Update 15 July

He mihi nui ki a koutou katoa.

We have made it to the end of a long and eventful term. At least the weather has played its part for us lately; having sunny days at least means that our childrn have been able to get on to the grass and enjoy participating in sport each Thursday afternoon.

Whilst we have had difficult time I have been amazed by the generosity of so many people and organisations who have contacted our school wanting to help us.

GUMBOOTS

Today every child in the school has been given a pair of gumboots. They are theirs to keep and we hope that this initiative will help to preserve their other footwear and enable them to get out and about in our new, muddy and often water logged environment. Our sincere thanks to those who have made this possible. We have had a number of smaller sponsors but I have to mention Kris Webster of Sandford Industries who have provided the gumboots at cost, and Steve Armstrong (one of our Freeville parents) whose company Total Plastering Solutions donated $1100 towards the cost of the gumboots. If you are looking for a plastering company, look no further. Stick it on the fridge.

JUST AMAZING

Yesterday I received an email from Lisa Henderson who is a Board of Trustees member and PTA member at Ngaio School in Wellington.

They decided that they would donate 75% of their school fair profits to Christchurch, and they have donated $25000.00 (yes, that is the correct number of zeroes) to Freeville School.

We are just amazed and humbled by the generosity that the Ngaio School community is showing towards us. We are well on the way to purchasing our school vans.

This morning I received a phone call from Karen Fulton. Karen lives in Hope just out of Nelson and is a cyclist and fitness instructor. Karen ran a spin class to raise funds for our school and believes that she has raised around $900. For more information and to see some photos of this event go to http://www.shuttersport.co.nz/a-spin-charity

We are so thankful to Karen for her initiative and thoughtfulness. The money that Karen and her clients have raised will go towards sports equipment for our children.

Property

At our Project Team meeting today it was confirmed that three more relocatables have been allocated to our school. We hope that these will all be on site by the end of the holidays and in use by about week 4. This will enable R3&4 to move out of the hall, and enable us to get our teaching resources out of the containers.

It is likely that we will set the library up at the back of the hall as the shelving is already there. The hall will be available for assemblies again (yay!) and classes will be able to book a library time!

This is great news for our school and it is a really good sign that the Ministry of Education is continuing to invest in our school.

Ngā mihi ki a koutou katoa. Kia pai o koutou wā whakatā.

Have a great holiday break.

John

Update 9 July - Good News

Kia ora koutou

It has been a great week this week.

It was really good to have our whole school together on Monday for our "Coats for Kids" thank you assembly. On Tuesday we were able to give out the thermals that were very generously donated by Vulcan Steel. On Friday we had another meeting with our Project Team and received more good news from the Ministry of Education.

The Ministry has agreed that we will be given three more relocatable classrooms. Two will be for our Year 5 & 6 classes who are currently housed in the hall, and the third will be for storage of library books and resources. We will need to think about how this space can be best utilised but I think that the provision of three more classrooms is a very positive piece of news for our school.

I am aware that there are a number of rumours circulating about which schools will stay, which will shift, which will merge and which will close.

Nothing has been decided.

I can tell you that:

1. At this point no school, regardless of where they are located is in a better or worse position than anybody else. I am sure that the Ministry's focus will be wide, not focussed on a small number of schools.
2. Any decisions will not be made for a while yet.
3. Ministry officials consistently speak of the high esteem in which Freeville School is held within the Ministry of Education. They do not want to lose the characteristics that make Freeville special; our caring approach, excellent academic results, quality teaching and the community support that distinguishes Freeville from other schools.
4. The Ministry of Education would not be giving us more classrooms if it was all doom and gloom for Freeville School.
5. You should tell anyone who says that they know what is going to happen to go and buy a Lotto ticket because they are obviously gifted with an extraordinary ability to look into the future in a way that most mortals can only envy.

I noted in the Press today that Shirley Boys' and Avonside Girls' will both be back on their sites for at least two years. This is good news for the families of our Year 8's as they can now look forward to the start of 2012 and their Year 9 with some certainty. My best wishes also to the principals and staff of those schools. I am sure they will be relieved to have a pathway in front of them after a time of great uncertainty.

We will be starting to contact the parents of our Year 6 students this week so that we can have a chat about Year 7 & 8 at Freeville during the first weeks of next term. We look forward to catching up and talking to those parents about the fantastic programmes that are provided for our senior students. We are very proud of the quality teaching and excellent opportunities that all our Year 7 & 8 students receive.

Nga mihi, keep safe and warm.

John

Red Cross Grants - Don't be shy

Kia ora koutou

The Red Cross Grants Processing Team would like to notify you of a new grant that was launched on the 1st July; the Winter Assistance for School Aged Children Grant.

The aim of this grant is to assist people with school aged children aged 5 to 18 years who are living in their significantly damaged homes caused by either September, February or June earthquakes. The significant damage must include serious compromise to the insulation of the home or significant damage to the main heating source. This grant assists households with their electricity bills over the winter months. This grant is for $400 in total and will be made up of three monthly payments, the first payment will be $200 and the subsequent ones for $100 each which will be paid directly to their electricity retailer.

For the most up to date information on our grants visit the grants website http://www.redcrosseqgrants.org.nz/Overview/Information/Available-Grants.htm or call the grant line on 0800 754 726.

If you are unable to print the grant forms we can print them for you at the school office.

Keep safe and warm

John

Coats for Kids Assembly

He mihi matakuikui ki a koutou. (A joyous greeting to you all)

We had a great day yesterday and really enjoyed being able to gather together as a whole school for our 'Coats for Kids' thank you assembly.

We are so grateful to the friends of Freeville School who worked together with us to make this initiative successful. In particular our thanks goes to Kate Twigg, our friends at Macpac, Todd and Pam from King's Swim School, Duncan Clarke from Cafe Roma who helped with accessing publicity and sponsors, and all the individuals, schools, and groups who contributed towards the sponsorship costs.

Our quote of the day comes from a conversation between Pierre from Macpac and one of our children who when asked if he liked the jacket responded, "It's like wearing a hug."

Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi. Engari he toa takitini. (Success is not the work of one, but the work of many.)

Nga mihi ki a koutou katoa.

John

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