SCHOOL OF THE WEEK: Mount Intermediate

The sun is shining, children are playing outside and everything is calm.
Inside the principal's office, it's a different story.
Lisa Morresey apologises for the boxes and papers that have overtaken her space.
There's a pile of papers in the corner, sitting about two feet high, and on her desk are folders, boxes and leaflets.
"It's organised chaos," she tells me.
Mrs Morresey has only been at Mount Maunganui Intermediate School for 14 weeks and is still settling in as the school's new principal. This is her first principal role.
Before this, she was deputy principal at Fairfield Intermediate in Hamilton. She has a strong teaching background and has been a teacher for 17 years.
"It's been really good, quite full-on though," she said.
"I've literally hit the ground running because there's a real expectation from staff and students, who have come to have a sense of urgency and move the school forwards," she said.
"There's a real sense of we're on a journey, there's a feeling of excitement and it's really positive."
It's a new era for Mount Maunganui Intermediate School.
Since her arrival, Mrs Morresey has taken the school under her wing and has set up a plan to transform Mount Maunganui Intermediate into the best intermediate school in the Western Bay.
She's fought hard against previous negatives, outlined in the school's last ERO report.
"The school has a mission statement, vision and values but they're not very specific to Mount kids ... so we're working to change that," she said.
Her plan is to improve the quality of education available to intermediate students in Mount Maunganui and to do this, the children must have access to high-quality facilities and resources, she said.
Which is why the school is about to embark on a million- dollar upgrade that will see every building in the school refurbished and upgraded.
The school already has a pool, a top technology and art department, an astro-turf and computer suite - but this is not enough.
"These kids are 21st-century learners. They're part of a world that's connected and digital," Mrs Morresey said.
"We need to have attractive learning spaces for these kids and we need to provide the best quality environment for the kids that we can.
"I don't care if my office is not flash if the kids have got a quality learning environment, the kids come first," she said.
As well as the complete refurbishment of the classrooms, Mrs Morresey has enforced a change in behaviour, which some students haven't taken a shine too. This included behaviour in the classroom and on the playground and uniform standards.
Mrs Morresey has an open-door policy and welcomes any student into her office. On one occasion, a student told his teacher Mount Maunganui was being turned into a "poofter" school. The student went into the principal's office and told Mrs Morresey his thoughts.
"You're turning this into a poofter school, Miss," the student said.
"Why do you think that?" Mrs Morresey replied.
"Because you can't talk in assembly anymore and you can't fight in the playground," the student said.
"Well if you think that makes it a poofter school then I'm glad to be turning it into one," Mrs Morresey said.
In order for all these changes to happen, the community has had to support the school - and they have, Mrs Morresey said.
This weekend, the school hosted a working bee where students, parents and helpers painted the school fence.
"We have a really active parent support ... they've paid for the paint."
"We've very lucky to have such positive parent support."
The school does not have a zone and will accept any student that wishes to attend.
In 2011 the school roll will drop slightly, as a result of the Papamoa Area Strategy, however Mount Maunganui Intermediate will be staffed at the same levels.
"This means that we will have smaller classes which will enable children to work in a more intimate learning environment with their teachers," Mrs Morresey said.
This included teacher-aides to assist children with special needs or learning disabilities.
Mrs Morresey said students were achieving higher than the national standards but she was hoping to raise these achievement levels.
"We beginning to recognise what we do well and where we can do better."
To be able to do this, Mrs Morresey got feedback from every student at the school as to what they enjoyed about Mount Maunganui Intermediate and what could be improved. She said the response was "really encouraging" and she was looking forward to addressing these concerns.
Intermediate school was a very important time in a child's life, Mrs Morresey said. She said pre-adolescence was a "really exciting time" where kids are growing and developing into who they are.
"If they have high expectations of their learning, it can be a really positive time."
Mrs Morresey is passionate about providing the pupils of Mount Maunganui Intermediate School with the best education possible, so she puts in the hard yards to make it happen.
An average week for her is about 70-hours-plus, which "is hard to sustain" but she manages to do it with the support from her husband and 3-year-old son.
"That's a reality of being a principal," she said.
But the long hours were worth it and Mrs Morresey said she got great pleasure seeing children succeed.
Below is a quote Mrs Morresey said reflected what the school's new approach to learning.
Ours is a time of new beginnings. We have the opportunity to renew and change, to invent and create. More than any of us can do alone this is something that we must plan together. Lawson, Hal (1995)
MOUNT INTERMEDIATE
Where: Lodge Ave, Mount Maunganui
Pupils: 460
Staff: 40
Decile: 5
Principal: Lisa Morresey
Mission statement: We provide quality education that inspires children to succeed.
Website: www.mtint.school.nz