Te Puke High School Board to host community hui

Te Puke High School board, from left, student trustee Te Mote Marsh, Braden Hungerford, Boyd Harris, Chrissi Robinson, Andy Wichers (chairman), Vicki Hiini and Patsy Richardson (staff trustee).

Te Puke High School's Board of Trustees is to host an event to help people understand the role of a school trustee.

With the mid term elections later this year, the board carried out a skills audit to assist in evaluation succession planning.

One of the questions asked was: what are the "must haves" of being a trustee?

The answers included things like commitment, valuing people, diversity, positivity and being part of a team that wants Te Puke High School and the Te Puke area to thrive.

Board members are excited by the great opportunities provided for the students at the high school. A wide and varied curriculum is provided along with numerous extra-curricula activities to help students develop their knowledge, skills and attitudes. The board is committed to delivering excellence for students and the community.

"I don't think the community is fully aware of the vibrant place of learning that Te Puke High School is,'' says board member Boyd Harris.

"We are really proud of the way Te Puke High School supported students' learning at home by lending many school laptops into the local community during lockdown. Our NCEA students are tracking well in spite of the disruption.

''Our recent Year 10 Careers Expo saw 33 local people in business coming along to talk about their career, many of them past students.

''As a board member I have been able to be a key part of our current review of school sport which will be implemented in the very near future.

''We have taken a good look at our te reo Māori immersion pathway and are also seeing some real wins with Pacifika students.

''Also, the mahi in alternative education is going well.

''For me as a parent trustee, it is about engaging with the community and representing their aspirations for the school around the board table, with all of us working together to see students achieve their potential.''

There are 12 schools within the local Te Kahui Ako o Te Puke Community of Learning (COL).

The COL is a collaboration between local schools and early childhood centres to help provide a co-ordinated approach to providing for all students in the Te Puke area. The vision statement is: engage the student, engage the whānau, engage the community. It aims to provide a smoother and more consistent pathway for children as they grow and develop in these important years of their lives.

''There is a growing sense of responsibility within local schools as we focus on the reality that collectively, these are our children,'' says high school board chairman Andy Wichers.

''Our community has given us a clear picture of what it wants students at the end of their local education pathway to look like. This was from a widely consulted, learner profile developed prior to the COL being established.

''This is exciting as it gives an indication to school leadership of what is considered success locally. It comes as no surprise that the endgame NCEA pass rates are only a part of a much broader view on what we want for our students.

''Te Puke High School is where we provide the last phase of the local schooling journey.

"We are your local high school, and are working on ways to improve our communication, so our community is aware of what a great school we have right in the middle of our town."

The high school is hosting a community hui run by the NZ School Trustees Association as an introduction to what school boards are about.

Anyone who wants to understand what school governance looks like is invited along.

There will be representatives from the 12 school boards in the local COL who can talk about the reality of being a trustee.

''Although you may not be considering trusteeship, or even have thought about it, the invitation is still open to meet the boards of trustees from your local schools all in one place,'' says Andy.

The hui is at the high school on October 13 from 6.30pm.