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22 May 2023 Community Hui Questions

PROPERTY

Currently Melville High has a gym the size of one basketball court, with 4-5 classes on at once. During the wet seasons, accommodating large class sizes is difficult. Are there considerations of this being made?

We are currently working with the Ministry of Education to discuss our options for our students here. Members of the Board’s Property Committee have met with the Hamilton City Council to discuss options of partnership to provide additional recreational space that could potentially be shared between the community and the new College. Work continues in this space to ensure that we get the best possible outcome for our students and community.

What visible designs will showcase Te Ao Māori? 

We are very privileged to have Te Manaakitanga Marae onsite and we will work with mana whenua to make this one of the focal points of our new kura. The opportunities to incorporate Te Ao Māori through our school marae are endless and we look forward to working with our staff, students, and community to bring this to life.

Our cultural narrative has discussed specific ideas about how we imagine Te Ao Māori in our new school. This is a living document and we welcome additional suggestions about how to beautify our school so that it represents our community and student body. As soon as this document is formatted with our new school colors, it will go online for the community to be able to access, read and add comments to.

Will there be any pou to incorporate the vision of the kura?

We believe that more discussion may be needed regarding the incorporation of our school vision into any pou. There is a process and tikanga that must be followed before any decision can be made regarding this. In the decisions we make around Te Ao Māori, we will work with mana whenua to determine the most appropriate way forward. We are also cognisant that the incorporation of our school vision into a pou is one option we could consider and that there are many other options to consider as well.

When will you be able to confirm the exact budget allocated to new buildings and infrastructure?

We are not able to confirm an exact budget for new buildings and infrastructure. We do however have an understanding of the priorities held by the MOE and we are committed to working with them to ensure that our students benefit from any work completed on our school property.

How will both sites be modified so that they are better joined together i.e. right now both sites are quite separate. 

We are in a fortunate position to have such a large campus and the wide open spaces will be welcome, especially as our school roll is expected to grow rapidly in the next five to eight years. In the initial phase, one of our key priorities is to construct a covered walkway between the two sites so that our students are sheltered from the elements as they move from class to class. We also envisage a school farmlet that will extend between the current schools so that we can advocate for an Agri-Innovation Academy and to potentially grow some of our own food. We want to create more spaces for our children to play in and around, and areas where students can have shade and seating areas to view performances and sports events.

Any room for student suggestions/ ideas/ designs for social/ recreational spaces in the budget?

It is always exciting to get students’ ideas and opinions about how they see their school, and to understand students’ needs. We look forward to seeing what creative ideas emerge.

Will there be aircon/ heat pump upgrades to classrooms?

Yes; this is high on our list of priorities. We believe that students cannot learn comfortably if they are too hot or too cold so we will be assessing all our classrooms and prioritizing needs according to our operational budget.

What physical changes can we expect to see at the beginning of 2024?

At the very least, we expect that there will be a new look to our school with a new paint job in our new school colours. We know from the MOE priorities, there will be significant work done around the school to rectify leaky buildings and roofs.

Is there a reason why there is not going to be millions spent on new buildings like what happened to Rototuna despite that area being wealthy and privileged?

We have been advised that there was no existing school in the North East of Hamilton whereas there are two existing schools in the South West that can be upgraded to accommodate the needs of the community.

Does the funding from the Ministry of Education align with the vision Thilo has for the house system?

The MOE has indicated that this vision for our House/Whare system is possible through the Master Planning process so we are optimistic that we will be able to create a whānau feel to our school by having common spaces that our children will meet in each day and for lunch.

UNIFORM

Why are the blazers optional? If we want unity, we need to all look the same. 

We recognise that blazers are an expensive item for families to purchase hence our decision to only recommend this in the Senior School. There is enough differentiation through our uniform across the senior and junior schools to indicate who our students are through the style of shirts, and the commonalities will come from everyone having the same bottoms for the uniforms. This will give us the cohesion of a unified look while still allowing our older students to show their seniority.

Is it possible to get a price list of uniform items?

Direct Group is currently working on this and we will be able to publish details as soon as this is ready.

Will there be rules about tattoos, piercings, facial hair?

Our main focus with uniforms has been ensuring that the style, colors, production and costings were in place so that Direct Group can manage the timely delivery of uniforms to our community. The expectations around these aspects of uniform are still to be discussed and confirmed at Board level.

What is the sports uniform going to look like?

We are working with a graphic designer to design a sports uniform that has a consistent and distinctive design across our school for all codes of sport. Our main goal is to ensure that our new school will be easily recognisable on any field or turf across the region so that this becomes a part of our publicity. We also want to ensure that our students feel pride wearing the new sports uniforms so that when they represent our school, they give their best efforts.

Will the students be able to have long hair (boys included)?

The Board has not yet discussed this aspect of school uniform and student presentation.

Can boys and girls wear any bottom including skirts?

Our uniforms have been designed to be gender neutral and we will be happy to discuss individual students’ requirements with them and their families and whanau.

What material is the uniform made out of?

Shirts:

The easy-care fabric is breathable, soft and lightweight;

94% Polyester 6% Elastane

Bottoms:

65% Polyester, 35% Viscose - Easy Care Fabric

Mechanical stretch fabric for extra comfort

Jacket:

Outer: 96% Polyester, 4% Elastane - 4 Way Stretch Breathable Ripstop Shell

Lining: 100% Polyester - Waffle Fleece with Bonded Membrane

Jersey:

80% wool

20% nylon

Will the uniform be monitored?

Yes, we have high expectations for how our students present themselves to school in their new uniforms. Every student is an ambassador of Mangakōtukutuku College and as such, they must wear the uniform correctly, neatly and with pride. Our staff will definitely be monitoring that this expectation is met.

Will there be exceptions for students with sensory issues?

We are always happy to discuss individual students’ sensory needs with our Manukura should this be a concern.

ENROLMENTS

Some whanau do not have vehicles - what is in place for them?

We will be visiting all local schools to present to students and give them a copy of our prospectus which will contain information on how to enrol online. 

Are our children guaranteed a place at Mangakōtukutuku College if they are already at the Intermediate or High School?

Yes. Our goal is to not turn students away from our new school especially if they are already existing students at Melville High School and Melville Intermediate School. It is, however really important that parents, caregivers and whānau understand the need to enrol their children at our new school early so that we can organise for 2024 and ensure that your child is in the best possible class for them, and that our staff can organise teaching and learning programmes tailored to their needs. We do not want parents and families to turn up to our new school on the first day without having enrolled their child/children this year as this will put strain on our time and resources which we want to invest in ensuring our students are settling into school well.

OTHER

How will you support the students from Melville Intermediate School and Melville High School as they transition to Mangakōtukutuku College?

Our staff have been especially selected for their unique strengths and expertise that they bring to Mangakōtukutuku College. We are currently devising programmes of learning to ensure that all students are able to achieve success. The Principals of the existing schools and Dr Govender meet every few weeks to discuss and plan the transition of our schools, and the Governance Facilitator and Change Manager are also closely involved in this process. Our MOE partners also attend this meeting to offer support where they can.

What challenges do you foresee carrying out the school vision (e.g. ministry, funding etc)?

Our school’s vision is Te Kura Whaikaha. It means that we are a school where anything is possible because we are strong and smart. We will plan to deal with challenges by planning strategically and acting with integrity. We have outlined a simple but highly specialised strategic plan that addresses a few key issues we need to prioritise, and through this we have signalled our approach to dealing with potentially difficult situations.

Where is the community consultation?

Our understanding is that there has been significant consultation with the community prior to this school being announced by the Minister, and that both boards of the existing schools were consulted on the decision prior to it being made.

What actions will be taken to ensure that new staff are well acquainted with the students at the two existing schools?

Developing good relationships takes time and this is more so when developing learning relationships. The Principals of all three schools meet every few weeks to discuss ways in which staff from Mangakōtukutuku College can collaborate and we envisage that meeting the students and understanding their voices is an integral part to forming strong learning partnerships. This will happen over the course of the year and through community engagement as appropriate.

At the previous meeting you talked about a cultural academy, is this still going to happen?

Our goal is to streamline our coursework at the senior level so that all students have a pathway they want to follow. While we are working towards partnering with as many providers and organisations as possible, it may not be feasible to have all of our academies up and running by next year because of time and man-power constraints. Our teaching staff will only join our small team on 1 November 2023. When we build connections with people and organisations that will support our students, we want to ensure a high quality partnership and this takes time. For now, we have identified three academies to focus on where we will engage with outside partners, while the rest of the academies will run on internal coursework initially. Should our circumstances change and other learning organisations are willing to collaborate, then we will look to establish these partnerships sooner.

What is the rationalisation behind not having a Māori department when we have our own curriculum?

There are many kura out there who have Māori departments, but are struggling with student numbers and participation. Our focus is solely on encouraging students to participate and choose te reo Māori as a viable pathway for further education. The debate on whether te reo Māori has its own department or is part of the Languages learning area we don’t feel will lead to the outcomes we want for our students studying te reo Māori. Our focus is on employing the best quality te reo Māori teacher who has a passion for the teaching and learning of the language.

Where is the equity in this?

We believe that equity lies in how well the department is resourced and by employing the best possible teachers for this learning area so that we can ensure a high-quality teaching and learning programme. We also want to encourage Te Reo Māori across our whole school to all of our children so that they have agency over the choices they make with what they want to learn and with whom. The debate about having a separate department does not fit in with our ethos of an inclusive culture and school, nor does it support the outcomes we are hoping to achieve by creating silos within our school.

How does this reflect the curriculum refresh?

The entire structure of our teaching and learning programmes reflects Te Mātaiaho. Our staff have engaged in significant professional learning around delivering the NZC and understanding the changes that have led to the refreshed curriculum. Our goal is to embed Mātauranga Māori through all our programmes of learning so that there is an authentic approach that is not tokenistic.

How are you being culturally responsive?

Our approach to being culturally responsive is very evident from our strong and smart vision. We are deliberately working towards building a “culture of everyone” in a caring environment. Culturally responsive means acknowledging all cultures and accepting that every student has a story and identity that we will work to honour. Our school name, karakia, and vision and values all point to us emphasising Te Ao Māori and signalling that we are committed to being culturally inclusive and intelligent.

How are you contributing to the revitalization of Te Reo me ona tikanga?

Through government funded PLD and with our work with mana whenua, focused on the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

When and where are the EBOT meetings? Where is this information located?

Once a fortnight on a Monday. These are held at the Glenview Club. Minutes can be accessed from our website www.mkt.school.nz 

Why is there no arts academy?

Our goal is to streamline our coursework at the senior level so that all students have a pathway they want to follow. While we are working towards partnering with as many providers and organisations as possible, it may not be feasible to have all of our academies up and running by next year because of time and man-power constraints. Our teaching staff will only join our small team on 1 November 2023. When we build connections with people and organisations that will support our students, we want to ensure a high quality partnership and this takes time. For now, we have identified three academies to focus on where we will engage with outside partners, while the rest of the academies will run on internal coursework initially. Should our circumstances change and other learning organisations are willing to collaborate, then we will look to establish these partnerships sooner.

Is there any thought of a Performing Arts Academy?

Please see above. 

How will you attempt to reach out to the community that does not use Facebook?

People who do not have Facebook can get information on our website: www.mkt.school.nz  We acknowledge that there have been some issues with the website and are working on resolving these. Our goal is to update the information here regularly so that interested parties can access information easily.  As we get closer to enrolments, we will be working with the Glenview Community Centre as well as all of our feeder schools to ensure that all whānau have the information they need. Our community enrolment day will be held on 29 July 2023. More information to follow. We look forward to meeting you then.