Update 30 June - Meeting with the Ministry of Education

Kia ora koutou

This afternoon our Board of Trustees had its first meeting with representatives from the Ministry of Education following CERA's land announcements. To cut a long story short there is a long way to go before the Ministry will make any decisions about how education will be provided on the East side of Christchurch. My read of the situation is that:

1. You can feel comfortable that Freeville School will continue to be open for the foreseeable future.
2. Decisions that are made in the future will not take effect for a considerable period of time.
3. The Ministry of Education view us as a high performing school and they value the quality of education and care that we provide.

Tomorrow is roll count day and the Ministry will work out our staffing for 2012 based on the number of children that we have at our school. Despite all that we have been through and the number of children who have moved in and out of the school at various times since February 22nd, we will have 291 children on our roll. This time last year we had 302, so we are pretty close to last year's number; far closer than many other local schools.

While it needs to be confirmed by the Ministry, I feel optimistic that our staffing and our school budget for next year will be reasonably similar to what we have had this year. This is good news for all of us as we can look ahead with some comfort to 2012 knowing that we are in a strong position in comparison with many schools in our area.

So.........

YES - we will be here next year.

YES - tell your friends to enrol their new entrants at our school.

YES - our Year 6 parents can feel comfortable about their children progressing through to Year 7 & 8 at Freeville School.

YES - even if you move out of our zone you can continue to bring your child to Freeville.

If you have any concerns or worries about your child's education and what may or may not happen please make a time to come and see me. I am very happy to talk things through with you.

Kind regards and best wishes.

John

Good News

We are all due for a bit of good news and we got ours today as we were awarded $10 000 in the Palms $100 000 community give away. Our sincere thanks to the Palms, the Breeze and to everyone who went on line and voted for our school. At this stage we plan to put the money towards buying a van so that we can transport our children to access the facilities that we no longer have on this side of town.

Please find below information on funding, projects and other events in our area.

* Variety - The Children's Charity

Variety still has funds available to help children affected by the earthquakes – please visit www.variety.org.nz or call 09 520 4111 to apply for funding for things like warm clothing and bedding for the coming winter, essential childcare items, school fees and uniforms, toys and replacement mobility and medical equipment.

Application forms are attached, and Rochelle Aitken is happy to speak to people about their needs individually. We know that these are exceptional circumstances and that people may not have their usual resources available to them. If they don't have internet etc they are welcome to phone us.

Rochelle Aitken

Finance Manager

Variety - The Children's Charity

DDI: (09) 522 3745 l : Mob: 021 679 323 l fax: (09) 520 1122

* The 2011/12 COGS funding round is now open (closes 27 July)

Please apply early - preferably as soon as possible as Christchurch staff are still working out of temporary offices, so they will have time to ensure your application is complete.

Note: You no longer have to complete a provisional accountability report.

Mandatory supporting documents for the 2011 COGS application are:

· a signed applicant declaration form

· your group's annual financial accounts

· a recent bank statement (within the past two months)

These can be scanned and emailed to Michelle at michelle.oughton@dia.govt.nz

Don't worry if the application documentation states mail your documentation ...

Christchurch will accept scanned and emailed supporting documentation. Please email or

post to arrive within the 10-day time limit following submission of your application.

http://www.cdgo.govt.nz/available-grants/downloads.aspx#ApplicationType_5

* Red Cross Winter Assistance Grants for Under 5's and Over 65's

Winter Assistance Grant for Elderly

This application assists people over 65 years who are living in their significantly damaged homes caused by either the September or February earthquake. This grant assists people with their electricity bills over the months of June, July, August and September. Up to $400 per household paid over four months to assist with electricity bills.

Winter Assistance for Under 5s Grant

This application assists households with vulnerable children under 5 who are living in their significantly damaged homes caused by either the September or February earthquake. This grant assists eligible households with their electricity bills over the months of June, July, August and September. Up to $400 per household paid over four months to assist with electricity bills.

Please note the closing date for these grants has been extended until Wednesday 13th July, 2011. More information on available grants can be found on the below website:

http://www.redcrosseqgrants.org.nz/Overview/Information/Available-Grants.htm

* 48 Hour Design Challenge

The Central City Plan team is running a 48 Hour Design Challenge to provide the design and architecture industry with an opportunity to put their best plans forward for specific parts of the Central City. The Challenge is being held midday, Friday 1 to midday Sunday 3 July 2011 at the School of Landscape Architecture, Lincoln University.

To register a team, please complete this form and email it to: CCP48Game@ccc.govt.nz by midday, Monday 27 June. Before registering please read the Terms and Conditions and Design Brief for the 48 Hour Design Challenge. For further information contact Tessa Smith on 021 777 839 or email CCP48Game@ccc.govt.nz.

* Aranui Food Festival

Coming up is the Aranui Food Festival which is organized and held at Aranui High School on Wednesday 13th July from 4.30-7.30pm. The main act will be the 'Laughing Samoans' at 6.00pm, entry will be by koha.

Cheers

John

Update 23 June

Kia ora e hoa mā

I know that today has been a big day for all of us. Some have been given a clear indication of the choices and opportunities that they have, and some continue to wait for the certainty that they seek.

From a school viewpoint we have:

• 16% of our children living in homes that have been classified as red;
• 20% in orange, and;
• 64% in green.

We don't know exactly what that will mean for our school.

Our Board of Trustees has been invited to a meeting with representatives of the Ministry of Education next Thursday afternoon at 4pm. I have been told that this meeting will be to look at developing a "transition plan". However I have been told that no decision has been made in regard to what we might be transitioning to, and that there are a number of options that need to be discussed and considered.

Please be assured that I will do my best to keep you informed and be transparent.

Remember that there will be free coffee again tomorrow morning. It would be great to see you at school.

Kind regards and best wishes.

John

Update 22 June

Mōrena koutou katoa

We have had a few calls today from parents who had heard on the radio that all schools should be closed following an earthquake in excess of a 5. This is not the case.

We all know that shakes, even of the same magnitude, are not all created equal. A shake of 5.3 outside Halswell will not affect the school in the same way as a 5.3 might if it was centred in Brighton. What we have to do is have a look at the buildings, consider whether we have lost power and services, and look at the effects on children (particularly if it was during the school day) and then make a decision about closing. If we have concerns about the safety of the buildings then we have to keep them closed until they are checked by an engineer.

Please be reassured that if we had any doubts or concerns about safety at all, then we would not allow children or staff to return to school until our school had been completely checked by a qualified expert.

Ngā mihi ki a koutou

John

Grant Available

Variety seeks Christchurch children and families to help

Variety - The Children's Charity has raised more than $164,000 through its Earthquake Appeal to help the children affected by the earthquake in Christchurch.

We are looking to identify families and children that require help. Variety is there for children in all sorts of challenging circumstances and has been working in the Christchurch community for many years supporting sick, disabled and disadvantaged children. Some examples of things that we are funding from our earthquake appeal include replacing mobility and medical equipment for children with special needs, providing toys or equipment for those who suffered great loss, financial help with school or sports fees, or helping children to cope with loss.

If you would like to apply for funding, please download and complete an application form. We realise people may have lost documents in the earthquake, or not be in a position to obtain them, and encourage people in this situation to call us on +64 9 520 4111 to discuss their needs.

Download an application form for individuals

Update 16 June: Back to School

It was great to have our children, community and staff back on site and underway again this morning. I hope that everyone enjoyed a bacon butty and a cup of coffee. It was a nice way to start and a good chance for everyone to have a chat and touch base with each other at this difficult time.

Our thanks to the NZ Police for coming along and helping to cook and make the bacon butties. It was great to have them at school.

Buildings Update: All our classrooms are fine, the hall is fine, as is the playground. It was decided on Friday of last week that the library to Room 4 will be demolished. Our structural engineer has now recommended that the admin and staffroom, while safe to occupy, should be demolished as well.

I'll keep you updated as we progress.

Keep safe and warm.

John

Update 14 June

Kia ora koutou

School is on track to reopen Thursday morning.

The water is back on (at the moment) and most of our power is back on. We have been told that our power should be fully restored tomorrow. Although the water is on children will need to bring their own drinking water on Thursday. We are trying to get some more portaloos on site just in case the water goes off.

Our property project manager visited school today and we expect the engineer to inspect the buildings tomorrow morning. We don't anticipate that this will uncover any major issues as the classrooms and the hall all seem to have come through yesterday's quakes very well.

We have a bit of liquefaction around the area of the netball/basketball court but nothing too major. This area can be cordoned off until a contractor is able to scrape the liquefaction off, so won't be a problem.

If your child has a bag etc left at school (especially one containing wet togs) that you want to collect you will be able to do that between 11am and 12 noon tomorrow.

Keep safe and warm.

John

June 13 - School closed tomorrow

Kia ora koutou

I hope you are all managing OK. I am sure we are all sharing the "over it" feeling this afternoon.

SCHOOL IS CLOSED TOMORROW - JUNE 14.

Tomorrow will be a fact finding mission for us as we see what is happening with power and water.

Once again a huge thank you to you all for responding so quickly after the first shake. Thankfully by the time of the second quake we only had a few children left and we were all outside.

Hats off again to our staff who once again performed superbly well and managed to keep our children calm and reasonably comfortable. They were fantastic once again.

I will keep you updated as information comes to hand.

Keep safe and well.

John

Don't be Shy

Grants available for BNZ Customers

From the BNZ website:

BNZ Markets have up to $15,000 available to give away as community grants to Christchurch based BNZ customers who have been financially affected by the 2011 Christchurch earthquake. The grants are available to families with school-age children to give a hand with expenses that are not already covered by insurance. Expenses may relate to education, sports, health or music – wherever you need help.

The grants are a result of fundraising events held by BNZ Markets in memory of a former colleague, Cayne Dunnett, who suffered a fatal heart-related illness in 2004. BNZ Markets have already donated $3000 to Plunket Canterbury for much needed infant car-seats as part of this series of community grants.

You are welcome to apply for a grant if:

• You are an existing BNZ customer

• You were financially affected by the earthquake

• You are still living in Christchurch or the surrounding area

• And, it is for a specific purpose related to a child or children still in full-time schooling in 2011, up to and including year 13.

How do I apply?

Download an application form PDF 100KB

Postal applications for the BNZ Markets Community Grant should be submitted to:
BNZ Markets Community Fundraising
C/- BNZ Harbour Quays
60 Waterloo Quay
Private Bag 39806
Wellington Mail Centre 5045