College ready for changes says Principal

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 6, Issue 263, 15 November 1988, Page 8

College ready for changes says Principal

Nineteen eighty eight has been another busy year and I will report on some of the Colleges activities and also comment on the forthcoming changes for 1989.

Firstly, I must acknowledge the support this college receives from many groups. The Board of Governors have a major role in the direction the school takes - this Board is a hardworking one and has had to make some difficult decisions. I sincerely hope that the current Board of Governors put their names forward to become members of the Board of Trustees, as they have many skills and considerable experience. Our PTA is quietly working away and have two major projects underway; the production of a local telephone directory and the construction of a b u s garage. The support of this group is appreciated by the wider school community. The organisers of the Desert Fair deserve a special thanks for their generous donation of $10,000 to the school. This money will be spent very carefully to benefit the students of Ruapehu College. To all parents and supporters of the school, thank you for your assistance i n transporting our sports teams, hosting, coaching and generally supporting the school. STAFFING Nineteen eighty eight brought some unexpected staff movement with Mr & Mrs Meredith leaving for Onewhero Area School. It is difficult to quantify or put a value on the contribution the Merediths made in their joint 18 years of involvement at Ruapehu. The results of their efforts can be seen in the type of student who graduates from this college, it can be seen in the pleasant environment and in the high regard this school is held by members of the educational community and increas-

ingly the local community. Apart from the departure of the Merediths 1988 will see Mrs Published here is Ruapehu Cast's speech to the school day's Senior Prizegiving Searle, who has been a long standing reliever, leaving to a permanent position at Kapiti College. Mr Hawea, who has taught Physical Education and Science for four years, i s taking a year's study leave to complete a degree and Mr Bidwell leaves to teach a t W anganui High School. All of the staff leaving have put an incredible amount into the school and the school will certainly miss their involvement. We have two vacancies for 1989, with the position of Deputy Principal and a general class teacher being advertised in a week's time. A feature of this college is the involvement of the staff in a wide range of activities. This includes all the ancillary staff who work for far more hours than they are paid. I owe a special vote of thanks to the office staff, the cleaning and caretaking staff and the grounds staff for their efforts. A school such as ours needs relievers and we are fortunate in having qualified and dedicated relievers available. A special thanks to all who have helped out. PUPIL INVOLVEMENT It never ceases to amaze me how much pupil activity there is at Ruapehu College. Our school fields 18 sports teams, more if we include athletics and swimming. In mid-July w e hosted the Korimako speech .competition with over 400 visitors. Although the college

hosted we had tremendous support from our wider community. We assisted with the rurming of the FIS international ski races. We hosted the biggest ski competition in the Southern Hemisphere with the North Island College Principal Harry and visitors at last Thurssecondary schools skiing. Our rugby and netball teams had a highly successful tour of Australia and our teams performed creditably in the interschool maths competitions in Wanganui. With the aforementioned events we have the usual school visits, sports fixtures and school activities such as debating, speeches, clubs and other interwhanau activities. We now have a junior as well as senior council and both groups have contributed to the activities in the school and the community.

A major event this term was a full school inspection which resulted in a most pleasing report for school and staff. Mr Ian Hill who has a long association with this college was most gratified with the progress he found. THE PICOT REPORT, O R TOMORROW'S WORLD The major restructuring of education is underway and Ruapehu College is as ready for the changes as any college in the country. Working in a very tight time-frame, the Government is going to bring in changes that should have perhaps occurred over the last five to ten years. The Government intends the changes to occur within 18 months of the initial proposal. We haven't yet received all the details for these changes but we can look a t some of the things we expect to happen. The Board of Governors will become a

more powerful but smaller group. They will control a far larger budget but will in turn have greater responsibility for careful spending. Many decisions previously made by the Department of Education will be made by this Board of Trustees. There will be a student's representative, (we don't know if it will be a college student or a parent representing students), but it could mean one of you in the audience today could be elected onto the Board of Trustees and have a say in the direction the school takes. It will not be an easy job - in fact it will require a major commitment from the student elected. Hopefully, one o f the changes coming will be the greater recognition of the role pre-school education and primary education have to play. Too often they are underfunded and have fewer resources compared to secondary schools. I am not suggesting we have less but I do feel they need more support from Central Government.

How will Ruapehu College cope with post picot education? I have no illusions on the difficulties facing us but I am confident for the future of this school. My reasons are as follows: • We have competent, well qualified and committed staff. • The average age of our staff is young for a college. We have energetic staff who are looking to develop professionally. I am certain that many of the younger staff on the stage here today will be Heads of Departments in years to come.

• We have a full range of options and compare favourable in terms of options with Wanganui schools twice our size. Our school physically is in good repair with pleasant working surroundings in most areas. Credit must be given to the students who have looked after the school. Under Picot money here can be spent on improving the school, while in many schools money will be spent on repairing vandalism. One school in Wellington had $2000 spent per week on repairs over the first two

months of this year. We wouldn't have spent in the last year what the Wellington school spent in a day. In conclusion Ruapehu College has much to offer, but you as students must be prepared to make use of the opportunities available. To those leaving I wish you all the best in your chosen fields, for those fortunate enough to be returning be aware that in 1989 you come to school to work.

Harry

Cast

Principal Ruapehu College