Latest news with #RangioraHighSchool
RNZ News
a day ago
- Health
- RNZ News
Canterbury schools hit hard by winter illnesses
Whānau are being urged to keep sick children at home to stop illness from spreading in the classroom. File photo. Photo: 123RF Winter illnesses are hitting Canterbury schools hard, with staff sidelined and students calling in sick. Rangiora High School has more than 1600 students and 120 staff. Principal Bruce Kearney said they could have 300-400 students away on a day and up to 30 staff were off sick. "It seems to be a merry-go-round with the sickness, just when you're coming right you get sick again and it seems to take a little bit longer," he said. He did not rule out shutting the school if there were not enough staff, and said he had not felt the pressure to do that yet this winter. "We have 120 teachers, I'd say if we're getting over 35 (off sick) then that becomes a reality, simply because we can't get relief teachers. There are not enough relief teachers to cover so many classes," Kearney said. Rangiora High School Principal Bruce Kearney. Photo: SUPPLIED Other schools were also feeling the impact of winter illness, he said. "Most definitely heard that this is probably a little bit worse than normal, but not massively worse. I want to put that into context, things are a little bit worse but a little bit worse can make a big difference." He urged whānau to keep sick children at home to stop illness from spreading. But that could be a challenge when the school had been messaging its community constantly about increasing attendance to meet the government's goal, he said. Associate Education Minister David Seymour has previously said the government aimed to ensure 80 percent of students were present more than 90 percent of the term by 2030. "So we've been talking about coming to school and then of course we hit a winter like this, and attendance just massively falls away and it just shows how difficult the whole thing is," Kearney said. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
NZ Herald
5 days ago
- Business
- NZ Herald
On The Up: Georgie Woods to aid Waimakariri farmers with environmental goals
'Get to know more about their farming operation, their family, their goals and their plans for the future.' Woods grew up in Rangiora, and both of her parents had agricultural roles with her mum, Gendie, working as a specialist farm accountant and her dad, Mark, working in the stock and station industry. They also leased a sheep and beef farm near Amberley, where Woods spent many weekends working with her dad. That's where her love of agriculture began. While at Rangiora High School, Woods enjoyed agricultural studies and being able to put what she'd learned into action on the school's farm led to her pursuing a career in agriculture. After graduating from Lincoln University in 2023 with an Agricultural Science degree (Hons) and an additional major in Environmental Management, Woods spent just under two years working as an environmental advisor for Enviro Collective, based in Ashburton. Her role focused on providing environmental support for the Barrhill Chertsey, Acton Farmers and Rangitata South irrigation schemes. When the environmental advisor opportunity with Waimakariri Irrigation came up, Woods jumped at the chance to work in North Canterbury. Waimakariri Irrigation is a shareholder-owned cooperative that manages a large run-of-river irrigation scheme in Canterbury, providing water to around 200 shareholders and irrigating approximately 23,000ha. Now, a month into her new job, she is learning about the scheme and has been out and about meeting shareholders. She's also enjoying the shorter commute time from Rangiora to the scheme's Oxford office. 'I was spending about three hours per day driving from Rangiora to Ashburton, so it's lovely to have a few more hours in the day for myself,' she said. 'I have been on a tour around the scheme and have met some of our shareholders who are all so welcoming. 'I am joining WIL at an exciting time where I will have lots of opportunities for learning and development, but for me, the main thing is to be out on the ground with the farmers and getting to know them and their farming businesses.' Initially, Woods' role will focus on Farm Environment Plan (FEP) updates and coordinating the scheme's FEP audit programme, along with supporting environmental manager Ben Howden and the wider team with various projects. When Woods isn't working, she enjoys playing netball for the Amberley Netball Club, baking, photography, volunteering for organisations such as the Northern A&P Show and working on her newly purchased first home with her partner, Reegan.
Scoop
01-08-2025
- General
- Scoop
Principals Confused At Ministry's ‘School Days' Directive
A recent Ministry of Education directive on school days has left North Canterbury school principals scratching their heads. Principals say the new Ministry directive, which sets a higher bar for deciding if schools are ''open for instruction'', is confusing and unworkable. Primary schools must be open for at least 382 half days, while area (year 1 to 13) and secondary schools must open for 376 days. But a new Ministry directive advises a school is not considered to be open for instruction unless all year levels are present. Rangiora High School board of trustees presiding member Simon Green said Ministry rules need to be flexible so schools can best support staff and students. ''I understand the Ministry's aim to protect learning time, but a one-size-fits-all directive doesn't reflect the realities of how schools operate. ''Longstanding practices like staggered starts and study leave are used thoughtfully to support both students and staff.'' Rangiora High School principal Bruce Kearney said flexibility is essential for a large school managing nearly 1700 students. He said it was unclear whether schools could finish early for events like parent-teacher interviews or how it affected exam leave. It has been standard practice for secondary schools to run a staggered start to the school year, with different year levels starting on different days, he said. ''But now they are saying all levels need to be at school, which then raises the question around exam leave for trial exams, because it technically means we are not open for instruction.'' He said he suspects it is a ploy to remove teacher only days, which raises the question of how schools will do curriculum days (a teacher only day to upskill teachers on new curriculum) during term time. Schools in the North Canterbury Kāhui Ako (communities of learning) have used curriculum days to bring primary and secondary teachers together. Funding for Kāhui Ako was cut in this year's Budget, but local schools said they planned to continue working together. ''The ability to have year 7 and 8 teachers working with high school teachers is really powerful in supporting that transition to secondary school,'' Mr Kearney said. Rangiora New Life School principal Stephen Walters questioned whether the Ministry considered what the new directive would mean for area (year 1 to 13) schools. ''If one of our year levels is not at school for any reason, it means the school won't be open for instruction. Area schools have 13 year levels with different needs. ''I'm hoping some common sense will come out, because there is a mismatch between practice which is well embedded and these interpretations.'' In its guidance, the Ministry has told schools to continue with their usual practices this year, but the new interpretation would apply from next year. Ministry of Education operations and integration Hautū (leader) Sean Teddy said 'open for instruction' can include online learning and school trips outside the classroom. "Schools are able to have only some year levels and teachers on site for start of year activities but cannot count these toward their minimum half-day requirement unless online learning is also provided for students not attending in person, with teachers available to support their learning." He said further guidance is being developed to provide clarity around exam leave. Schools can continue with their usual practices this year, "so long as the study leave is only for students doing exams, is for a short period, and teachers are available to help students during this time". Mr Teddy said schools need to be open for a minimum of four hours to count as a full day, which allows schools to close early for parent-teacher interviews.
Otago Daily Times
05-06-2025
- General
- Otago Daily Times
Christchurch school brings back traditional single-cell rooms
A second Canterbury school has made the costly move to ditch its near-new open plan classrooms. Shirley Boys' High School is spending $800,000 to transform its open plan classrooms, built in 2019, into single-cell rooms. When Shirley Boys High was rebuilt after being damaged in the Christchurch earthquakes the Ministry of Education was in the midst of a push for open plan classrooms, the Innovative Learning Environments. Shirley Boys High was one of a number of Christchurch schools being rebuilt or repaired which joined the movement. Six years after its brand new building opened, Shirley Boys' High principal Tim Grocott said it was obvious the open plan classrooms were not working for students or staff. "The level of distraction was just too high. There was too much movement going on. They can hear what is happening in the class next door - "oh that's sounds interesting over there, I wonder what they are doing". Particularly if something was being played on TV or anything like that. So that level of distraction was a negative factor." Grocott said the shared spaces meant that teachers had to do what they could to limit noise, whereas now they can teach in far more engaging ways. "To be a character, to be at the front and tell a story and have the boys laughing and all of those sorts of things that add to the enjoyment of learning - they couldn't do it. Because that would be distracting other classes around them." In 2024, Shirley Boys' High also did a formal inquiry into how students and staff were finding the open-plan rooms, and Grocott said the widespread unhappiness that was found meant they needed to respond. It will cost the school $800k to make the change, and Grocott said the school was in the lucky position of being able to cover that from school reserves put aside by the board over the last 10 years. The first part of the changeover was completed in the last school holidays, and the final stage will be done in the next school holidays. The feedback so far has been overwhelmingly positive and instantaneous. "Hugely positive feedback. The staff on the first day were absolutely thrilled. One of our teachers was hugging the walls in her classroom because she was so thrilled to have walls. But the boys are just much happier," said Grocott. Grocott said his view is that open plan classrooms are a flawed concept that just did not work for his school. A year ago, Rangiora High School finished the process of changing an open plan building, built in 2018, to single-cell classes. Rangiora High School principal Bruce Kearney said the feedback has been amazing. "The results have been a huge shift in engagement, in attendance, in achievement. It is not what I was expecting. I was expecting a small shift, but its gone through the roof, its made a massive difference in everything in the school." Kearney said while the open plan classrooms didn't work for his school, they may work for others, and his key bit of advice was to review them, and make changes if needed. Minister of Education Erica Stanford said open plan classrooms do work well for some schools, but she said she knows many schools want to switch back to single-cell rooms. She said that decision is up to the schools. "It seems to be a fad that comes and goes, but I think that the evidence is really tending more and more these days towards to making sure there are spaces that are quiet, potentially modular for children to learn. Especially for children with additional learning needs." In a statement, the Ministry of Education's Head of Property, Sam Fowler said the Ministry was aware some schools have converted open-plan classrooms to single-cell classrooms, and that there were schools where such work is currently underway or planned for the future. The Ministry does not have figures on how many schools have or want to convert such spaces. Fowler said schools in New Zealand are self-governing through their boards, meaning they are responsible for decisions regarding their daily operations and teaching and learning programmes. This includes choices about learning space configurations, and whether classrooms are open-plan or single-cell. He said new and redeveloped school buildings were designed for flexibility, enabling schools to tailor spaces to their preferred approach, but the Ministry was also implementing a programme of increased standardisation to ensure new buildings provide consistent and adaptable solutions for schools. The president of the Post Primary Teachers Association, Chris Abercrombie said the merits or otherwise of open plan classrooms was a frequent topic for teachers. He said the open-plan rooms can have positives, but require training on how best to use it. "Apart from one or two exceptions, very little thought seems to be given to that professional development. How to use the space effectively, how to teach there, how to often team teach, how to work together in that manner is often missing in that space." Abercrombie said the clear push from the Ministry towards open plan classrooms has died off, but the PPTA would still like to see proper research into their impact.
Otago Daily Times
26-05-2025
- Otago Daily Times
'Kids do dumb things': Principal speaks out against keyboard warriors after assault at school
All schools grapple with ''challenging student behaviour'', and it is not helped by social media outbursts, a Canterbury principal says. Rangiora High School principal Bruce Kearney said he felt for his colleagues after critics took to social media following an incident at Oxford Area School last week. A student was taken to Christchurch Hospital with injuries after being allegedly assaulted by another student at Oxford Area School on Wednesday. Student taken to hospital after assault 'Heartfelt support' for student Challenging behaviour happened in all schools and most followed restorative processes when addressing the behaviour, he said. ''Kids do dumb things and our role is to teach them the consequences of their actions,'' he said. ''We try to hold young people to account for their actions in a kind and positive way. ''But social media isn't interested in that.'' He said people should not assume every ''unpleasant incident is bullying''. ''Bullying is ongoing emotional abuse and it happens everywhere and not just in schools,'' Mr Kearney said. ''It happens in the workplace, in the home, out in the community and online.'' While some social media critics wanted schools to return to corporal punishment, Mr Kearney said it was not the answer. ''It is teaching a student, 'I'm going to hit you because you hit someone else'.'' Like politicians, Mr Kearney said school principals were often targets of online abuse, including death threats. Rangiora High School was one of several schools to participate in the recent Pink Shirt Day, he said. Oxford Area School board of trustees presiding member Aaron Campbell referred enquiries about the incident at OAS to principal Mike Hart. In a statement, Mr Hart said the school was following its procedures to work through the incident. He asked the community to contact the school if they had any concerns or questions. ''Our thoughts and heartfelt support are with the student and their whānau during this time. ''We know this may be unsettling, and we are doing everything we can to ensure the wellbeing of all involved.'' Rangiora High School board of trustees presiding member Simon Green said schools have always grappled with ''challenging student behaviour'', which is an emotive topic. He said the board worked with school leadership to ensure bullying was addressed promptly and constructively, with ''a focus on restoring relationships and building a culture of respect and accountability''. A Ministry of Education spokesperson said staff had been in contact with Oxford Area School and were confident school staff were following appropriate procedures. Oxford Area School has students from years 1 to 13. Local Democracy Reporting noted several Oxford Facebook pages had blocked comments on the incident. By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter ■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
