Our last three years -The Board’s perspective

• The development of the new learning spaces and the music suite, and the refurbishment of our hall;
• The upgrading of the school’s IT network to fibre optic together with wireless access for children and the provision of a laptop computer for every three Year 5 and 6 children;
• The development of the new E-Learning environment for our junior school;
• The painting of the school.

• The development of our charter with it’s long term overview;
• The Foundation Skills Programme which is being implemented in our junior school;
• Our negotiated learner project which allows older students to be actively involved in planning aspects of their own learning;
• Our learning support programme that ensures students needing additional support are being taught by experienced teachers.

In their report the ERO officers made many references to the positive nature of the relationships our staff have with the children, the collegiality that they show each other and their commitment to meeting and extending the children’s learning needs. As a Board we will continue to strive to provide opportunities for our staff to develop their professional skills and knowledge, which not only enhances their skills but also helps attract suitably qualified and experienced people when positions at our school do become available.

During this period we were also involved in extensive negotiations with the Ministry of Education about their proposal to implement an enrolment scheme establishing a school zone for Arahoe. As a Board we have always been opposed to having a zone as it can take away your choice as parents about enrolling your children in our school. The Ministry finally accepted the Board’s position and agreed that no zone was required at this time given we could demonstrate that the school had the facilities to cope with projected student numbers for some years.

As we look ahead over the next five–ten year period the Board is confident that it can continue to maintain the high standards achieved and work with our staff to continually develop our school so that it is a place where our children feel safe, are academically challenged, and have opportunities to develop their many talents and diverse interests. You can read a letter from our Minister below, congratulating the Board and staff on our achievements. Nice to get such positive feed-back.

Yours faithfully

John Woodward
Chairman – Arahoe School Board of Trustees.