Summary Information from BOT Meeting 26 February 2014

Present: All Board members were present.

Resignation: Board member Steve Dunbar has resigned from the Board. He has made the decision to focus more on his career as well as on finding a bit more balance in his life. Steve said that being on this Board was very interesting and he reiterated that he feels that together the Board made consistently good decisions. Lesley said that she will personally miss the perspective that Steve brings because it made her really examine her own thinking. The Board said it completely understood the decision that Steve had made.

The Board thanked Steve for his significant contribution, reiterated that he will be missed and wished him a very happy and successful 2014.

Board of Trustees Casual Vacancy: Given that it is over 2 years to the next Board elections, it was agreed to run a bi-election for one new trustee to replace Steve Dunbar. Gail will be Returning Officer.

Student Achievement: The Board received the three reports regarding student achievement:

i.                     End of Year Literacy Achievement 2013

ii.                   End of Year Mathematics Achievement 2013

iii.                  Analysis of Variance of Annually Updated Goal for 2013

In general, the analysis of student achievement data, showed a significant increase in the number of students achieving “above” in reading, writing and maths (10 – 16% of students). Overall, the number of students achieving “at” or “above” increased slightly in mathematics, stayed the same in writing and decreased slightly in reading. The biggest concern is the significant difference between boys’ achievement and girls’ achievement – particularly in writing.

Annually Updated Student Achievement Goal 2014: with 83% of students “at” or “above” in 2013, writing is again the focus of the school’s Annually Updated Goal. Five key achievement goals have been identified for writing:

i.                     To increase the number of students in writing achieving “Above” by a further 10% to 34%

ii.                   To reduce the difference between boys and girls achievement by one third.

iii.                  To reduce the number of students achieving “Below” by 5% (to 88% “At” or “Above”)

iv.                 To increase the consistency of OTJs

v.             To increase achievement in spelling

David, Board Chair, thanked the staff for their analysis and the very comprehensive reporting on student achievement which formed a significant part of the Annual Charter.

Bikes in School: The school has been invited to express an interest to be one of two schools chosen to pilot a Bike-in-Schools programme. This would involve the WCC putting in a cycle track around the school, providing a skill track, providing a pump track, providing a full set of bicycles in a range of sizes appropriate for the school, a storage lock-up to store the bikes, a helmet for every child in the school and cycle training for every child. The Board agreed to support the application and felt that we would have a strong application.

Wetlands and forest area: The Board was pleased with progress made on the Wetlands and supported waiting until May to do the planting with plants provided by the Council.

The Board also supported the Native Area development plans that the council has agreed to help with. Both of these developments will require school community help when it comes to planting.

Schoolgen Application: The Board agreed to pay $3500 for a further 2 kilowatt array of solar panels (taking the total to 4kw). With the 25% gas discount that accompanies this purchase, it is likely that the savings will pay for panels within a year.

Emergency Evacuation Evaluations: The Board reviewed the reports regarding these and was happy with the evaluation which suggested the evacuations were largely successful but some improvements to be made.

Recapitation: The board has decided to reapply for recapitation. It will hold a public meeting to consult with the wider community.

Draft Charter for 2014: This document and was considered by the Board and approved.

Budget for 2014: This is a break-even budget with significant capital item expenditure. Lesley  expected that cash-in-hand will be reduced by $30,000 at year end but that assets will have increased. She also pointed out that there will be less capital item expenditure required over the next couple of years. The school was still spending its start-up funding.

 NEXT MEETING:

Wednesday 2 April, 2014, 5.30p.m.