A Word from the Board
| Term 2 - 2010 | May |
| Term 1 - 2010 | March |
| Term 4 - 2009 | |
| Term 3 - 2009 |
August September |
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Term 2 - 2009 |
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Term 1 - 2009 |
TERM 2 2010 - MAY
This is one of those hello and goodbye newsletters!
By the time you read this the new Board would have been elected and a new phase in the life of Cambridge High School begins. I and Janette Mannell are stepping down after 6½ years on the Community Reference group and then the Board of Trustees. 2 of that original group of 5 are standing again Helen Van Der Valk and Val Maisey. I wish them and the other 6 applicants for the board positions all the best.
It has been a journey full of speed bumps at times, but we have found the newly paved motorway and the school is off. That is not to say that the Cruise Control can be plugged in as we have to continue to challenge ourselves and our students. We are in an excellent position academically, we are well above the National average for Decile 9 schools and have achieved better results than most of our more esteemed neighbors - an amazing result. This is due not just to our students but also the staff and you the parents, as I have said at many a prizegiving it is the community that makes the difference.
It brings a smile to my face to see the new gymnasium in use till late at night, and seating for the supporters. This complex is the envy of our neighbors. 2 new classrooms are also in use at the back of the gymnasium these have also been cunningly designed as a sports pavilion. New computers and data projectors in all classrooms and the new Tech block in its final stages of planning. A student support center helping our students achieve to their best ability that is what we want for our students and even Marty and Neil (our Groundskeepers) are getting a new workshop and office space behind the barn.
We are still losing about 30 students a year at the Year 9 level to other schools. All parents have choice, but is the grass really all that greener on the other side when you consider all the issues. I would suggest not. It is also extremely disappointing that other schools will poach our students for sporting or academic prowess, it galls all the more that these students leave after the school has put a number of years of development into them.
But that is what we as a school that excels needs to compete against, we have to continue to offer our students the best we can in all facets of their education. We are a school that is there for all our students not just the elite few.
So I wish you and all of the school community the best. Many thanks for all your support, your late night phone calls, your broadsides at meetings and sports events. I have treasured your input and enjoyed the challenge. We have stood up and delivered on the school motto. “Have the strength to do the right thing”.
Mr Greg Liddy
Chairman
TERM 1 2010 - March
A welcome back to the new school year and a special welcome to all our new parents and students.
Cambridge High is again in a great position to build and improve on our performance in previous years. Our NCEA results for last year were above the Decile 9 School average and the National average. Our Merit and Excellence passes though were disappointing and the School will be addressing that issue this year. We as a school community are looking for consistency in results and we are on track to achieve that, this being the second year we have achieved results better than the Decile 9 school average.
Last year we did ask the Ministry of Education for a reassessment of our schools decile rating but we were unsuccessful in this reassessment. We must now accept that we are in the second highest socio-economic bracket as decreed by the Ministry, this directly affects our Ministry funding as it is expected that the parents will be able to contribute more to the school’s well being. The school’s ability to recoup these costs is by way of the school donation. Our donation is set at a level which is the same as similar size schools in the Waikato and we as a Board have chosen not to raise this.
Late last year the Board spent a number of days revisiting the strategic Plan and what we aim to achieve this year at the school. There have been no major changes in our strategic direction. We have added Ecological Sustainability to our Core Values and there is a new subject “Environmental Science” being offered at Level 2 Science in this area.
The Gymnasium is being used by the students and will be open to the community once the Road and Car Parks are complete. We are hoping to have an official opening in Mid April. The Technology Block is in the final design phase and plans are well advanced for it to begin building later this year.
The New Curriculum has been embedded in the school and will be implemented as the school year progresses.
Board of Trustee Elections are due in May this year. If you have any interest in this area please contact one of the Board Members, our details are on the school website.
Again welcome back.
Greg Liddy
Chairman
TERM 3 2009 - AUGUST
Another Term comes to an end and Christmas looms even closer!
It is great to see the walls of the New Gymnasium standing tall, this will be something to celebrate in December, and planning for the new Technical Block is well under way. The Board has finished our Strategic Review and how this will impact on the implementation of the new curriculum, we are planning a Community feedback evening in Term 4 please keep an eye out for the exact date.
BOT Elections
The Board of Trustees elections are due in March 2010, we as a board are looking ahead to these elections as not all of us will be standing again. If you have any interest in Governance and a wish to be involved in your school please read what it is all about on the School Trustees website www.nzsta.co.nz , feel free to get in contact with any of us if you have any questions. Our contact details are on the school website.
Greg Liddy
Chairman
TERM 3 2009 - SEPTEMBER
It is great to see that HUGE building appearing next to the pool, it has been a long time coming but the wait will be worth it. The project is running ahead of schedule mainly due to the good weather and the great team at Stanley Construction and we are aiming for a mid December opening.
The new Technology block is now into the design phase and again we are being held up by the bureaucrats in the education department to confirm extra classroom space in this building.
The Board is planning to have a public consultation evening in November. We have these regularly so we can consult with you the parents, if you are interested in attending please contact any of the Board members or the school. This event will be advertised.
Practice Exams are underway and the real exams will be here before we know it. The school has many processes in place to ensure the students are well prepared but it behoves us as parents to support the school in this regard and also “be on our kids’ cases”. It is a team effort. Our results last year were excellent because of the effort we all put in.
The Board’s congratulations must go to all the winter sports codes. We have excelled in most areas, and “pipped” at the post in others. It is great to see so many of our students involved in sport.
The Board offers their congratulations to Rebecca Yarranton on her election as Student Trustee. The Board thanks Jadin Hooper for all his hard work in the last 12 months. Glenys Bichan is also stepping down from the Board this month. We thank her for her involvement with the school over the last 4 years.
The last term of the year approaches during which we will have some celebrations to come.
Greg Liddy
Chairman
TERM 2 2009 - MAY
As Term 2 rushes to an end, we can look back on a great start to the year. It is particularly pleasing to see our efforts to improve our academic performance showing results. Region wide, the new format which NZQA is using is a much fairer system and has improved our results a little, but even more pleasing is to see our rank against other schools. It is important to remember that NCEA results are only part of the equation but they are a good indicator of how we are going. Thanks must go all the school community for these results as it is not only the Staff and Management team at the school, but parents/caregivers as well. It is a partnership we are in for our students' education and we all have our part to play.
The Community Gymnasium has now finished the Resource Consent process without any issues. It only served to delay the project by 6 months and we are now planning to turn the first sod of earth on the 22nd June. It is sad to see the Community Pool now being put on hold as this facility had huge potential for our community.
The Board of Trustees elections are due in March 2010 and we as a board are looking ahead to these elections as not all of us will be standing again. If you have any interest in Governance and a wish to be involved in your school please read what it is all about on the School Trustees website www.nzsta.co.nz , feel free to get in contact with any of us if you have any questions. Our contact details are on the school website.
Greg Liddy
Chairman
TERM 1 2009 - FEBRUARY
A warm welcome back to returning students and a special welcome to all our new students. That welcome of course also extends to all the families that are associated with the school. We hope you become fully involved in the school during your time with us.
We start the New Year with good results from last year, a growing roll and a government who is undertaking to spend money on education. The new Curriculum and its implementation will be a focus also this year. The Principal will have mentioned in his welcome the building works we are undertaking and the continual frustrations we are having with a lumbering bureaucracy in the building of the Gymnasium. We should not get disillusioned with these delays.
For those new to the school, 3 years ago the Board of Trustees, Senior management team, staff and the community rewrote the Mission statement of the school. This statement encapsulates what we as a school community want to achieve.
Cambridge High School's Mission Statement is
"Excellence and diligence in a supportive community"
Excellence for our students is not merely an academic goal, but we want our students to have the opportunities to become excellent in all the endeavours at Cambridge High School be it, hockey, rowing, drama, chess, the stage challenge, Sir Ed Outdoor Challenge, gaining excellence endorsements, creating masterpieces in the art room, rugby, speech making, inventing machines, pursuing national honours in a chosen sport, creating culinary delights, sitting Scholarship exams, performing music to high standards, whatever the field of endeavour is, we want to strive for excellence.
Diligence follows, for some students national achievements in any field will never be attainable, but all of our students can be diligent, and diligence creates success. If we can together work in partnership to enable our students to have an attitude of determination and diligence, then together we will celebrate success.
Lastly is our "supportive community". Cambridge High School is a community school, and we want as a Board of Trustees to reflect that. We want our students at our school, and it is encouraging for us as a Board to see opportunities for all of our students to attend their local school. This year we welcome more special needs students and we are thrilled that as a schooling community we can cater for our own Cambridge students. A supportive community can take time to build and now with our Student Centre operating, and a stronger pastoral care system for all students in place, we feel we are
well on the way.
A mission statement is not just words, it is something we as a Board of Trustees strive to achieve and we hope
2009 can bring continued delivery to the statement we wrote together as a community 3 years ago.
Greg Liddy
Chairman