Tēnā koutou Ridgway School whanau

The year is certainly moving quickly, with us now at the end of Term 2. Ridgway Children have had a fantastic term with many group and individual achievements. This is the second of our term Board of Trustees updates. Please remember if there is anything specific you would like to see covered in these updates please contact us on ridgwaybot@gmail.com

Playground Repairs

As Kathryn mentioned in the latest school newsletter, repairs are to be undertaken on the playground as part of an on-going maintenance programme. We have deliberately timed this for the holiday break to minimise the time the children can’t use the playground. We hope these repairs won’t take too long, however, we have been advised that some equipment needs to be sent to Auckland to replace parts. We hope that the playground will be back up and running in the first couple of weeks of Term 3.

Building renovation project

As you will all be aware, the renovations around the school have been a hot topic for some time now. Ongoing delays to our property development are due to the heavy demand on the Ministry of Education (MoE) property fund from leaky buildings, population growth in Auckland and earthquake rebuilding in Christchurch.

We have recently appointed Monastra QS as our new property consultants and they are currently developing our 10 year property plan - now a requirement by the MoE. The first step in developing this plan is surveying the school and doing an audit on all services (eg: electrical, plumbing). Once our property plan is approved, our refurbishment work can resume.

It is important to note that in 2013 the MoE took over the management of our property development due to the extensive amount of work that was required. However, in 2017 they reversed this decision and handed back to the responsibility back to the school.

Sandpit Shelter Project

We have had several meetings with our architect since our last update and are pushing along with the final development of our concept plans. This phase has seen these plans simplified and further adjusted to suit the site.

By going through a process of simplifying the Sandpit Shelter design, we hope to reduce the cost of the project whilst retaining the ideas of the initial design concept.

It is now a matter of finalising our plans, then going through the various applications for consents to get things moving.

We hope to share these plans with you in the near future. We are still on track to build over the Christmas school holidays.

Shade Structure Project

Since our last update we have been busy locating our boundary along Mornington Road (between the gate up to and just past the sandpit area). During this search we have discovered our fence is sitting outside of our actual land area. To move this project forward we need to establish by survey, where the exact boundary is along this northwest side of the school.

It is possible that we may need resource consent to build in this area if it is on road reserve.

The concept plans for the Shade Structure are in further development so that the design is complementary to the Sandpit Shelter. We do expect to be on track to build the Shade Structure over the Christmas school holidays.

The Board of Trustees would like to thank Fiona Christie and Ben Zwartz (Ridgway parents) who are giving us their professional advice for this project. This project is being made possible from the funds raised from the very successful Move-a-thon held last term, so thank you to everyone who supported the fundraiser, and especially huge thanks to the fundraising committee of Anna Hoffmann, Bex Lintott, Liz Bowen and Sarah Gray.

Long-term Plan

A key task for the board is the development of the Long-Term Plan for Ridgway School. This sets the direction for the school over the next ten years in terms of the type of education and environment we want to create and what we need to implement now to achieve this. It will take into account changes in education and technology, as well as what students will need to achieve in the future. An important aspect will be gaining community input into this plan. The board intend to undertake a consultation process later in the year regarding this plan.

Staff Appointments

The Board is looking forward to welcoming Libby Hainsworth and Pam Clark to the Ridgway teaching staff in Term 3. They bring with them a wealth of experience and expertise to the school. The Board would like to extend a huge thank you to Ken O’Sullivan, Peggy Bruce and Gretel Standage who have been outstanding relievers for Whānau Tūi and Whānau Kākā over Term 2. They have contributed so much to our children and been so much more than just relievers. We are still likely to see them around the school providing classroom release and filling in when teachers are sick.

Bikes in Schools project

We mentioned in the last newsletter that the school has committed to support the Bikes in School project. The project includes a looped riding track, a pump track and a skills track, purchasing 50 bikes for use by Ridgway students and a helmet for each student.

An essential part of the project is having a secure place to store the bikes. The Council have recently agreed that the shed on the field can be used for this purpose. This is a significant achievement for the project.

The next stage will be applying to funding bodies for the remaining funds. It is still anticipated that work will start on the track before the end of the year.

You are welcome to come to board meetings to speak to the board on a particular topic, but please let us know in advance so we can allocate time at the beginning of the meeting.

Please also let us know the type of updates you would like from the board.

Wishing you all a safe and happy school holidays

Ridgway School Board of Trustees