Sunday, December 20, 2009

O'CONNOR ELECTED CHAIR OF AMESBURY DRIVE SCHOOL BOARD

Rory O'Connor has been unanimously elected as the Chairperson of the Board of Trustees for the new school at Churton Park - currently called Amesbury Drive School.

Mr O'Connor has a wealth of experience in the education sector and is a local resident of the Churton Park community. A former teacher, teacher’s college lecturer, curriculum developer and educational administrator he is very well qualified to provide experienced leadership to the Board’s work programme.

"I am delighted to accept the Board's nomination to be Chairperson and I look forward to working with the other Board members to achieve our goals for the school. We have a lot of work in front of us but we also have a very strong team of Board members and I have every confidence we can deliver the outcomes within the timeframes required" said Mr O'Connor.

The Board has created this blog in order to keep the local community updated as events unfold.

At its second meeting last week the Board met with Wellington City Council officers to discuss the beginning stages of the development of a Project Plan for the new school site. A designation process will need to be completed prior to building commencing. However, it is expected that several work streams can be carried out in parallel in order to stay within the timeframes set down by the Ministry.

"One of the early areas of attention will be to develop the Vision of the new school and to develop a community consultation process to ensure the local community has an opportunity to have input to the Vision" said Mr O'Connor.

The school plans to open in Term 1 of 2012 at the site on Amesbury Drive which was purchased by the Ministry of Education.

At last night's meeting the Board also decided to join the School Trustees Association (STA) which is an organisation set up to help provide advice and resources for school Boards of Trustees.

ENDS
For information:
Rory O'Connor (Chairperson) ph: 04 478 3779

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Establishment Board appointed for Amesbury Drive School, Churton Park

Media Release - 5 November, 2009
Establishment Board appointed for Amesbury Drive School, Churton Park

An establishment board of trustees has been appointed for the new primary school in Churton Park, Wellington, the Acting Regional Manager of the Central South office of the Ministry of Education, Anne Devonshire announced today.

“Population growth in Churton Park has seen the existing school rolls in the area swell, and projections show there will be 600 additional primary aged student places needed by 2021.” Amesbury Drive School will cater for Year 1-6 students.

Members of the Establishment Board for Amesbury Drive School are:

· Roger Ellis
· Rory O’Connor
· Alison Pask
· David Waters
· Wendy Welsh

“These board members were appointed from nominations received by the Ministry. Their combination of experience and skills across a range of areas makes a strong team to complete the tasks that will be required of them,” said Anne Devonshire.

The board will be responsible for appointing a foundation principal, contributing to the design of the school, determining school policy and governance matters as well as ensuring the school meets the needs and aspirations of the local community.

Tricia Chapman has been appointed as a governance facilitator to support the board in its responsibilities. She is an experienced board of trustees’ trainer and has previously been a school board member herself.

The Ministry of Education will be contacting all appointees to arrange the first meeting at which a chairperson for the new board will be elected.

“There are many exciting opportunities ahead for the establishment board and its principal as the school’s vision and philosophy is developed” said Anne Devonshire. “I would like to encourage all members of the community to support the establishment board to ensure the success of Amesbury Drive School,” she said.

Establishment Board holds its inaugural meeting

We held our first meeting on Thursday 26th November and received briefings from Ministry of Education officials (and consultants) on a range of topics - including the resource consent process for school buildings, the need to include learning styles and curriculum into our thinking when it comes to school design and we discussed the land which is to be the site for the new school.

We decided on next meetings and requested more information on some specific issues that immediately arose - including aspects of the resource consent application process, timeframes, developing communication channels and expectations concerning the early childhood centre. We look forward to keeping people informed as we make progress towards the opening of the new school.