Well Being Survey

Ahiahi mārie e hoa mā.

Many thanks to all the 94 families who have returned their Family Well Being Survey. This important information enables us to try to instigate assistance for those who need it and help out where we can.

• Almost 60% of our families have asked for assistance with grocery parcels. We have been organising this in association with the Whakaoranga Trust. In order for the parcels to be provided we have to give the contact details of families who have requested them to the good people at Whakaoranga. It is important that families contact us if they do not want their contact details handed on, or they no longer require a grocery parcel.
• Our thanks to Whakaoranga Trust who donated the chocolate milk and 0800Hungry who donated the mushrooms that we were able to distribute on Friday.
• Thanks to Aranui Primary School we now have a washing machine at school available for parents to use. It should be all up and going by tomorrow lunchtime. If parents need a key so that they can get in to use the washing machine over the holiday period please let us know. It is a resource that is there to be used.

Ngā mihi ki a koutou.

John

Update 8 April

Kia ora koutou katoa

There was another Project Meeting at school yesterday. News from that meeting is as follows:

· The area that had Rooms 5-8 is to be grassed. The work to achieve this has started. It needs to be tidied, levelled and have top soil spread on it before sowing.

· The court area behind Room 16 will be replaced with a new court. We hope that this will happen in the next month.

· The concrete pad at the ball wall is to be removed, hopefully over the weekend, and this area will be sown in grass.

· The area in front of the Learning Studio is to be asphalted. Two low walls with seating will be added in to this area.

· The ceiling panels in the hall are to be repaired.

· We still have no decision on the future of the Library to Room 4.

· The relocatable classrooms are now ready for occupation. Room 6 have already moved in to their new classroom.

Ngā mihi ki a koutou.

John

Update 1 April - Fun Day

He mihi nui ki a koutou katoa.

It is great to see families continuing to return to Freeville and we look forward to catching up with those who are yet to return.

We were treated to a fantastic fun afternoon yesterday thanks to the generosity and organisation of the Youth Alive Trust. The trust which is based at Grace Vineyard Church in New Brighton is running these fun afternoons for many of the schools in our area. It was very well run with a variety of different activities, a sausage sizzle and performances. The smiles on the faces of the children told the story. Our sincere thanks to James and his team.

Buildings Update:

We had another project team meeting yesterday afternoon. The following is the gist of the discussions and an update on what will be happening in the foreseeable future.

From our point of view we put forward our desire to get as much playground area as possible back into use before the onset of winter. To enable this to happen the following will be happening over the next week or so:

1. The demolition site of Rooms 5-8 will be tidied up and the rubble buried. It will then have topsoil put on top and be planted in grass. We will then (Once note 2 and 3 have been done) be able to alter the fence line to give access to the court.
2. The two containers that we need to have regular access to (the shelved one and the one we will use as a PE shed) will be moved to sit back to back parallel to the drain in front of Rooms 3 & 4. We are going to have in interior door put into the resource one so that the heavy doors don't have to be opened and closed every time we need to get some resources out. The other two containers will be moved off the court to sit on the grass by the fence next to the court. The containers are being moved at 9.30am Monday morning.
3. The asphalt on the court will be peeled off as the court is not worth repairing. Base course will be laid and compacted. Children will then be able to use this area. It won't be perfect but it will be usable.
4. The ball wall and concrete pad are will be ripped up and taken away. This will then be grassed.

In regard to other matters:

1. The car park by Steve's shed will be patched and then staff will be able to use it. The entry between the PE shed and the end of Room 4 will remain closed. Only staff will be able to enter through the staff car park as we need to maintain a child free buffer zone at the end of Room 4 and around the boiler room.
2. Rooms 3 & 4, Library etc: Still no word on the future of this block.
3. Portaloos: The MOE want us to keep them all on site in case we lose water again. Steve will purchase padlocks so that they can be locked when not needed.
4. We expect that we will now have access to the relocatables on Tuesday. We are arranging for our whiteboards, screens and projectors from the demo'ed block to be installed.
5. There was a lot of head scratching about what to do with the unfinished area in front of the Learning Studio. We have an issue because the ground has shifted there and we now don't have fall to the drain. Essentially our choices are to grass, basecourse or asphalt this area. Given that the ground is still changing, the whole hard court area needs to be ripped up and repaired, paths redone etc we have decided to base course it rather than go to the expense of asphalting it to then have to rip it up again UNLESS we can get insurance to pay for asphalting. At this point we are waiting to hear back from the insurance assessor.
6. We had a discussion around a timeline for rebuilding. The Ministry is not able to give us one at this point. They anticipate that they will have to work in with CERA (The Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority). It is also clear to me that they intend reviewing the school network in regard to demographics and roll numbers before making any decisions. Our MOE contact is confident that we will be OK and believes that our case is pretty straight forward - we have lost four classrooms (so far), they are insured and need to be replaced. While we would like to get on with planning a rebuild we are not able to do that yet. Patience is a virtue they say.

Have a great weekend.

John

Update 30 March

Ngā mihi ki a koutou.

Things are settling back into a bit of a rhythm at Freeville School as we all get used to our new surroundings. We are glad that families who had shifted away following the 22 February quake are slowly drifting back to the community and back into school. It is great to see those parents and their children back at Freeville. We must thank the schools who have hosted those families for the amazing care that they have shown.

Fun Afternoon: Youth Alive Trust is organising a fun afternoon for our children from 1pm to 3pm tomorrow. Please come along.

Demolition of Rooms 5-8: As you can see by the photo the demolition of Rooms 5 - 8 has been completed. We are still not allowed to use the car park at this end of the school because the boiler room is yet to be deemed safe and there are concerns about the safety of the asphalt itself.

Library to R4 : Still no word on the future of this block.

Water: The supply of water into the school and consequently the flush-ability of our toilets has been more reliable over the past two days. I am hoping that we will be able to get rid of some of the portaloos soon but we probably need to keep a couple in case of an emergency.

Relocatables: We are on target to occupy at the beginning of next week.

Thanks: Our thanks to Diana Kornel who has been giving massages to staff over the last two days. Diana has indicated that she is happy to give a discounted rate to parents who would like one too! If you talk to Jan in the office she can put you in touch with Diana.

Caravans: We are hoping to borrow three caravans so that we have somewhere to hold our PLP Meetings next term. If you know someone who has a caravan that they can lend us for three weeks please let Jan know.

Concerns: If you have any concerns about your child at school please talk to the class teacher sooner rather than later. It is predictable that behavioural issues that may have been present at the beginning of the year, or even earlier in their time at school, may resurface following a traumatic event. We may need to go back to the interventions that modified those behaviours the first time to get them under control again. If your child has ongoing quake related issues and you are concerned about those please talk to your GP. From our perspective at school it is really important that children get plenty of sleep, that they are well hydrated and that we all communicate effectively with each other.

Summerland's School Donation: Our sincere thanks to Summerland's School in West Auckland who had a mufti day and collected $2084. They have donated this money to The Year 8 Wellington trip. What a fantastic gesture.

Kia manawanui e hoa mā.

John

Update 25 March

Kia ora e te whānau.

We have had a great start back to school. This is just an update on where we are at today.

Relocatables: The refit of the relocatables is going very well. Although the two yellow rooms themselves will be ready for Monday, the amount of workmen still working on the other classrooms, and the resulting safety and noise issues they create, mean that we will be looking to occupy at the end of next week, not the beginning of the week as hoped.

More relocatables: We are agitating for two more relocatable classrooms and will be trying for one as a library. We have to keep in mind though that we are very fortunate to have these four. Some schools who had been promised them this week, who have had the ground marked and services identified, have now been told they aren't getting the ones they were promised as Linwood College and Shirley Boys have been prioritised (30 to Linwood College and 28 to Shirley Boys).

Demolition of Rooms 5-8: I hope that this will be completed over the weekend.

Library to R4: Still no word on the future of this block.

Area outside the Learning Studio: This area is going to be asphalted. I can't tell you exactly when yet but as the ad says, "It will happen".

What Now: The Thompson Home School which ran while school was closed will be on What Now over the weekend. Tune in to see some Freeville Flyers on TV.

Drinking Water: The water in the big green tank has been tested and does not need to be boiled. If you know of people in the community who don't have water on please tell them to come down and take some water.

Have a great weekend.

John

Update 24 March

Kia ora e hoa mā.

We had a great start to the day this morning with the arrival of the Classic Hits crew who had lots of goodies and give aways for our children. There was great excitement for all.

We were also excited to see Campbell and Toby in this morning's Press. What a good looking pair!

Where are we at?

Water: Today we have had a reliable water supply to all areas of the school.

Drinking Water: The water in the big green tank has been tested and the results have come back clear. This means that children can now fill their water bottles from the tank. We will not be locking the taps at night so that it can be used by those in our community who need it.

Toilets: The septic tanks are now hooked up to the toilets by Room 17 and the hall. This means that these toilets will be able to be used as long as we have water for flushing.

Relocatable Classrooms: Two classrooms will be ready for Monday and Rooms 5 and 6 will be able to move in.

Demolition of rooms 5-8: The digger will be in over the weekend to take the building down.

Fun Time: The Youth Alive Trust has offered to run a fun afternoon for the children at our school. We hope that this will happen one afternoon next week. I'll let you know when we have a confirmed date.

Ngā mihi ki a koutou katoa.

John

From Liane Dalziel

February 22 Earthquake

For those of you who are new to my mailing list, I have been preparing Earthquake Information Updates since 4th September last year to help constituents understand the impact of the earthquake and the role of the Earthquake Commission (EQC), the insurers and their respective contractors. I have unravelled the mysteries of the range of rules that apply to the EQC payments and highlighted the reality of a legislative framework that is almost two decades old. I have also held information meetings for affected communities and will get them up and running again soon. My aim has been to learn about what are often quite complex issues and translate them into plain language to help people understand what is happening. I was putting the final touches on my 12th Earthquake Information Update when the Feb 22 earthquake struck. I didn’t hear about the devastation in the central city until I was walking home from New Brighton to Bexley (wading through goodness knows what). At a later time I will comment on those who have gone beyond the call of duty in their service to our communities at this time of need. As there are many people who have been seriously affected for the first time, I will be sending them a summary of where we got to before Feb 22. I have also attached the update I was just completing when the earthquake struck. It remains relevant for all the flood management areas, but in terms of immediate needs this is especially so for Brooklands and Spencerville where they were not so hard hit this time and should be able to proceed with their rebuild/repair programme; as is happening in Kaiapoi, which is under the Waimakariri District Council.

What has the February 22 Quake Changed?

The Land: The land damage has been more extensive this time – it has hammered most of the hardest hit suburbs again (Avondale, Bexley, Burwood/Horseshoe Lake, Dallington) and hit parts of other suburbs harder than before (Aranui & Parklands). It is vital that information about the extent of the land damage is shared with the affected communities as soon as it is available. There is a lot of speculation and rumour as a result of ill-considered comment about whether certain areas can or cannot be rebuilt. We will not know the answer to that question until the land reports are updated and options for remediation (land repair) are re-evaluated.

Many constituents have asked why this cannot happen quickly due to all the work that had already been done after the Sept 4 quake. As you can appreciate there has been much more damage this time so not only does the existing affected land need to be assessed again, there are new areas of land damage to assess.

In addition we need to know what the new land levels are, because that is relevant to managing other risks – especially flood risk. You only need to walk down to the Bexley Wetlands or Horseshoe Lake Reserve to see that the land levels have dropped. It is important to know what the new levels are, because that will impact on what the options are for remediating the land for rebuilding. Land levels are measured from the air using technology called LiDAR which stands for Light Detection & Ranging. Obviously the silt has to be removed first because otherwise there would be a risk that the measurements are not accurate.

I will continue to advocate for our right to full transparency so that we know the future of our suburbs as soon as soon as that information is available. Please do not listen to the rumours – check with me first. I am following up issues with the relevant authorities on a daily basis.

Community Meetings

I have been asked when I will be holding community meetings again. As you know Civil Defence/Council are holding meetings on social support (Recovery Assistance Centres), public health and infrastructure, (power, sewerage, water, roads and things like port-a-loo/chemical toilet allocation). Rather than adding another set of speakers to meetings that are already crammed with information, I have decided to maintain my focus on the land, including mitigation of other hazard risks (especially flooding); the proposals for perimeter treatment around the waterways (Stage 2 Report); the roles of the EQC, the insurers and their respective contractors; and last but not least the need for communities to be actively engaged in the recovery process.

Last week Cr Chrissie Williams & I invited community leaders, including resident association representatives, and a range of community organisations, churches and agencies to a meeting in order to start the recovery process in the eastern suburbs. I will provide a specific update on recovery once the new city-wide governance arrangements for recovery have been resolved. There was a major flaw post the Sept 4 quake in that no-one was leading the recovery and there was no recovery plan. This time we must get it right with the community at the heart of the planning process. I will be working in partnership with councillors Chrissie Williams & Glenn Livingstone, as well as your community board, to ensure this happens.

The Buildings: Earthquake Commission (EQC) 0800 DAMAGE www.eqc.govt.nz

The Feb 22 quake is a separate event, which means if you have suffered more damage you must lodge another claim.

Rapid Assessment Project: EQC has commenced a rapid assessment of Christchurch households. These 15-30 minute assessments are placing dwellings into damage categories with the timeframe for when EQC will be coming back for a full assessment. EQC appears to have learned the lesson of the first earthquake, which is that people need timeframes.

Houses with severe structural damage will be revisited for a full assessment within four months. Those needing repairs of more than $100,000 + GST will then be passed on to the homeowner’s insurance company for follow-up.

Houses with minor structural damage will be revisited for a full assessment within four to six months.

Houses with no structural damage will be revisited for a full assessment within six to nine months.

Think of the EQC Rapid Assessment as a triage approach which establishes the level of urgency with which your property needs to be seen – ‘the worst are first’. In a hospital setting a ‘triage’ nurse quickly assesses patients as they come in to ensure that urgent cases are dealt with immediately and less urgent cases can wait without compromising safety.

The Rapid Assessment teams are also identifying the need for emergency repairs – to keep the house secure, sanitary and weather-proof. You can self refer for this service as well - call 0800 DAMAGE to get your EQC Number and then call your local Fletchers hub office to get those repairs done – for Burwood/ Pegasus the number is 3419979.

The main issue that constituents have raised relates to a rapid assessment not picking up the severe structural damage that can only be seen inside the house. I was glad I was home when my house was visited, because my house looks good from the outside, but has obviously sunk when viewed from the inside. If structural damage has been missed please call 0800 DAMAGE and inform the call centre. If you do not get a satisfactory response please let my office know either by email or phone.

lianne.dalziel.mp@parliament.govt.nz

Ph 382 0288