From the Principal Week 1 Term 2 2014

Dear Parents, Caregivers and Friends,

Welcome back to school. Particularly welcome to Mrs Tilda Rabey (teaching Years 7 - 8), Mrs Rachel Hewitt (teacher aide in Rooms 1 and 2) and Zoe Barker, Jonathan Rippon, Hunter Walsh, Ruby-Lee Walsh.

We are excited to be growing as a school. We have had more than 20 new enrolments this year, and a new student on average every week of last term.

Our Board is preparing for us to have a further 20 or more new students to be enrolled between now and the beginning of next year, which would enable us to have a fourth teacher paid for by the Ministry.

In summary, this means that at MCS:

-our children have absolutely the best teacher:student ratio in the area

-our children have a reduced age range in each class, particularly for core learning areas of Reading, Writing and Maths

Please pass the word along! We want to keep the roll increasing - another 9 children this term would be great if you are either a praying or a promoting type parent! (Four new children started today)

What does this mean for you and your child?

YEAR 7-8 LEARNERS: We have employed Mrs Tilda Rabey for three mornings per week (Monday, Tuesday and Thursday). Mrs Rabey, Miss Pryde and I will teach collaboratively in the Senior Hub (Years 4-8) during the week. Learners will be moving between both classrooms and working with all teachers, for various parts of the day. Miss Pryde will be the teacher for most afternoons.

Benefits for Year 7-8 learners:

-Year 7-8 learners have a specialist teacher, Mrs Rabey, to give them a great focus for College preparation three mornings per week, and Mrs Pearson doing College prep once a week

-a teacher:student ratio that is unheard of in most schools. Less than 15 children per teacher for 16 hours per week

-the age range is reduced providing space for new learners - we want more friends in at this level for your children

YEAR 4-6

-Year 4 learners are now in the Senior Hub with Miss Pryde giving them focused time for this age group

Benefits for Year 4-6 learners:

-This will extend learning of Year 4s in new ways

-Year 4s will have experience with a new teacher after having Mrs Holdsworth for a couple of years

-Year 5-6 learners will have focused teaching at their level as the age range is reduced

-we are creating space for more children to come in at this level to be friends for your children

YEAR 2-3

-These learners will be with Mrs Holdsworth in Room 2.

Benefits for Year 2-3 learners:

-the age range is reduced - it was previously Years 2-4

-children who have had Mrs Allen for a couple of years have a sense of progress

-NB this class is almost full - please tell people to get in soon as we have limited spaces in this class.

YEARS 0-1

All younger learners and those coming in as New Entrants during the year will have Mrs Allen in Room 1

Benefits for Year 0-1 learners:

-the age and ability range is significantly reduced - was previously Year 0-2

-the size of this entrance class is significantly reduced - to 8 learners and growing

-there is room for new learners to come into the class at New Entrant level, creating a great start for school. This is where we primarily want to grow from, providing new friends for your children, and we want all the learners at this level to have the best start possible. Tell your friends! This is an incredibly good teacher:student ratio.

Thanks to those of you who help spread the word about the benefits of being a student in our school!

Thanks

Helen Pearson