Puketaha School eNewsletter

Principal's Message

Dear Families,

The energy is definitely building here at school. Throughout all our environments we have children showcasing learning through the Arts and the chatter it creates is magic.

Our Ropu Puawai Productions are bringing a real buzz of excitement to our senior children and I love seeing the involvement of every child in these performances, no matter how ‘Arty’ each individual is. It is an important reminder of the value of having an inclusive culture.

On Monday we had our first Board of Trustees meeting with our new Trustees. On behalf of our operational team, I would like to welcome our new Trustees and am full of confidence with their ability to continue to govern our school with positive intent and keeping all our children's best interests at the centre of each decision. In addition I would also like to congratulate Phil Webster in being elected our Board Chairperson. Phil is currently the Chief Financial Controller for Prolife Foods NZ and has been on our B.o.T for the past 3 years. He has an excellent understanding of our goals, aspirations and strategic direction moving forward. On a similar note I would like to acknowledge leaving Trustees Ross Moratti and Sean Austin for their service on our Board, Ross for the last 6 years and Sean for the last 3. Your contribution to our community has been significant and with that I thank you. Finally, I would also like to say a special thank you to Ali Grigg for his service to our Board and Chairperson role for the last 6 years. Ali has provided not only myself but our team a tremendous amount of support throughout his tenure and has lead our Board and Community through transformative change during this time, of which not all has been easy. Ali is now a member of the St Paul's Collegiate Board of Trustees, I know they are delighted to have him as part of their team.

Last week I was fortunate enough to travel to Wellington with a group of 30+ Waikato Principals to visit schools in the Wellington area and to meet with education officials and politicians. During our time at parliament, Jamie Strange our local Hamilton East Labour list MP, organised a session with senior education ministers including the Minister of Education - Hon Chris Hipkins, Deputy Minister of Education -Hon Tracey Martin and Minister for Maori Development - Hon Nanaia Mahuta. We were also joined by Jamie Strange and a panel of other MPs including Jo Luxton and Jan Taetti to discuss issues the education sector is facing and policies the government is working on to support schools.

This was a very worthwhile meeting and has given me a sense that the government is wanting to work closely with the education sector to improve outcomes for teachers, students, and the community.

Finally, as this is our last newsletter for the term, I would like to say thank you for a fantastic Term 2. You continue to support us with being able to provide excellent conditions for our children to thrive and enjoy learning. We look forward to welcoming everyone back on Monday 22nd July. Warm Regards Geoff