• Monday 7th June - Queen's Birthday (no school)
• Thursday 10th June - John Parsons - Cypber Safety Parent Evening, 7:00 - 8:30pm, $10 per person
• Week beginning Monday 21st June - Puanga Week
• Wednesday & Thursday 23rd & 24th June - Whanau Learning Conferences (Please note date change)
  
• Friday 25th June - SPA Disco & Sausage Sizzle
• Saturday 26th June - Matapu SPA Bogan Bingo Night
• Tuesday 29th June - BOT Meeting, 9:10am
• Friday 9th July - End of Term 2

RAISE Goal: I see a problem as a challenge that I can overcome

Te reo phrase of the week: kaua e pēnā (don’t do that)

Kia ora,

We have had another productive week at Matapu School. On Thursday the staff had a visit from Mark at UTB (Using Technology Better). He has been facilitating some professional development around Aumangea Taima with our teachers. He shares valuable insights with us and is helping our staff to use a range of resources to support their fantastic lessons. It has been neat to see the students’ creativity really come to the fore and their ability to solve problems is steadily increasing. We are really looking forward to working more with him as the year progresses.

Illegal Rubbish Dumping

Unfortunately over the past few weeks we have had a large amount of rubbish being dumped beside our school skip bin (as it is locked), which is located near the hall. Someone even dumped a whole trailer load next to it last weekend. This is a pretty low thing to do as ultimately the school is paying to dump their rubbish and as we all know it is not cheap. The only people that you should ever see using our school bin are the students and staff at Matapu School. If you do see anything untoward can you please let us know. The number plate of an offending vehicle would be fantastic, as we can pass that on to the police.

Hawera Schools Consultation

The Ministry of Education has carried out consultation with the community and is now in the process of formally consulting with the Boards of Trustees of local schools. They have sent out a really helpful FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) document that helps whanau understand what the different proposals will look like for their children. Please find this document attached further on in the newsletter.

We are now at the halfway point of the term and it is timely that we have a long weekend for our students to recharge and come back full of energy next Tuesday. I hope you all have a fantastic long weekend and manage to tick off some of those jobs around the house, or catch up with family and friends.

Ngå mihi nui

James Willson

Te amorangi ki mua, te hapai o ki muri

The leader at the front and the workers behind the scenes

This is a reference to Marae protocol where the speakers are at the front of the meeting house and the workers are at the back making sure everything is prepared and that the guests are well looked after. It is important to note that both jobs are equally important, and are like the ying and yang, for without one, everything would fail.

This week for Aumangea Taima we created a visual representation of the story of Mt Taranaki told to us by John Hooker a few weeks ago.

Jake and Nate used the Strawbees to build a model of our Mountain. Toby made Mt Taranaki and Fanthams Peak from Flexo and Molly and Bethan re-created the scene of the battle before Mt Taranaki came to rest in Taranaki with her child. If you don’t know the story, ask your child to share it with you before bed.

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

Mark Joblin Concept & Construction Ltd, Sanfords Rural Carriers, Taranaki By-Products, McDonald Real Estate, Eltham Vet Services, ANZCO, Power Farming, Corrigan Electrical, Matapu Bulk Transport, CRV Ambreed, FMG, Mack Transport, Blastways, Nevada, Ballance, Todd Energy, & BCCL (Burgess Crowley Civil Limited) Carrfields Livestock, Rosemount Charolais - Dairy Bull Specialists, PGG Wrightson Livestock, Jack Gray Ltd, Bruce Parry Livestock, Kelsen's Glass & Glazing, Tommo's Tyres Ltd, Chris Perrett Electrical Solutions, Holdem Contracting Ltd, STE (South Taranaki Electrical), Kaponga Four Square, MG Taranaki.

PLEASE SUPPORT THOSE THAT SUPPORT US

After considering the feedback, the Minister has decided to move to formal consultation on two specific options. Section 209 of the Education and Training Act 2020 requires that the Minister must consult with the board of the schools concerned before changing a Year 1-6 to a Year 1-8 school (under section 194(1), or closing a school (under section 199), or merging a school (under section 206) or establishing a new school (under section 190(1).

The two options are:

Proposal A: Recapitation of 6 contributing primary schools in the area to become full primary schools (Year 1-8), and the closure of Hawera Intermediate School.

The schools that would become Year 1-8 are: Hawera Primary School, Turuturu School, Mokoia School, Normanby School, Ramanui School and Tawhiti School.

Should this option be approved, the primary schools would retain Year 7 students from 2022 and Year 7 and 8 students from 2023. Simultaneously, Hawera Intermediate would have Year 8 students only for 2022 and close at the end of that year. Hawera High School would remain as is.

Proposal B: Primary schools remain as they are (Year 1-6).

Establish a Year 7–13 secondary school under one of the following scenarios:

• Proposal B1

Merge Hawera Intermediate School and Hawera High School to form a Year 7–13 school from the start of 2023 on the Hawera High School site.

OR

• Proposal B2

Close Hawera Intermediate and Hawera High School and open a new Year 7-13 school on the Hawera High School site from the start of 2023.

If it wished, the board could structure this as middle schooling (Year 7-10) and senior schooling (Year 11-13) within one school on a common site.

Close Hawera Intermediate and Hawera High School and open a new Year 7-13 school on the Hawera High School site from the start of 2023.

If it wished, the board could structure this as middle schooling (Year 7-10) and senior schooling (Year 11-13) within one school on a common site.

1. What will happen to the Hawera Intermediate site and buildings if the school closes?

The site and buildings will be available for use while more permanent property solutions are

developed and achieved. This means if Proposal 1 was approved then some buildings could be

relocated on other primary school sites. If Proposal 2 (A or B) were approved then the site and

buildings could be used until other property decisions are made by the Board of the new or merged

Year 7-13 school. Longer term the Ministry will determine what happens with the Hawera

Intermediate site.

2. I am a parent of a Year 6 student. Where will my child be next year?

If Proposal 1 was approved then ideally your child would stay at their current primary school for

Year 7 in 2022. This also requires that the Ministry and Boards can complete the required changes

for 2022. If schools indicate in their submissions that the implementation date needs to be pushed

out to 2023, your child may be in the last year group to attend Hawera Intermediate School.

If Proposal 2 were approved then your child would be eligible to enrol at the new Y7-13 school.

Depending on the decisions of the Year 7-13 Board, they may be at the Hawera High School site or

they may be temporarily at the current Hawera Intermediate site until more permanent property

decisions are made by the establishment board of the new or merged school.

3. Will I have to buy a new uniform? If so which one?

If Proposal 1 was approved then your child would stay at their current primary school and would

stay in their current uniform (if the school has one).

Or if your child was at Hawera Intermediate next year as part of the transition process (because

your current school will not have space for year 7 straight away) then Hawera Intermediate has

confirmed that there will not be the requirement to buy their school uniform for 2022.

If Proposal 2 (A or B) were approved then depending on the decisions of the Year 7-13 Board,

parents would be informed of the uniform requirements. Most boards in this situation have a

phasing in of new uniforms.

4. What transport to school will be available?

The closure of the Intermediate School may result in a change to the transport eligibility zones

(TEZ) for neighbouring schools and/or the new or merged school. If there are changes we will work

with the schools and communities concerned and parents will be notified in a timely way. There may

also be some transitional arrangements.

5. Closure/Merger process

Following the current formal consultation on the proposals, the feedback will be collated, and a

report will be developed for the Minister. It is likely that the Minister will then be in a position to

make a final decision.

Once a final decision is confirmed the changes will be gazetted and the Ministry and boards will

work towards implementation.

If the final decision includes the closure of a school (or both the intermediate and high schools),

then a change manager (or managers) will be appointed by the Minister of Education to support the

board(s) through this process. Staff will continue to be supported through EAP. In a closure, all

positions (including the board) finish on the date of closure.

If the final decision includes the merger of the intermediate and the high school, then the Ministry

will work to appoint the board of the continuing school. This could be one of the current boards with

representatives from both schools, or it may be an appointed board. The board of the continuing

school is the board that determines the policies, practices, staffing etc for the merged school. This

is a complex process and we would estimate it would take most of 2022 to complete ready for

opening in 2023.

If the final decision includes the establishment of a new school then an Establishment Board will be

appointed. The Establishment Board is the board that determines how the school will operate by

year levels and curriculum, policies, practices, staffing etc for the new school. This is a complex

process and we would estimate it would take most of 2022 to complete ready for opening in 2023.

To support the Establishment Board we would provide a Governance Facilitator to guide the Board

in its decision-making.

While the process above is occurring, the high school and intermediate will continue to remain open

and provide education to your children.

6. What funding would be available to support the schools?

When a school closes or merges it generates Education Development Initiative (EDI) funding. In

the case of the Hawera proposals there would be $1,000,000 in EDI funding generated (which is

approximately 2,500 per Year 7 and 8 student). This is based on the 1 March roll of the

Intermediate School as per the EDI policy.

EDI funding is to be used by a school board to support students to transition to their next school and

for projects to raise student achievement.

Joint Schooling Initiative Funding (JSIF) is also generated where there are two or more schools

remaining in the network following the change. In the case of the Hawera proposals there would be

$290,000. JSIF funding is to be used for collaborative projects between two or more schools to

support students.

7. Any information about 7-13 models

Some Year 7-13 schools operate as traditional secondary schools. In more recent years there has

been an interest in middle schooling (Year 7-10) and senior schooling (Year 11-13) and some Year

7-13 schools operate as junior high and senior high schools, with separate programmes, property.

They are still one school with one board and one principal.

If proposal 2 (A or B) was approved, and the board chose to operate as a junior and senior high,

there may be some classes that cut across the junior high – senior high model, such as a immersion

te reo unit in the school. These units usually operate as a whānau group within the school.

8. Keeping teachers currently at the intermediate and high schools.

Should the Minister’s final decision include the closure of the intermediate and/or the high school,

we will work with the teacher unions to consider how best to support staff, and teaching and learning

for students during the transition.

Parents can email enquiries.whanganui@education.govt with any questions.