Education year starts with new

There are many new faces in classrooms in Mahurangi schools this year, as well as some new principals.

At Tomarata Primary School, Chris King has replaced Cherylene Neels. King has been teaching for 14 years, mostly in Auckland, but more recently he spent twoand-a-half years as a deputy principal in Invercargill.

King also spent two years working for Massey University as a teacher mentor, travelling across the country to work alongside teachers in their classrooms

Faces At The Blackboards

to help develop child-centred classroom practice.

At Horizon School, at Snells Beach, Tina Utting-Johnson has replaced Helen Pearson. Utting-Johnson has moved north from Christchurch. She was formerly a health and information technology coordinator at a school in Wales before moving to NZ, where her first job was teaching IT at Macleans College.

The following is a look at the year ahead for some of the area’s

Mahurangi College

Principal Tony Giles says the roll of 1500 is broadly similar to last year.

“We have had a flurry of late enrolments in the last week, which may push us a little over this to possibly around 1530,” Giles says.

After the covid years, international students have returned in healthy numbers. There are 38 Korean students here for a short study tour and a large contingent of Argentinian students is due to arrive soon. Their arrival was delayed by the Auckland floods, when some were turned around mid-air. These students will be at the school for the term. Giles says there is also a good number of long-term students from Asia.

Six new staff have joined the school. Caroline Armstrong steps into the deputy principal role, following Christina Merrick’s appointment as principal of Taupaki School. Armstrong was previously the juniors’ Head of Faculty.

“Our focus this year will include literacy, addressing the post-covid slump, with a focus on structured literacy and science of reading approaches. We will be strengthening ties with Ngati Manuhiri, schools: preparing for our new build of 16 classrooms to cater for roll growth, and building on our sporting successes of last year, including the fit out of a fitness studio for students.”

Otamatea High School

Otamatea High School will start the year with 680 students, compared to 570 last year.

There will also be10 new teachers. Principal Dirk Smythe says most of these positions have been in response to roll growth.

Adrian Cooling is a new deputy principal, joining the senior leadership team from Taipa Area School, and Chris Townshend has been promoted internally as the new Head of Science.

Smythe says the school is looking forward to a busy year, starting with the Year 7 and 8 camps at the Otamatea Marae.

“There will also be an athletics day and swimming gala this term, but the very successful Toi Māori festival at the end of the year is perhaps our biggest event,” he says.

The school roll is expected to reach 800 next year.

Snells Beach Primary

Four new classrooms will be built at Snells Beach School later this year, followed by a major hall extension. A further 18 classrooms are planned over the next few years to provide capacity for growth in the area.

Principal Kathryn Ramel says the plans are in the final stages, and the Board of Trustees is pleased that they are in keeping with the current design.

The school is expected to have around 380 students by the end of this year.

“We started with 27 new entrant five year olds, and expect to start another new entrant class by next term,” Ramel says.

“Our junior area is by far the biggest area of our school, with six classes already in Years 1 and 2, and at least one more still to come. A few years ago, one new entrant class would last all year – the growth of young continued page 17

You can be heard on Auckland Council’s annual budget

Aucklanders can make submissions on Auckland Council’s proposed Annual Budget when public consultation opens later this month.

The proposal includes consulting on reduced council spending and a range of other measures, such as increasing rates and the sale of Auckland International Airport Limited shares.

Rodney Local Board Chair Brent Bailey says its important local residents give their opinions, because they help shape the budget, and the board’s response to it.

“It’s common for people to complain about Auckland Council, it’s less common for them to do anything about it. People are never shy to voice their opinions to friends and neighbours on how poor the Council or Board is, but few ever take the chance to make an official submission.

“It seems it’s one thing to tell your colleagues that Council should be investing more in fixing roads or looking after parks, but quite another to actually tell the people who get to decide those things.”

He says its important residents have their say, especially at a time of budget constraint, because without feedback, decision-makers are not as wellinformed as they could be on what residents actually think.

“Budgets are always a balancing act. For every person who says stop spending on this or that, there’s someone else who thinks those areas should be the priority.”

Local boards – there are 21 across the city – have also been asked to find savings.

“We can’t stick our head in the sand and expect everyone else to tighten their belts, yet not be prepared to do the same in Rodney. But we need to know what residents see as the priority and what services they want, or we risk making decisions that don’t align with that.”

Council is facing increased inflation and interest costs. “We need to close a huge budget gap. There are only so many options we can use, and all of them have consequences.”

Some topics have already been agreed for consultation, so that Aucklanders will be able to have their say on a range of options.

The most significant is Mayor Wayne Brown’s call for operational savings, stop some services altogether and reduce local board budgets by 5 percent. The mayor’s proposal outlines changes that would increase rates for the average household by around 4.6 per cent or about $150 a year - $3 a week. It includes a 7 per cent rates increase that is lowered by reducing targeted rates for the environment and water quality.

Consultation will include selling the airport shares for around $1.9billion to repay debt, keeping the shares, or retaining a smaller holding.

Keep an eye on akhaveyoursay.nz/budget for the latest consultation information.

Warkworth Students’ ideas welcomed

Students from Te Kura o Puhinui / Warkworth School helped design a new playground at Shoesmith Reserve.

Concerned about the state of the old playground next to the school, students carried out a school-wide survey about the types of play everyone wanted.

That feedback, along with that of Ngati Manuhiri, was captured in the design brief for a new playground, developed by the Rodney Local Board, that opened last year. A nature theme carries through the playground, with artwork illustrating a story of significance provided by Ngati Manuhiri.

Tāne battles te aitanga pepeke (the insect world) to retrieve three baskets of whatukura (sacred knowledge) from the heavens.

Features include: a wide concrete path for pedestrians, bikes and scooters, a play tower with slides and see-saw, swings, a spinner and rocker, a picnic area with tables, a training circuit with trampolines, a tightrope, a rotating beam, ninja wall, posts and climbing nets.

from page 15 families in the area has been significant and exciting.”

Kyle Port has moved into the second associate principal role, and Sally Jack has taken a role growth position in Year 1. Laura Morley has also moved into a fulltime teaching role.

A Year 5 camp will be held later this term and Year 6 students will head to Tongariro in Term 2.

“We are looking forward to a return to the days when our school community can get involved, such as the student organised mini-gala, our Matariki celebration and Christmas carols at the end of the year.”

Warkworth Primary

Warkworth Primary has started the year with 503 students, compared to 468 last February and a finishing roll of 544 in December. This includes 86 new entrant enrolments this year, compared to 74 last year.

Principal Cynthia Holden says there has been little change in staff.

“We have two new teachers starting this year on account of previous teachers taking up leadership opportunities at other schools,” Holden says.

Some of the highlights in the year ahead include regular excursions locally and further afield in support of curriculum studies, school camps, school productions, interschool sports competitions and many and varied additional events, such as book week and fundraising activities.

Holden says the school has three projects currently in progress, which are due for completion by the end of this term – an outdoor amphitheatre with bleachers and shade canopies, toilet upgrade in the senior hall and the installation of the Learning Support Coordinator (LSC) office.

Matakana School

The starting role at Matakana School was 301, slightly down on last year’s 308. There were 12 new entrants compared to 18 last year.

Principal Darrel Goosen says four new teachers have joined the staff this year following the retirement of one teacher, the decision by two teachers to leave fulltime teaching and one teacher who has taken long service leave for the year.

Goosen says Matakana will have a major focus on structured literacy across the school this year.

“Our teachers have already started undertaking Ministry of Education-funded professional learning and development with Writers Toolbox,” he says.

“We also have an exciting Te Ao Māori programme to look forward to, together with our awesome kapa haka. Our sport specialist classes will again complement the various school and inter-school sports events in 2023. All in all we have a busy but tremendously exciting local curriculum delivery plan.”

Goosen says that about 75 per cent of the school buildings are not weathertight so are undergoing recladding and some structural repairs. The repairs are being funded by the Ministry of Education and will most likely take 18 months to complete.

Tapora

Tapora will start the year with 11 students, slightly down on the 14 students who were at the school at the end of last year.

Principal, teacher and office administrator

Keryl Lee says the roll is expected to return to 14 with the arrival of a new family in Term 2. She says Year 7 and 8 students are involved with the Virtual Learning Network Primary Rural group, which will include meeting the students from other rural remote schools during a week-long camp in Wellington in May.