Principal’s Report
I hope you have all had your spirits restored by our recent vacation. The warm weather was made to order to the extent that one teacher has confessed to feeling “it is just like the beginning of the year again!”
Between swimming, sports days for athletics and swimming, and those wonderful camps, Term One flew by. Years 9–13 have the added incentive of the first round of school examinations on June 5-7. This is very much a “find out what exams are all about” practice opportunity, but they will count for Middle School Certificate credits, and could be used if students are sick during external NCEA examinations in November.
A very warm welcome to:
- Liam Smith, Year 10
- Caleb Schuler, Year 8
- Ezra Barrett-Archibald, Year 4
- Billie Thomson, New Entrant
ANZAC DAY
The support in commemorating ANZAC Day in Okato was the largest I can recall. Thank you to the dozen or so students who represented Coastal Taranaki School in the parade, and to Ataahua Shortland‐Toimata and Emma Kingi who laid the wreath on behalf of the school community.
The Commodore’s address I think struck the right note when referring to the identity the Gallipoli campaign forged for New Zealand, Australia, and Turkey. The bugler’s rendition of ‘The Last Post’ was a very emotional experience also.
WHAT’S ON OFFER AT COASTAL TARANAKI SCHOOL
An early reminder about an important evening mee8ng on June 6, the Wednesday after Queen’s Birthday weekend. The meeting is mainly for our Year 5–8 students, but it is not an exclusive occasion.
We do not assume that all of our parents and students know what opportunities are available at Coastal Taranaki School in Middle and Senior School, so we will have our passionate teachers and some supportive senior students there to provide some honest and useful information.
We want to hear of your aspirations for your children”s academic, social, cultural and sporting development. It will be an important start to an ongoing conversation. Please mark this date – we will of course provide treats and excellent barista coffee.
Comment Read MorePrincipal’s Report
We welcome the following students and their families to our school and community:
- Cheyenne Taylor, Year 9
- Asanti Soffe-Wilkinson, Year 1
- Neve Hudson, New Entrant
- Emma Goodin, New Entrant
It seems incredible that we are at the end of an action‐packed term. You are probably wondering where it all went.
CONGRATULATIONS
- To Jared Wooldridge (Year 13), who has received the extraordinary offer by the University of Otago and the Virtual Learning Network to participate in the ‘Knowledge Building Project’ being undertaken by Jared’s Level 3 Classics tutor. The research about how best to support senior students’ online learning will be published by the University.
- To Zac Hetherington, who has had spectacular success in the world of motocross. We will profile Zac next term. For now, it is enough to tell you that Zac has been asked to ride in Australia for the motorbike manufacturing team, KTM. This is an amazing achievement, Zac. The Sports Academy thanks legend Shane King for his tutoring.
- To Hamish Kape (Year 11) for his achievement of 2nd place in the TSSSA Lawn Bowls tournament. Hamish has certainly made the most of his talents and, with the support of his Sports Academy tutors, will no doubt perform with distinction at the National Tournament in Hamilton later this year.
PARENT, TEACHER, AND STUDENT INTERVIEWS
If we were unsure of the response to a second shot at it (after being blown off course on the 20th) we were certainly very pleased to have those thoughts put to rest. A more congenial, positive and productive set of meetings would be hard to recall. I had staff emailing me little gems of affirming thoughts from parents about the meetings, but more especially about the support and community regard there is for what we are achieving together. It is great to hear of:
- The general happiness with the progress and achievement of your children
- Your support for the special character of our school – the Seniors and Juniors interacting in ways such as buddy reading and tuakana/teina relationships. I know the current Year 13 students are taking the lead on this.
- Your desire to know how best to support your child at home. This is an important goal for our Board ,who believe that the way we allow these learning conversations to occur means that parents can get a beKer understanding of how school works, and how they can help
As I often say after such experiences, make sure the matters agreed to are followed through, and don’t let formal meetings be the only times you work with your children’s teachers. Thank you for the value you have attached to your children’s learning by making yourselves available. The turnout overall was excellent. Thank you for the valuable feedback we have received about the Years 1–8 interviews – this will be shared with the Board.
Comment Read MorePrincipal’s Report – Term One, Week Seven
Firstly we welcome the following students and their families to our school and community:
- Mackenzie Hill, Year 5
- Joshua Nobilo, New Entrant
Congratulations to the following students on their outstanding Sporting achievements:
- Hamish Kape (Year 11), TSSSA Lawn Bowls Champiion
- Jordan Hart (Year 12), TSSSA Surfing Under 18 Boys 2nd Place
ADVERTISED TEACHING POSITIONS
You will have noted that we are currently advertising for a (fixed term) second New Entrant teacher and a relieving Year 1 teacher.
We will need a second NE teacher later in Term 2, but the successful applicant will start at the beginning and team teach with Mrs Lawn until the numbers build up.
The Year 1 position will allow Mrs Kelly Madden to pursue a dream to be a professional musician for the remainder of 2012. Both the response from Mrs Madden’s parents, and the fact that the Board wishes to support her, demonstrates the highly valued contribution Kelly has made, and will continue to make, for Coastal Taranaki School. We all wish Kelly well – remember us when you are famous!
The Board will appoint to both positions in 4me for the start of Term 2. Thank you for your understanding and support during this period of change.
COASTAL 2012 CHARTER APPROVED BY MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
Our Charter for 2012 and the explanation of student progress and achievement in 2011 have been approved by the Ministry of Education. The MoE is particularly complimentary of the work being done at school and at home to raise Māori student achievement.
The performance of our students against the targets set by the Board of Trustees is shown on what is called the ‘Analysis of Variance’ table (ANOVA for short). You will, for example, see some excellent progress and achievements for our Year 1 – 8 students in Reading, Writing and Numeracy. Congratulations to staff and students on the progress we made last year. The Charter looks at the ‘next steps’ to provide our direction for the year.
ACTIONS SPEAKING LOUDER THAN WORDS
We are all conscious of the rallying cry of our school motto, or whakatauki. It explains how we are all on this road together. If you like, ‘it takes a village to raise a child’. There are constant reminders that this vision is being realised. We note the following recent successes and experiences as examples:
- The upper junior school students getting surfing tuition from Matua Chris in the ‘grommets’ group. Thanks for the support and supervision, parents.
- The excellent effort made to support the Star Wars spectacular last Friday. Thank you, Ms Pearce, and to the School Council as well. $400 was raised to support the Relay for Life campaign. Well done parents, students and brave teachers, too.
- Thank you Friends of Coastal Taranaki School, who have kindly agreed to pay the $7 per head entry fee to the upcoming Science Roadshow so that all students, Year 7 to 10, can attend.
- Thanks also to the School Council and Year 13 for organising and running a most enjoyable Disco a couple of weeks ago. Thanks to the wonderful Canteen ladies and Okato Takeaways for donating the proceeds from the ‘slushy’ machine to support the students’ night
- A most engaging career experience was provided by the Taranaki District Health Board to our Year 11–13 Māori students yesterday. We will be involved in the ‘Incubator Project’ along with Opunake High School throughout the year. Two visits to hospitals will be included. The Incubator Project seeks to encourage upcoming Māori school leavers to consider the Health services as a career option – there are very few working in this field at the moment.
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Principal’s Report – Term One, Week Four
Welcome back, and for some seniors a welcome return, to Coastal Taranaki School. This term has already been action-packed with Athletic Sports, extra swimming tuition, and (for Years 1–10), baseline testing which will inform our targets and next steps for students’ learning this year.
The Board of Trustees has been busy and has submitted the Charter and reported to the Ministry on its success in meeting the student progress and achievement goals for 2011.
This information has been accepted by the Ministry, and the Board commended on its commitment to improving student learning outcomes as reflected in the Charter. This will be put onto the school website, and a copy can be requested from the school. A very slim version of the school’s achievements appears in the February Principal’s Report to the Board. Remember you can request a copy of this following each meeting, or, better still, are always welcome to attend the monthly meetings.
The Board of Trustees has resolved to add a new Strategic Goal to the Charter. In the course of the year you will be invited to contribute to the fulfilment of the objectives which will be absolutely focussed on ensuring that Coastal Taranaki School is seen by its community as the first choice school for its children. In this way, the junior, middle and the senior schools are all able to play their part in fulfilling the vision to ensure students of Coastal are supported as individuals to develop their qualities, talents and competencies so that each may become a confident, connected, actively involved lifelong learner.
Comment Read MorePrincipal’s Report – Term 4, Week 5
Kia ora parents, caregivers and students of Coastal Taranaki School,
We warmly welcome the following students who have recently started at Coastal:
- Lily Fergus, New Entrant
- Greer Harvey, New Entrant
I am delighted to share with you our pride in the recent achievements of Jaxon Madden (Year 6). Jaxon has just learned that he has earned the following:
- Second place in the 2011 ASB NZ Maths Challenge (Lower North Island)
- Two medals in the World Educational Games
- Second place in World Spelling Day (8-10 year olds)
- Eighth place in World Maths Day (8-10 year olds)
We hope that Jaxon’s superb achievements will be able to be acknowledged by the ASB Education team at Prize Giving.
Principal’s Report – Term 3, Week 9
Kia ora parents, caregivers and students of Coastal Taranaki School,
We warmly welcome the following students who have recently started at Coastal:
- Paige Wilson, Year 2
- Samuel Marshall, New Entrant
Production
From the glimpses I have had lately, you are all in for a real treat. The show has been written by our students and involves many. Make sure you get in quick before it is too late. A tremendous amount of positive and creative energy has been invested by staff, and it has been a wonderful vehicle for interaction as a school. Credit will be given where it is due in the next newsletter. For now we particularly thank Mrs Brigitte Luke and her team of writers.
The Final Challenge Approaches
Year 11-13 students have three school weeks before NZQA external examinations are due to commence. It is vital that parents, students and school work towards a successful outcome for a solid academic year. It is never too late!
Teachers are always generous in making time available. Make sure the discussions held following the School Exams last week are put into practice. This will inevitably require some sacrifices during the upcoming school holidays. We are very keen for the school’s success in 2010 to be repeated by the classes of 2011. In 2010, we were ranked in the top three Taranaki secondary schools for each of NCEA levels 1–3.
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WHANAU LEADERBOARD
