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TERM1, 2009 |
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Hi folks
IQuicker than a flash, Term One comes and goes and you will have
moved all your children at least one sub-level in writing and 2
stanines in everything else……yeah right, we can all
dream! You’ve also run swimming and athletics sports, got
the guitar and recorder groups going, worked on some high-level
professional development, analysed your 2008 achievement data, written
your charter and fielded all the anxious parents who just know that
you don’t understand their child and have separated him/her
from his/her friends…..how cruel!
Roll on Easter, I say!
BIENNIEL MEETING
If you’ve only just heard about it you’ve missed it!
We had a really interesting session with Graeme Stoop from ERO,
very topical with the newly announced review schedule variations.
I’ll whistle out the minutes of the meeting to you all which
has the Qs and As I had time to write down.
We have a new President: Jan Win, with Pieter Braun stepping down
from the Senior Vice-President role and Mike McGimpsey moving to
this position. Sandy McCallum comes on as Junior Vice-President,
Dennis Thompson remains as Treasurer and you’re stuck with
me as Secretary for a further two years.
WRPPA CONFERENCE 2009
Please grab your new diary, if you haven’t already, and write
in 29/30 October. Angela Ryan and her team are well underway with
the planning and speakers approached are signing up very positively.
CLUSTER GRANT APPLICATION
John Young from St Joe’s in Upper Hutt has pulled together
a group of schools that have high numbers of refugee children and
a sortee to the Mangere Refugee Centre is imminent. We look forward
to hearing about this later in the year.
WRPPA/FURNWARE LEADERSHIP AWARD
A good number of applications was received and the panel of Jan
Win, Marion Fitchett, Barbara Hay, Tim Curtis (Furnware) and Angela
Ryan interviewed a shortlist of three. The recipient has been chosen
and the announcement will be made at Term Two WRPPA meeting. This
is a very exciting project which I am sure will be of great interest
to the region’s schools.
TROOP MOVEMENTS
Welcome Suzanne Begovich to Trentham School.
Farewell to Robyn Rawles from Natone Park School and Pat Mazur from
St Pat’s Kilbirnie.
Do let me know of any movements in your cluster so we can acknowledge
newbies to the area and those who have decided it is time for a
change.
MALACHI PANCOAST SEMINAR
There was much interest expressed in this seminar and, as a consequence,
will go ahead on 24 & 27 July. We will keep you informed as
to enrolment dates etc. If you were a school who expressed interest,
now is the time to contact Angela Ryan at Mana and enrol. The flier
was sent out via e-mail a couple of weeks ago. Didn’t receive
it? Contact Angela direct.
SUBSCRIPTIONS
The subs for 2009 and 2010 have been set at $60 per school. Your
subs invoice has been sent out separately in the fond hope that
it will be given to your bursar for payment rather than getting
lost on your desk! For those schools who we believe didn’t
pay subs last year and have also received a final reminder, please
check your records and let us know if we have made an oops ( in
which case we will grovel and apologise) or pay this sub also if
you intend to stay on as a member of the association. Please remember
the benefits of membership – collegiality in a challenging
work environment, the e-mail network, opportunities to apply for
cluster grants and leadership awards, a local high-calibre conference,
free lunches at meetings….the list is endless!! Please contact
Dennis at Lyall Bay with any subs issues.
NZEI PRINCIPALS’ COUNCIL
Janice Shramka reports we are now in very interesting times with
the change of government and collegiality will become ever more
vital to hang on to. Speculation and rumours abound! WRPPA will
try to keep abreast of the changes and alert you to landmines as
much as possible.
VUW VISITING PRINCIPAL
If you are in need of some friendly advice or a listening ear, Neil
Worboys is your man until the end of Term Two. Neil is also heavily
involved ion the Aspiring Principals programme which started recently,
involving around 20 primary and secondary teachers. This may be
the last Visiting Principal for a while as funding from Term 3 does
not appear to exist.
SCHOOL OPENING HOURS
I have been trying to negotiate a change of opening hours with the
minister to no avail, so am currently coming up with Plan C to get
to even meet Anne Tolley, let alone convince her that a variation
is a good idea. This is within her power to do at the stroke of
a pen and I am somewhat frustrated by her lack of preparedness to
even discuss the concept. I am going to send out a quick response
e-mail shortly, asking you what you would like to do if you were
given the opportunity and the reasons why. I would very much appreciate
responses to this because I haven’t quite given up yet and
am looking for the educationalist viewpoint, not just 2 hours before
and after midday to ensure children are home for the milking (the
reason for the timing in the 1950s!)
Right! Dinner beckons. Have a great holiday break one and all.
Eat far too many Easter eggs and hot cross buns and drink far too
much red wine!
Cheers
Barbara
p.s. Next meeting date will be announced early in new term as we
understand the date we had set on Wednesday 3 June clashes with
a New Standards seminar………Wednesday 10 June looking
a possibility. Will confirm via e-mail.
p.p.s. If you haven’t been getting e-mails I don’t
have your correct e-mail address. E-mail to let me know and I’ll
do something about it.
I didn’t like school. They never gave me the present. They
said they’d give me a present. They said, “You’re
Laurie Lee, aren’t you? Well, you just sit there for the present.”
I sat there all day but I never got it. I ain’t going back
there again!”
Laurie Lee
I was watching Peter Pan with my 6-year-old
daughter and she said,
“Daddy, how does Captain Hook
wipe his bottom?”
I just said, “Smee does it.”
Bob Saget
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