Board of Trustees Newsletter – Term 1 2019

Welcome to the newsletter from your school board for term one

Your board members have had a busy start to the year, reviewing the school’s goals and target for learning outcomes, as set by Mr Bridgman in partnership with the teaching teams. It has been great to see the goals set by our fantastic principal and his team, as they have defined learning goals for each team.  It has been great to see the new management team set in place by Mr Bridgman settle into their roles so well. We are so lucky to have such a wonderful team of teachers running our school.

Board of Trustees (BOT) Elections

The triennial BOT elections are coming up next term.  Our board is made up of our Principal, a staff representative (elected by the staff), five members elected by the parent community and as a catholic state-integrated school we also have four members who are appointed by the Bishop of the Auckland diocese.  Elections are held for elected members every three years and the Bishop reviews his appointments at the same time.

At the beginning of term 2 we will be calling for nominations for election to the BOT and we encourage anyone who is interested to put their name forward.  You do not need to have any particular experience or qualifications – other than a desire to see our children achieve their potential!

Early next term we will hold an information evening about what is involved in being on a board.  This will also be an opportunity to talk to current board members about what it is like to serve on the board.  More details will be available at the beginning of term 2.  In the meantime, if you have any questions about what it is like being on the school board, get in touch with Cath O’Brien on 021 730 557.

Tomorrow’s Schools Review

You may have seen the news recently that a government taskforce has been reviewing “Tomorrow’s Schools”, which introduced the board of trustees model 30 years ago.  The taskforce’s report makes some very positive recommendations, particularly around equitable funding of schools and improved provision of learning support.  However, we have concerns about some of the recommendations and in particular how they may affect St Joseph’s as a state integrated school.

We made a submission to the taskforce, which is available in the newsletter section of our website.

Hall recladding

Thank you for your patience while the hall undergoes recladding.  This is an essential works project that the diocese has been planning since weathertightness issues were discovered in the hall during construction of the Pompallier Learning Centre.  The diocese has advised us that this work is expected to be completed by the end of term 2 and we will keep you informed if this changes.

In the meantime, we are aware that changes to carparking and to the drop off/pick up area can be frustrating at times so please stay vigilant at all times in the carpark.

Thank you

Our thanks to all of you who work hard to support our school. Term one has seen lots of parents volunteering to manage or coach a sports team, attend a school trip, or help in classrooms. This support really makes a difference to our teaching team, who work so hard for the benefit of our children.

As a board, we are really proud of our school, our principal Mr Bridgman, and our hard working and caring teaching team.  We look forward to term two and beyond.

Best wishes for a happy and peaceful Easter

Anna, Cath, Mons. David, Eric, Gallo, Mark, Natasha, Simon, Tressa, Vanessa and Alister