BOT Update- April 2021

Kia ora tātou,

 

What a busy term we’ve had. We’ve seen some great work from the kids, some brilliant new property enhancements, some great autumn sunshine, and our first fantastic Family Fun Fiesta. (extra points for good alliteration, Centenary Committee).

 

Thank you to everyone who made the Fiesta possible. There were so many of you who volunteered to set up, organise, schedule, wrangle, tidy, bake, host, get dunked, cook and it really did make a huge difference. Without you all, we simply wouldn’t have been able to make the day possible. The School and the Board are delighted that the community had so much fun, and we are stoked with the money you raised which will go directly to supporting all of our children.  This is only the beginning of our celebrations this year, so watch this space for more fun!

 

You’ll have seen our new centenary hoodies and t-shirts on display and for sale on the day. They are so cool, and I’m pretty pleased that we’ve got adult versions for us parents to buy and wear alongside our kids! The Board have agreed that these hoodies and t-shirts can form part of our school uniform until the end of the school year in 2022. It’s a great way to commemorate 100 years of Cornwall Park District School, so make sure you get your orders in to avoid disappointment!

 

The board met this week to begin a really important process – Hautū – which is designed to assess our level of readiness and responsiveness to our Treaty of Waitangi obligations, our adherence to Ka Hikitia (the government’s Māori Education strategy), and the completeness of our school’s Māori Success Plan. This process will continue for a number of months, and we are welcoming feedback and engagement from the school community on where you think we are doing well and could do better in these areas. Please drop me a note if you are keen to engage in this process.

 

We’ve had a visit from our Ministry of Education property advisor earlier this week to inspect our recent construction projects which utilised special funding from the Government. We were delighted to hear that CPDS is one of the best kept and maintained schools that they’ve visited, and our projects were one of the best uses of the School Investment Package (SIP) funding they had seen. All of this is a direct result of the clarity of our property vision, Janine and the Leadership Team’s hard work and creativity, and the tireless efforts of Shane Moser and Michael Hereora in keeping our school environment the best it can possibly be. Stunning work, and something for us all to be proud of.

 

The Board has agreed to open up two additional positions to serve as a Trustee of the school for a fixed term period of three years. This will help us ensure better continuity of membership and a smoother transition between different boards for our School Leadership Team. We’re interested in hearing expressions of interest from all areas of our school community, and appointments will be made by selection following interview and assessment of skills. If you feel like you have what it takes to be a Trustee, then please email Janet Glover with your expression of interest and a short overview of your skills and the areas you feel you could add value to the Board by May 3^rd 2021.

 

Finally, I’d like to formally thank outgoing Board member George Tan for his services and contribution to the Board during his 15 month term. Thanks George – we’ve really appreciated your expertise and support.

We’re all due a break, and some quality time with our whānau. Enjoy the holidays, and please stay safe. See you back on the 3^rd May. Ka kite anō.