Sumner School Board Talk
26 September 2014
Dear Parents/Caregivers
Welcome to the latest edition of the Sumner School Board of Trustees' Board Talk.
Curriculum Update - Reporting on National Standards Student Achievement Targets
Every year at Sumner School, each teaching team selects three Student Achievement Target groups. The Ministry of Education only requires one group but we choose to do more as the teachers and Leadership Team find them a valuable way of focusing on a large range of children throughout the school and closely monitoring their progress. A Student Achievement Target Group is a group of students chosen by the teachers to either bring them up to, above or well above National Standards for Reading, Writing or Mathematics.
At this time of the year, an interim report is put together to collate progress to date. Although the teachers are continuously tracking the achievements of these children on a regular basis, this report is a useful way to reflect in more depth on how the focus groups are going and whether or not more interventions need to be put into place to ensure that desired targets are reached by as many students as possible by the end of the school year. This is also reported to the Board.
At this mid-point, the results show that majority of pupils being focused on have already met or are on track to meet the set targets. Strategies are being put in place where necessary to ensure that as many of these students reach the targets.
Staff report feeling more confident with their assessment practices as this has been an area that has been more finely – tuned in the last twelve months or so. The detail of this report demonstrates the close attention that the staff pay to each individual student at Sumner School.
The Board continues to fund extra learning assistance where it is needed. This has yielded good results this year, particularly in the Junior School.
Reading Recovery
At the Board’s request, data was recently assessed to see whether or not the gains made by children in the Reading Recovery Programme are sustained in subsequent years. (Reading Recovery is a programme that is available for students during their first two years at school who are not progressing with reading at the required rate).
Results show that for the majority of students who were in the Reading Recovery Programme in the early years, such gains are maintained throughout the later years at school. Again, there is good evidence that these students’ reading levels are continuing to be closely monitored by their teachers.
There is no doubt as to the huge value that the Reading Recovery programme has for those Year 2 pupils who go through it. The Board recently increased the funding for this programme based on evidence that there was a greater need for more targeted reading input at Year 1 level.
It is great to see the results of this targeted recovery programme, one which the Board constantly monitors.
Term Two Inquiry
Last term all children throughout the school enjoyed a focus on the Arts/Technology in various ways from studying the arts including jewelry making from different cultures, to understanding the process of toy making and putting it into practice. Many parents will have enjoyed seeing the various displays and presentations in their children’s classrooms.
A good look around your child’s classroom from time to time is a great way to keep in touch with the many activities that they are involved in! You are always welcome to do so before or after school. As always, a reminder too that if you have any concerns about your child’s achievement or any other issue, please do not hesitate to talk to your class teacher as a first port of call.
Staff Scholarships
The Board sets aside a special fund, available as a staff scholarship, in addition to their professional development budget. Last year Chris Cole went to Base Camp, part-funded by this scheme. The value of the scheme is to provide a separate source of funding to allow teachers to explore personal growth, which in turns leads to a more engaged and inspired teacher.
This year the Staff Scholarship was split between Anne Blackmore-Smith (who attended a conference in Sydney on “Teaching and Supporting Students with Special Needs”) and Andrea McKendry (who leaves shortly for Tanzania on the “Teachers in Tanzania” scheme). Anne has reported back to the Board about her conference and the learning from that is being filtered through to Sally Kent, SENCO Coordinator and the wider staff.
We wish Andrea all the best on her adventure and look forward to the video diary on her return.
Modern Learning Practices and Environments Update
As a strategy, the Board is committed to continuing to develop more modern learning practices and environments at Sumner School. We are constrained by the Ministry timeframe of earthquake repairs at Sumner School not scheduled to start until 2020. However, we see this as an opportunity to trial a few new things in our teaching and learning practices before committing to a total physical environment revamp.
It was encouraging to see such a fantastic turn-out of parents from both Sumner and Redcliffs at our recent parent education evening on this topic. We were lucky enough to have Mark Osborne from CORE Education come and inspire and provoke our thinking about the future of education and what the workforce might look like for our children!
In order to further this strategy, the Board has come up with one or two smaller property projects that will start in the near future. This involves carrying out some parallel prototyping in Room 1 and 2 by removal of the adjoining wall. This is likely to happen in Term 4.
As you can see, this is a huge area of development in education and given the leaps in technology, the time is right. If you have any questions or concerns about these changes or this strategic direction, please feel free to discuss it with any Board member.
Farewell
The Board would like to acknowledge the great work of Chris Rowe, a Learning Support Worker, that she has contributed to Sumner School during her time here. Chris has resigned from this position to pursue family business commitments. Thanks Chris for all your passion and energy. You will be missed.
We have also received Jen Smyth’s resignation with some sadness but also delight for her in her new role as Mum. Jen contributed a huge amount to the School and was an inspiring and passionate Years 7&8 Team Leader. Jen will be missed also.
Finally, Bridget Scholar has also resigned, effective from the end of the 2014 school year. Bridget is off to pursue other life interests but hopefully will still have some input into the creative side of Sumner School. Bridget’s creativity and approach to teaching has inspired many of our children. We also wish you all the best as you, too, will be missed.
Events on the School Hall
As you may be aware, the Sumner Rugby Club is hosting "Placemakers Fight for Life" in February 2015. The event will take place in the Sumner School hall.
You may or may not be aware that other than education based events, the School policy on whether an event is appropriate to take place in the School hall is a matter of discretion for the Board. Post-quake the Board has taken a strategic view that the School and our facilities need to be viewed more as a community hub. For more information on our hall hire please click here.
Whilst the Board discussed that some members of the parent community may not be in favour of the "Placemakers Fight for Life" event given the perception that it may promote fighting or violence, the Board has taken the view that this is a controlled sport set up as a fundraising event within our community. Many parents or past parents have chosen to take the opportunity to participate in the event. The mere fact of the event taking place in our hall, we felt, does not lend the School’s support to the event necessarily.
At the same time the Board was approached about the Sumner-Redcliffs Anglican Church using the School hall on a weekly basis, every Sunday. Again, whilst there may be parts of the community that do not support this idea, the Board has exercised its’ discretion to allow the church to trial this starting in October. Again, the fact of the Church occupying the hall does not mean the School takes a view on that event.
Fight for Life
Another aspect of the “Fight for Life” event that has been discussed at Board level is the fundraising from which the school may benefit. Sumner School has been chosen by two current parents (Sarah Sugrue and Scotty Fletcher) as their “chosen charity” for any money pledged to these two individuals. Should money be pledged and these parents win their fights, Sumner School stands to benefit from that fundraising. Again, the Board reiterates that while we applaud the effort and training Sarah and Scotty will put into this event, the School has not sought to make money from the event.
Attendance at School
Schools and parents/legal guardians are legally responsible for ensuring learners attend school. As schools are legally required to ensure all students attend school every day, they must therefore have effective procedures to monitor and follow up on absences. Please check the Ministry Of Education website for more details: www.mindu.govt.nz
Schools are expected to monitor attendance and absence data and to provide support and assistance to improve attendance. There is a legal requirement on the Board to communicate to the school community the obligations of school attendance. The management of the school is required to report to the Board on school attendance.
As you will all be aware, it is a Ministry of Education requirement that a reason for any absence is provided at the time your child is absent. The School records a full-day absence as “unjustified” if an absence is either unexplained, or the reason for the absence is not within the school’s policy as a justifiable reason for the student to miss school. It appears from our records that absenteeism for unjustified reasons, such as holidays, has increased over the past few years.
In the most recent attendance return, there were a high number of unjustified absences. In the first half of 2014 some 76 children have been absent between 1 and 2 weeks; with 42 children absent between 2 and 3 weeks.
There were 11 students who were absent between 3-4 weeks during that period and 8 students absent more than 4 weeks and up to 5 weeks.
Sumner School is committed to ensuring that all of our students get the most out of their education, and reminds parents that when your child is not there, or is needing special attention due to lack of attendance, it impacts on all of our children.
The Board would like to make you aware that in the event that you do take your child out of school for an “unjustified” period of leave, your child’s teacher(s) will not provide work to be taken away during that absence. Should your child require extra work to catch-up on class work, the expectation is that this will be supported by the family/parents/caregiver and not left to staff. The impact on missing out on classroom activity affects all students, not just the child absent.
We would also like to remind families of the need to inform the School before any absence is taken. Not only is this common courtesy, but it is a legal requirement and assists teachers with classroom planning.
As always, if there is anything you are concerned about regarding your child, please see your teacher in the first instance. Any governance or strategic matters you would like to raise, feel free to talk to any of our Board members.
On behalf of the Board I wish you all a safe and relaxing holiday.
Ann Skelton
Chair of Sumner School Board of Trustees
Every year at Sumner School, each teaching team selects three Student Achievement Target groups. The Ministry of Education only requires one group but we choose to do more as the teachers and Leadership Team find them a valuable way of focusing on a large range of children throughout the school and closely monitoring their progress. A Student Achievement Target Group is a group of students chosen by the teachers to either bring them up to, above or well above National Standards for Reading, Writing or Mathematics.
At this time of the year, an interim report is put together to collate progress to date. Although the teachers are continuously tracking the achievements of these children on a regular basis, this report is a useful way to reflect in more depth on how the focus groups are going and whether or not more interventions need to be put into place to ensure that desired targets are reached by as many students as possible by the end of the school year. This is also reported to the Board.
At this mid-point, the results show that majority of pupils being focused on have already met or are on track to meet the set targets. Strategies are being put in place where necessary to ensure that as many of these students reach the targets.
Staff report feeling more confident with their assessment practices as this has been an area that has been more finely – tuned in the last twelve months or so. The detail of this report demonstrates the close attention that the staff pay to each individual student at Sumner School.
The Board continues to fund extra learning assistance where it is needed. This has yielded good results this year, particularly in the Junior School.
Reading Recovery
At the Board’s request, data was recently assessed to see whether or not the gains made by children in the Reading Recovery Programme are sustained in subsequent years. (Reading Recovery is a programme that is available for students during their first two years at school who are not progressing with reading at the required rate).
Results show that for the majority of students who were in the Reading Recovery Programme in the early years, such gains are maintained throughout the later years at school. Again, there is good evidence that these students’ reading levels are continuing to be closely monitored by their teachers.
There is no doubt as to the huge value that the Reading Recovery programme has for those Year 2 pupils who go through it. The Board recently increased the funding for this programme based on evidence that there was a greater need for more targeted reading input at Year 1 level.
It is great to see the results of this targeted recovery programme, one which the Board constantly monitors.
Term Two Inquiry
Last term all children throughout the school enjoyed a focus on the Arts/Technology in various ways from studying the arts including jewelry making from different cultures, to understanding the process of toy making and putting it into practice. Many parents will have enjoyed seeing the various displays and presentations in their children’s classrooms.
A good look around your child’s classroom from time to time is a great way to keep in touch with the many activities that they are involved in! You are always welcome to do so before or after school. As always, a reminder too that if you have any concerns about your child’s achievement or any other issue, please do not hesitate to talk to your class teacher as a first port of call.
Staff Scholarships
The Board sets aside a special fund, available as a staff scholarship, in addition to their professional development budget. Last year Chris Cole went to Base Camp, part-funded by this scheme. The value of the scheme is to provide a separate source of funding to allow teachers to explore personal growth, which in turns leads to a more engaged and inspired teacher.
This year the Staff Scholarship was split between Anne Blackmore-Smith (who attended a conference in Sydney on “Teaching and Supporting Students with Special Needs”) and Andrea McKendry (who leaves shortly for Tanzania on the “Teachers in Tanzania” scheme). Anne has reported back to the Board about her conference and the learning from that is being filtered through to Sally Kent, SENCO Coordinator and the wider staff.
We wish Andrea all the best on her adventure and look forward to the video diary on her return.
Modern Learning Practices and Environments Update
As a strategy, the Board is committed to continuing to develop more modern learning practices and environments at Sumner School. We are constrained by the Ministry timeframe of earthquake repairs at Sumner School not scheduled to start until 2020. However, we see this as an opportunity to trial a few new things in our teaching and learning practices before committing to a total physical environment revamp.
It was encouraging to see such a fantastic turn-out of parents from both Sumner and Redcliffs at our recent parent education evening on this topic. We were lucky enough to have Mark Osborne from CORE Education come and inspire and provoke our thinking about the future of education and what the workforce might look like for our children!
In order to further this strategy, the Board has come up with one or two smaller property projects that will start in the near future. This involves carrying out some parallel prototyping in Room 1 and 2 by removal of the adjoining wall. This is likely to happen in Term 4.
As you can see, this is a huge area of development in education and given the leaps in technology, the time is right. If you have any questions or concerns about these changes or this strategic direction, please feel free to discuss it with any Board member.
Farewell
The Board would like to acknowledge the great work of Chris Rowe, a Learning Support Worker, that she has contributed to Sumner School during her time here. Chris has resigned from this position to pursue family business commitments. Thanks Chris for all your passion and energy. You will be missed.
We have also received Jen Smyth’s resignation with some sadness but also delight for her in her new role as Mum. Jen contributed a huge amount to the School and was an inspiring and passionate Years 7&8 Team Leader. Jen will be missed also.
Finally, Bridget Scholar has also resigned, effective from the end of the 2014 school year. Bridget is off to pursue other life interests but hopefully will still have some input into the creative side of Sumner School. Bridget’s creativity and approach to teaching has inspired many of our children. We also wish you all the best as you, too, will be missed.
Events on the School Hall
As you may be aware, the Sumner Rugby Club is hosting "Placemakers Fight for Life" in February 2015. The event will take place in the Sumner School hall.
You may or may not be aware that other than education based events, the School policy on whether an event is appropriate to take place in the School hall is a matter of discretion for the Board. Post-quake the Board has taken a strategic view that the School and our facilities need to be viewed more as a community hub. For more information on our hall hire please click here.
Whilst the Board discussed that some members of the parent community may not be in favour of the "Placemakers Fight for Life" event given the perception that it may promote fighting or violence, the Board has taken the view that this is a controlled sport set up as a fundraising event within our community. Many parents or past parents have chosen to take the opportunity to participate in the event. The mere fact of the event taking place in our hall, we felt, does not lend the School’s support to the event necessarily.
At the same time the Board was approached about the Sumner-Redcliffs Anglican Church using the School hall on a weekly basis, every Sunday. Again, whilst there may be parts of the community that do not support this idea, the Board has exercised its’ discretion to allow the church to trial this starting in October. Again, the fact of the Church occupying the hall does not mean the School takes a view on that event.
Fight for Life
Another aspect of the “Fight for Life” event that has been discussed at Board level is the fundraising from which the school may benefit. Sumner School has been chosen by two current parents (Sarah Sugrue and Scotty Fletcher) as their “chosen charity” for any money pledged to these two individuals. Should money be pledged and these parents win their fights, Sumner School stands to benefit from that fundraising. Again, the Board reiterates that while we applaud the effort and training Sarah and Scotty will put into this event, the School has not sought to make money from the event.
Attendance at School
Schools and parents/legal guardians are legally responsible for ensuring learners attend school. As schools are legally required to ensure all students attend school every day, they must therefore have effective procedures to monitor and follow up on absences. Please check the Ministry Of Education website for more details: www.mindu.govt.nz
Schools are expected to monitor attendance and absence data and to provide support and assistance to improve attendance. There is a legal requirement on the Board to communicate to the school community the obligations of school attendance. The management of the school is required to report to the Board on school attendance.
As you will all be aware, it is a Ministry of Education requirement that a reason for any absence is provided at the time your child is absent. The School records a full-day absence as “unjustified” if an absence is either unexplained, or the reason for the absence is not within the school’s policy as a justifiable reason for the student to miss school. It appears from our records that absenteeism for unjustified reasons, such as holidays, has increased over the past few years.
In the most recent attendance return, there were a high number of unjustified absences. In the first half of 2014 some 76 children have been absent between 1 and 2 weeks; with 42 children absent between 2 and 3 weeks.
There were 11 students who were absent between 3-4 weeks during that period and 8 students absent more than 4 weeks and up to 5 weeks.
Sumner School is committed to ensuring that all of our students get the most out of their education, and reminds parents that when your child is not there, or is needing special attention due to lack of attendance, it impacts on all of our children.
The Board would like to make you aware that in the event that you do take your child out of school for an “unjustified” period of leave, your child’s teacher(s) will not provide work to be taken away during that absence. Should your child require extra work to catch-up on class work, the expectation is that this will be supported by the family/parents/caregiver and not left to staff. The impact on missing out on classroom activity affects all students, not just the child absent.
We would also like to remind families of the need to inform the School before any absence is taken. Not only is this common courtesy, but it is a legal requirement and assists teachers with classroom planning.
As always, if there is anything you are concerned about regarding your child, please see your teacher in the first instance. Any governance or strategic matters you would like to raise, feel free to talk to any of our Board members.
On behalf of the Board I wish you all a safe and relaxing holiday.
Ann Skelton
Chair of Sumner School Board of Trustees
