Board of Trustees Term 4 Newsletter 2017

Kia ora koutou katoa

We have made it to the end of another year, and what a fantastic year it has been. Students and teachers have all worked so hard and achieved some great things. And what an amazing way to end the year with the outstanding school production last Wednesday night. I think you will all agree we have a bunch of very talented students who we are all very proud of.

Thank you

The Board want to extend a huge thank you to all the wonderful Ridgway teaching and admin staff. You have all contributed so much during the year and consistently go above and beyond for our students. We hope you all enjoy what is a well-deserved break over the summer.
To our staff who are leaving us this year – Kim Nolan, Peggy Bruce and Gill Hill - Thank you so much for everything you have contributed to the school, we are all incredibly grateful. You are all going to be missed by our students and community, but we wish you all the very best for the future.

Thanks also to Rachel Young who has recently resigned from her position as a parent trustee on the school’s trust board. If you are interested in being part of the Board then please contact the Board at ridgwaybot@gmail.com.

Budget Update

The school and community over the last few years have raised money and sought funding to refurbish and upgrade our school buildings. Unfortunately, there have been a number of challenges in getting approval for the new building project due to changing priorities for the Ministry of Education and finding affordable and timely contractors to undertake the work required. As a consequence, the Board refocused its priorities during 2017 and approved funding for a number of acquisitions and improvements to benefit Ridgway students and the wider community. These include:
• Sandpit upgrade - planning work has been completed and the work is expected to begin in the new year
• Bikes in School track around the sports field - the contractor has been appointed and the track is scheduled to be completed during the first term
• Safer fencing for the zig zag track to the sports field
• Class storage cabinets and book shelves
• Several large screen televisions for classrooms
• Chromebooks and iMac computers
• Refurbishment of the staff toilets and medical room
• New furniture and phone system for office

These purchases are not only going to make significant improvements to our teaching and learning environment but also to the community as a whole.

School Mural

The Board of Trustees are looking for an artist in our community who would be able to design a large mural or murals for our school. We have not decided where these murals would be situated but are very keen to make contact with an artist who could take on this task. We are looking for someone that would be able to work with our children and involve them someway in the process. Please contact the BOT at ridgwaybot@gmail.com if you know anyone who can help us with this.

Sandpit

Everything is finally coming together for the build of the new sandpit. By the end of the school holidays building should have begun. This may mean that we will have a few weeks of building going on during the first term. This build is not expected to be a lengthy job and the BOT is conscious that we need the sandpit upgrade in place as soon as possible. We would like to thank our community in advance for their patience as we lead up to the completion of this project.

Changes in Education

You will have seen the recent news that the Government will be removing National Standards from next year. There has been much discussion around the effectiveness of this format of reporting over the past few years. Rest assured that the school will continue to assess, and monitor students’ progress and communicate this to whanau. Although, overall, Ridgway students have continued to achieve results above the national standards for reading, writing and maths, the Board will continue to work with the Principal to help students reach their full potential.

The board will be present at the Forward to Learning event to meet parents and listen to feedback (Wednesday 31 January, 5pm, Vogelmorn Hall). This will be an excellent opportunity to hear international speaker Mark Osborne’s address on key trends impacting on education and how schools are responding to these trends by adopting innovative approaches for student’s learning.

On a final note the board would like to thank you for all your support during the school year. We wish all Ridgway whanau a safe and happy festive season and look forward to seeing our students in the new year!

Meri Kirihimete me nga mihi nui o te tau hou!


Ridgway School