Board of Trustees Newsletter – September 24/09

Kia ora whānau,

 Well, here we are again in level 2. Thank you for all of your cooperation with the additional safety measures that were necessary during level 2.5. Whilst it’s looking like there is a degree of containment of the most recent outbreak in the community, rest assured that we will still be keeping up an increased level of vigilance and hygiene at the school.

 I’ve just returned from Shakespear Regional Park, which has seen an influx of CPDS students over the last two weeks as they have attended one of the most exciting activities of their school lives – Camp!!  It’s an idyllic setting, and the team at the YMCA provide a really fun set of activities for the kids. I’d like to say a massive thank you to all of the teachers, parents, caregivers and whānau members who have volunteered their time and energy to make camp happen this year. I chatted with a number of parents whilst there (who were arguably as excited as the kids were about camp!!), and heard just how important camp is to you and your families. I also heard about all of the “life-changing experiences” a group of year 5 kids had during their time at camp on the 1 hour car ride home – who would have thought that “doing the dishes by hand”, “sleeping with the window open”, and “seeing 30 Pūkeko every day” would be so transformative!! We’re really fortunate that we’ve been able to make camp happen this year – especially given all the challenges that social distancing and lockdowns have brought us. Congratulations, and thanks again to all involved.

This week, the Board met by Zoom meeting, as social gathering restrictions again prevented us from meeting in person.  The Board’s most important responsibility is for student achievement, and this covers all aspects of the curriculum – and extra-curricular activities are included as part of that. We were delighted to hear from three of our specialist teachers about their programmes at the school;  Lisa Rolle who leads Eureka! – a programme for gifted and talented students, Glenys Muir, who leads our Reading Recovery programme, and Paul Campbell who is our specialist PE teacher. All are deeply committed, talented, and passionate about their specialist areas, and the school is very fortunate that we are able to fund their important programmes through your donations. Being able to hear from the specialist teachers who lead these programmes is really helpful to ensure that we can allocate funds to the programmes that have the biggest impact on student achievement and wellbeing.

 None of these initiatives would be possible without your school donations. We know that this year has been tough for many families – and continues to be challenging for some – and we’ve noticed a sizable difference in donations when compared to previous years. With that in mind, we do appreciate any and all contributions you are able to make, which will safeguard these activities for years to come. If you’d like to make a donation of any size, then simply click here to visit KINDO and set up or access your account.  Do not hesitate to contact the office (now in Room 18) if you need any help.

 We’re also getting very excited about 2021. Not just because it means we’ll be done with 2020 – which hasn’t exactly gone as we’d all hoped – but mainly because it’s the school’s centenary. Things are starting to get some momentum, so watch this space. If you are keen to get involved, then please contact Sarah or Kirstin from the Board – they are grateful for offers of help in planning proceedings.

 Take care, stay safe, and enjoy the school holidays.

 Cheers

Nick

亲爱的家长们您们好

 现在我们又回到了 Level 2。感谢您的配合与支持在 Level 2.5 期间需要采取的额外安全措施。尽管最近一次社区案例的疫情已经得到一定程度的遏制，但请放心，我们仍将继续保持并提高学校的警惕性和卫生水平。

 我刚从莎士比亚国家公园回来，在过去的两周中，CPDS 的学生们参加了他们学校生活中最兴奋的活动 一 露营！这是一个田园诗般的环境，YMCA 的团队为孩子们提供了一系列非常有趣的活动。在此，我要对所有愿意花时间和精力参与今年的露营活动的老师，父母，看护人和其他家庭成员表示感谢。我在那儿与许多父母聊天（可以说他们和在营地的孩子们一样兴奋！），了解露营活动对您和您的家人有多么重要。我还听说了一群5年级的孩子们从营地里乘坐汽车1小时回家时讲述自己所有 “改变生活的经历”，他们认为 “用手洗碗”，“和其他孩子睡在一起”，“睡觉开窗户” 和 “每天看到30只 Pūkeko” 真是太具有革命性的意义了！我们真的很幸运，今年能够成功实现露营这个活动 – 尤其是考虑到社交距离和封锁期给我们带来的所有挑战。恭喜，再次感谢所有参与此活动的人员。

 本周，董事会召开了 Zoom 会议，因为社交聚会人数的限制再次使我们无法面对面坐下来开会。董事会对学生的成就负有最重要的责任，这涵盖了课程的所有方面 –  课外活动也包括在内。我们很高兴听到我们三位专业老师关于他们在学校的课程的信息；领导 Eureka 的 Lisa Rolle！- 一项针对有特殊才华和才能的学生的课程，负责领导我们加强阅读能力课程的 Glenys Muir，以及我们的专业体育老师 Paul Campbell。所有人都对自己的专业领域充满敬业精神，才华和热情，学校非常幸运，我们能够通过您的捐款为他们的重要课程提供经费。能够听取负责这些课程的专业老师的介绍确实有助于确保我们可以将经费分配给对学生成绩和福祉影响最大的课程里。

 没有您的学校捐款，所有这些举措都将无法实现。我们知道，今年对许多家庭来说都是艰难的一年，并且对某些家庭来说仍然是充满挑战的一年，而且我们注意到与往年相比，捐款有很大的不同。考虑到这一点，我们非常感谢您为学校所做出的所有捐款，这些捐款将确保在今后的几年中学校能够继续进行这些课程。如果您想进行任何规模的捐款，只需单击此处，KINDO ，设置或登录您的帐户。如果您需要任何帮助，请随时与办公室联系（ 办公室现在设在 18号 教室 ）。

 我们也对 2021 年充满期待，这不仅是因为它意味着 2020 年即将结束 – 因为它没有符合我们所有人的期望 – 主要原因是 2021 年是学校的百年纪念。准备事项开始慢慢走入正轨，所以请留意这个信息发布平台。如果您热衷于参与这个活动，请联系董事会的 Sarah 或 Kirstin – 他们会非常感谢您为这个活动提供的任何帮助。

 请保重，确保安全，并享受学校假期。

 温馨的问候

Nick