Parents will note elsewhere in this Newsletter my outline of the industrial action facing the sector over the weeks remaining in this term. Today, in a meeting with the Prime Minister I have heard genuine resolve that the current deadlock will be addressed when the Minister of Education meets the unions in Wellington on Thursday June 6th, and indeed on the news later in the evening we have heard of positive moves and that the PPTA has abandoned the rostering home of Year 10 students on Tuesday next week – June 11th.
One of the questions I am fielding is how we as a school are mitigating against class time being lost. In relation to the extra week of holiday for students, the mitigation is the abandonment of Term 2 examinations and the associated study leave and the abandonment of intermediate school workshops. Combined these win us back 4 teaching days that would previously have been lost to these events.
One of the advantages of the technology wave in schools is that, now, students are connected to their teachers and work programmes 24/7 through Google Classroom. Given this fact, most of our students will have plenty of remote contact with their assessment requirements while out of school. Although not ideal, this does go some way to mitigating the loss of class contact time in this difficult negotiating environment.
I am grateful too for the messages of support from parents at this unsettling time for the profession, and for WSCW in particular as we navigate the challenges of our imminent move into a totally new teaching environment. We have been commended on our clear communication and the care we have taken to inform our parents of events as they unfold. As always, we will try to minimise disruptions, but much of this is now “out of our hands.”
As we approach our annual school ball and the ball season generally, I ask parents to support their children in relation to managing behaviours appropriate for school events. The venue for the Springs ball this year is Eden Park, and the large carparking areas are ideal for easy drop off, and most importantly the collecting of students at the end of the ball at 11.30 pm. I know this year’s ball will be an outstanding event, and one to be proud of…as every Springs ball that I can remember has been.
All the best
Ivan Davis
Principal
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