An update from your School Board
Welcome Back
We hope that everyone has enjoyed some treasured family time in the school holidays. It’s hard to believe that we are already in Term Three. I wanted to start by reflecting on the rich diversity of activities, achievements, and building blocks of learning throughout Term Two.
An enormous amount of planning, time, and collective effort goes into evenings beyond the classroom. Parent information evenings, the Pasifika Fono, and parent/teacher/student interviews are vital components of a learning and sharing school environment. The feedback on these sessions has been overwhelmingly positive and are a credit to all teams involved.
The school is committed to faculty professional learning and development. We continue to work with a maths facilitator to help teachers build knowledge and strategies to grow confidence and expertise in this area. This year the school has received funding to contract a digital technologies facilitator who is working alongside teachers to integrate innovative and creative ways to support and differentiate learning using technologies.
The Mitey Challenge Programme supports children from Years 1-8 to help them build the necessary skills, knowledge, and understanding they need to nurture their own emotional wellbeing and those of others. The programme aligns with the NZ Curriculum and is woven into everyday teaching to spark and stimulate new learning.
We’re excited by the integration of Mitey and its ability to provide tailored strategies that staff, family, and the community, can all use to promote mental health in the school setting. It’s a programme that we can all support.
Speaking of wellbeing in the community, thank you to the hard-working PTA for delivering another fabulous Quiz Night. After a challenging 18 months for everyone, it was great to be able to enjoy another fun school community event. Our annual Matariki celebration was another special way to spend time together and was a great opportunity to see our student councillors, Kapa Haka group, and Choir in action.
The Board has reviewed the current Dogs on School Grounds policy and assessed its alignment with the health and safety requirements for our school. This review process has carefully considered guidelines from Auckland City Council and the New Zealand School Trustees Association (NZSTA). Both organisations recommend that dogs should be prohibited from school grounds. Community consultation and the safety risk to staff students were factored into the assessment.
At our Board meeting, on 24th June 2021, the No Dogs on School grounds policy was ratified to be effective from Monday 9th August 2021.
No Dogs on School Ground Policy
Dogs are not permitted on school grounds at any time. The only exceptions are for guide dogs, dogs being used during education programmes run by the school, or when the principal has given permission. Any stray dog at school will be reported to dog control and taken away so there is no danger to our students.
The School Board has defined school grounds as all areas past the school gates. It is however permitted to bring dogs to the school car parks and near the music room. This decision has been made as the board did not want dogs tied up on fences around Atkinson and Kohu Road. There are many children waiting at the drop-off and pick-up points.
We will review this by the end of the year 2021 to see if this system works.
Parents who bring dogs into the school car park area do so on the understanding that their dog has no issues around children, has never displayed any aggression towards children, and that the owner believes the dog is fully trustworthy in a school environment. The following guidelines below also need to be met.
· All dogs must be on a leash that keeps the dog reasonably close to the adult. The leash must be held by an adult.
· Dogs must not be left unattended.
· If the dog is considered by the council or any other authority to be a breed that needs muzzling, the dog must be muzzled on school property.
· Dog owners should help educate children about how best to approach their dog.
· Owners must remove any mess left by their dog
Just a reminder, that provision is still made for educational activities to be undertaken to further educate children around safe practices when being around dogs. There is also the opportunity for permission to be granted by the Principal, for a special reason to bring a dog onto the school grounds.
We know there is a great variety of opinions regarding this topic, however, under the Health and Safety legislation, we must ensure that safe practices are adhered to through a robust policy.
We look forward to an action-packed Term Three with the school production bound to be a highlight in the coming months.
Yours sincerely,
Karla Brennan
Chairperson
Titirangi School Board