Promising year for Mid Canterbury schools

positive about staffing numbers and the year ahead.

“While it’s always been a challenge to find New Zealand-trained teachers to come here, a number have relocated because family members have been appointed to Ashburton positions,” he said.

Mid Canterbury teachers are looking forward to a post-Covid “normal” year for 2023.

When schools reopen on January 30, they are looking to interact with the community once more, according to Mid Canterbury Principals’ Association president, Brent Gray.

He said teachers are feeling

“Five vacancies at Ashburton Intermediate have been filled because partners have accepted jobs locally.”

Gray estimates up to 40 teaching vacancies throughout Mid Canterbury have been mostly filled because schools “went to market to attract staff” early.

“It’s due to Ashburton’s growth and the family connection with the district,” he said.

A number of schools have new principals starting in the first or second terms with Chertsey, Mayfield and Mount Somers/ Springburn currently advertising for a head teacher.

“This time last year we opened with smaller cells within schools because of Covid,” he said. “Students who had minor truancy issues developed major issues of staying away.”

“We had to engage with them and bring them back. One Year 8 class at Intermediate never had its full quota of 28 students any- time during the year.”

Gray will welcome a completed classroom teaching block which will open at the start of the term.

There is a teaching space for six home-room classes, three at one end and three at the other. Work began on the project at the end of 2020.

Construction has also begun on a new technology block which Gray hopes will be completed by the end of 2022. The total cost of both teaching blocks is $10 million.

This year Ashburton Intermediate will start with 450 students, up 25 on 2022.

Carolyn Clough

28 Young Adults Will Be Awarded Scholarships

Twenty-eight young Mid Canterbury people will be presented with Advance Ashburton scholarships later this month.

The recipients intend to further their lives through study, training or personal development.

They will receive awards ranging from attending a personal development course at Outward Bound to the Frank Crampton agricultural scholarship valued at $20,000 and the $5000 Neil Sinclair Memorial Scholarship.

At the Ashburton Event Centre, they’ll receive their awards from the scholarship donor or their representative and will spend part of the evening with them.

The event will be the first official function attended by recently appointed executive officer, Carolyn Clough, who started her position last week.

“I’m very excited as I know every recipient and have taught many of them in my previous position as head of junior school at Ashburton College,” she said.

Previous recipients include Dr Isobel Ferguson who used her funding to complete a research study, through the emergency department at Ashburton Hospital, on youth self-harm.