Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Community consultation evening for new school

Local Churton Park residents showed significant interest in the new Amesbury Drive School last night (24 March) at a community engagement meeting attended by over 20 residents.

The meeting was led by Establishment Board members: Rory O'Connor (Chair), Wendy Welsh, Alison Pask, Roger Ellis and David Waters. They were joined by the Ministry of Education facilitator - Tricia Chapman.

The role of the Establishment Board of Trustees (EBOT) is to ensure the school is ready to open in Term 2012. It is responsible for

  • setting the initial Values and Vision of the new school;
  • appointing the foundation Principal;
  • contributing to the design of the school;
  • determining the school policy and governance matters as well as ensuring the school meets the needs and aspirations of the local community

The core curriculum has been set by the Ministry of Education (following its own consultation proces) and so the Establishment Board is not starting with a "clean sheet" in working out the draft Values & Vision for the school.

The Board is keen to receive feedback from the community on the draft Vision & Values which were distributed at the meeting. Further copies of the draft Vision & Values are available on request from amesburydrive@gmail.com

Board Chairman Rory O'Connor also discussed the draft timeline being followed by the Board. Getting the Vision & Values right was very important. Design of the physical layout will be strongly influenced by the Vision & Values.

The timeline

The approximate timeline, which may be subject to revision, is as follows:

January-March 2010 - Research modern school design, develop draft Values & Vision of school, Visit newly built schools in Auckland & Wellington to gain from their experiences;

April-June 2010 - Start recruitment process for Principal, finalise Values & Vision, contract architect & builder;

September -October 2010 - Appoint Principal.

October-December 2010 - Design

January - December 2011 - Building phase

January-March 2011 - appoint senior management team.

April 2011 - Principal takes up position.

July 2011- senior management team take up positions.

November-December 2011 - ERO readiness audit.

Term 1 2012 - school opens.

mid-2012 - new Board of Trustees elected. Establishment Board ends.

The Establishment Board welcomes comments and questions from the community. Please feel free to either email us at: amesburydrive@gmail.com or share a comment on the blog.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Minutes Secretary Appointed

The Establishment Board recently appointed Jo Dawkins as its Minutes Secretary.

Jo has been a Churton Park resident for 12 years and is married with two adult stepchildren and a child at Churton Park School. She has in excess of 20 years experience at senior executive assistant level having worked in the arts, education, service organisations, the public and private sectors. Before commencing her own business Jo’s last position was Executive Assistant to the Chief Executive of St John. Since 2007 Jo has operated her own business providing administrative, secretarial and minute taking services to a variety of clients nationally and internationally. Jo has an interest in her local community and hopes her skills will support the Establishment Board by relieving some of the administrative tasks involved in minuting its regular meetings.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Community Consultation meeting

Are you interested in education in Churton Park?

Amesbury Drive Primary School will open in Term 1 2012 and the Establishment Board of Trustees is currently seeking community input on the new school’s Vision and Values.

The meeting will be held at 7.30 - 9.00 pm on Wednesday 24 March.

At the Churton Park School Hall, 90 Churton Drive.

All parents and interested residents are invited to hear about the draft Values and Vision and to have their say.

The meeting will conclude with tea and coffee and a chance to chat.

We look forward to hearing from you at the meeting on Wednesday 24 March.