For northern residents
We are working on another article about schooling issues in northern Porirua, particularly pressure on primary school rolls.
Are you or your family concerned about this?
Please put NFP with your comment if you'd rather it was not potentially used in a news article.
In case you're interested, here is an update so far from the Ministry of Education's Deputy Secretary Sector Enablement & Support Katrina Casey.
Community engagement is an important part of our planning and something we do all the time. It’s important that we listen to communities and consider their views alongside other information- like existing schools and population projections.
We recently completed two rounds of community engagement with the Northern Porirua community and have been grateful for the feedback they’ve given us. They’ve told us they would like us to consider a new year 1 – 8 primary school located in or near the Aotea development.
We’re now reviewing all available information, including the most up-to-date demographic information for the Northern Porirua area before any final decisions are made. At the same time we are working with local schools to support them to manage their rolls.
Papakowhai School’s Board of Trustees has indicated they need to reduce the size of their school’s home zone to manage the numbers of students at the school. They’re currently consulting with their community about reducing their zone by excluding parts of the northern, eastern and southern boundaries of their current zone. Any areas removed from Papakowhai’s home zone will still be zoned for other schools. The area around Ascot Park and Aotea, for example is also zoned for Rangikura School.
Aotea College is not changing its home zone. It is however going through a significant redevelopment as a result of our around $20 million dollar investment which will provide the community with a modern, fit-for-purpose secondary school.
We’re hoping to go back out to the Northern Porirua community within the next term to update them on next steps.
Poll: Do you think NZ should ban social media for youth?
The Australian Prime Minister has expressed plans to ban social media use for children.
This would make it illegal for under 16-year-olds to have accounts on platforms including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and X.
Social media platforms would be tasked with ensuring children have no access (under-age children and their parents wouldn’t be penalised for breaching the age limit)
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Do you think NZ should follow suit? Vote in our poll and share your thoughts below.
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84.5% Yes
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14.1% No
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1.5% Other - I'll share below
It’s Riddle Time – You Might Need an Extra Cup of Coffee!
Nobody has ever walked this way. Which way is it?
Do you think you know the answer to our daily riddle? Don't spoil it for your neighbours! Simply 'Like' this post and we'll post the answer in the comments below at 2pm.
Want to stop seeing riddles in your newsfeed?
Head here and hover on the Following button on the top right of the page (and it will show Unfollow) and then click it. If it is giving you the option to Follow, then you've successfully unfollowed the Riddles page.
What's your favourite recipe for courgettes?
Kia ora neighbours. If you've got a family recipe for courgettes, we'd love to see it and maybe publish it in our magazine. Send your recipe to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, and if we use it in the mag, you will receive a free copy of our January 2025 issue.