Dear Parents, Caregiver and Children,

On Monday we had our first Board of Trustees meeting for the year. At this meeting many annual decisions are made. These decisions centre around the strategic direction of our school and the deliberate acts we aim to take in order to achieve our priorities and goals. It is a reflective session and one that as Principal I enjoy being a part of. In addition we presented our Analysis of Variance for 2019 and it is with pride that as a school we are able to report back to our B.o.T and the Ministry favourably with how we have worked towards and achieved / made progress towards our goals and priorities. 

What I take comfort from is knowing that across our school from Years 0 -8, our children and community continue to receive an excellent education and that Puketaha School continues to be in an excellent position to cater to the many learning needs, interests and strengths of our children.

Furthermore at this meeting we elect our Board Chairperson for the year and I am delighted to inform you that the board have unanimously re-elected Phil Webster as our Board Chair. Phil and I, along with our B.o.T have an excellent working relationship and again it is nice to celebrate that our school has a very competent governance team. 

On Tuesday our PTA held their AGM. At this AGM Diane Gordon stepped down as Chairperson and we welcome Rachele Dinsdale as our new PTA Chairperson. I would like to take this time to thank Diane for her efforts and commitment to our school over the past 10 years. Diane has been at the heart of the many contributions our PTA have made and while we hope she will remain around the table, she will be greatly missed in this role. 

Next week I travel to the Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuit Centre with our Year 7 and 8's for their biennial camp. This is our second time attending this camp and it is a real highlight within the Year 7 and 8 learning programme. Camps provide such a great context for children to learn and grow as people. I look forward to reporting back in a couple of weeks.

Finally, I would once again like to extend our open door policy to all. If there are any concerns, issues, or celebrations please feel free to touch base and chat. 

Warm regards

Geoff