Tēnā koutou katoa
The year is fast drawing to a close, and the examination period for our senior students is nearing it’s end. Sincere thanks to all our staff for the additional support provided to our students in the lead up to exams. At our last board meeting we again looked at detailed achievement data to see how our students were fearing in the lead up to exams. It is so good to know the academic tracking ‘traffic light’ system that management have put in place is functioning well, and staff know what each student requires. This year has also seen the system extended to year 9 and 10 students and this is paying dividends, in that students who may need extra support are identified at the earliest opportunity. We have also been receiving reports at recent board meeting from our staff member in charge of special education needs, and it great to see a range of programmes in place which meet the needs of our diverse learners.
Mr Congdon presented his principal’s report. This is on the agenda of every meeting and is always structured in relation to our annual goals, so that each month when we meet, we can see the progress that is being made in relation to these goals. We always spend time discussing what is working well, and how we might improve areas where there is still more work to do. At the end of the year, and beginning of 2020 when the NCEA results come back we will do a detailed analysis of variance to look at the extent to which we have achieved our goals, and this information is also used to help formulate next year’s annual goals.
Work is beginning on next year’s budget, this involves a great deal of work for our board finance committee (Dylan Kiriona, Bob Slade, Mr Congdon) and in particular for Leanne Phillips (the school’s executive officer). While the finance committee put together a draft budget which reflects the needs, priorities and goals of the board and management, this is discussed by the whole board in our last meetings of the year.
Health and Safety is a regular item on our agenda, and it was good to note at our last board meeting that the management and governance procedures which support this are working well. The Senior Leadership Team have been working on a traumatic incidence plan so that if a traumatic event occurs, actions and lines of support and communication are well established. Parents should also have received a link to a survey on our Health Curriculum, this is something the Board consult on every two years.
We have one final BOT meeting plus and additional budget meeting in December, so I will provide a further update after these to round off the year.
Ngā manaakitanga
Juliana Mansvelt
Board Chair
Horowhenua College Board of Trustees