13 March Update

Kia ora e te whānau

The term is racing by and we are very pleased with the positive start to the school year. We have started with a strong roll and have excellent new entrant numbers coming in over the year.

School Vans

Our school vans are getting plenty of use and are booked up most days. Every Wednesday our seniors use them for their Electives programme which sees them out and about undertaking various activities. On Thursdays our Year 3 & 4's have M.I. Time sessions and they are using the vans to visit libraries, go mountain biking and to visit and retirement homes. The vans are also well used for other school trips and activities. They make accessing facilities and our local environment affordable, and learning more engaging.

Principal's Fellowship

In 2011 I was awarded the Canterbury Primary Principals' Association Fellowship but delayed taking the fellowship due to the impact of the earthquakes. The fellowship grants a sum of money for travel and a term's paid leave to undertake a study tour on a topic of high interest. On April 25th I will be travelling to Alaska and Hawai'i looking at culturally responsive teaching practices. Nicole Cunningham will be joining me on this 3 week trip and I am sure it will prove to be both interesting and enlightening.

While I am away Paul Wilkinson will be Acting Principal, Bernice Swain will be acting team leader of LT4 and Grant Carr will be teaching in LT4 with Bernice. I am sure that Paul will do a fantastic job as acting principal.

Donation

Our thanks to Nelson's Hampden Street School, especially to their school council as they have donated $260 to Freeville School. The money will be used to buy sports equipment and we are very grateful to Principal Don McLean, his staff and school community for their support.

Whānau Hui

It was great to see such an awesome turnout at our first whole school whānau hui of the year. We estimate that over 160 people came along. I hope that we have an equally strong turn out at our next hui!

Thanks

As many of you will be aware we had a difficult situation to deal with recently. We are continually grateful for the fantastic support that we receive from within and outside our school community, and for the continued support from past families. Thank you all for your supportive comments and wishes.

Ngā mihi

John