五的计划，无论日期是否延期，都不会改变
Remuera Intermediate 也同时计划在下周五举办 “ 教师专用日 ”，这也会对我们的一些家庭产生影响
我们知道，无论做出任何决定，都可能会有人受到不利的影响。然而，在经过深思熟虑的讨论之后，老师们决定不推迟计划，并于下周五举行“ 教师专用日 ” 活动。
“ 教师专用日 ”确实提供了教师们迫切需要进行的重要专业发展空间和时间，这对他们来说是非常重要的。在这一天，我们会请专家分享知识，教师们会反思他们的工作，老师们觉得这一天对他们和孩子们的教学非常重要。这一天已计入本年学校所需的天数里，如果没有在下周五进行，则需要从学校剩余的天数中扣除一天。
老师们希望您能够理解并尊重他们的决定，并感谢您对专业教学的持续支持。
亲切的问候
Janine
代表全校的教职人员
