From the Board of Trustees

 Kia ora e te whānau, Hello everyone,
​
A message of thanks on behalf of the Board of Trustees.

As you can imagine it has been an intensely busy time here at school for staff and students.  On Monday we celebrated the graduation of our Year 6 students. Seeing so many whānau and friends attend was so wonderful. I was so struck by the warmth and aroha of the occasion and the participation of all of the students present, not only the graduating pupils. From the stage I could see the junior classes joining in with the Kapa Haka group. The Kapa Haka presence during the graduation was powerful and unifying, as was the choir. Both were absolutely wonderful. To me and many others watching there was a clear sense of identity, belonging and pride amongst the students in their school. The culture of our school was very evident. I felt honoured to be there and enjoyed every moment.

The last two years have been a challenging time in the Education Sector with three curriculum changes within two
years. The amount of work undertaken by our Principal, Deputy Principal and all of the teaching staff to address, plan
for and implement constant change can not be understated. The entire Board has been able to witness first hand the
thorough and painstaking approach to addressing these changes as they apply to each student, in the classroom and
in future planning. The regular reports made to the Board in curriculum matters are detailed and clear.
While the learning curriculum leads the work here at school our school culture is so important. The learning and
experience gained from our school commitment to safety, engagement, care and support is such a valuable foundation
for our tamariki.

We have full confidence and trust in our Principal Linda Fraser, Leadership team and our teaching staff and we are
deeply grateful to you all. 

​A big thank you also to our many Support staff who are part of every child's day at West Gore School. Our Office Manager Mrs. Van den Heever who is a familiar friendly face and support to our parent community and all of us too, our dedicated Teacher Aids staff, Librarian and groundskeeper. Our sincere gratitude to you all.

The Home and School Committee has worked very hard this year raising funds for our school. The Board thanks you
sincerely for the time and work done to provide resources and support for our tamariki. We especially acknowledge that a smaller committee has achieved so much. If any in our parent community would like to join the Home & School Committee, please let our School Office Manager, Mrs. Van den Heever know.

My personal thanks to my fellow Board members Linda, Rebekah, Zac, Jacqui, Sam, Sonya, Monika and Board Secretary
Anneke. Thank you for your dedication to WSG and for the mahi.

Today is the day!- a stream of excited happy kids rushing off to a summer holiday :)

So from all of us on your School Board,
A Very Merry Christmas, a safe holiday period and a Happy New Year to you all.

Susan Hasselman, Linda Fraser, Rebekah Prattley,
Zac Andrews Monika du Plessis Jacqui Ruddenklau Sam Srimanthula Sonya Stewart