‘No clear direction’: Schools await fate of building projects
By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter
Crunchtime is fast approaching for two North Canterbury schools bulging at the seams.
Woodend School and Te Kura o Tuahiwi are on the Ministry of Education’s list of 352 building projects under review.
The review is not expected to be completed until July.
Te Kura o Tuahiwi, a Māori immersion and bilingual school between Kaiapoi and Rangiora, was due to receive five new classrooms and a new hall, with building set to begin last December and be completed next month.
But it was delayed and is now on hold, pending the review.
Principal Dot Singh said the project was designed to take the school’s capacity to 230 students.
For the now school is sitting at its present capacity of 160, with another 33 pupils pre-enrolled to start later this year.
‘‘Now we are wondering where we will put all of those tamariki.
‘‘I feel they (the ministry) will come to the party in some form, it just might not be how we planned it.’’
Woodend School principal Andrew Retallick said his roll was continuing to grow faster than anticipated.
‘‘As off today we have 480 students enrolled, so now it is looking like we will have have at least 520 by the end of the year.
‘‘I’ve had 70 students enrol so far this year and we have 50 year 8s leaving at the end of the year, so it shows you how much we are growing.’’
The site’s capacity is about 490 and by using the school library as a classroom, Retallick said the school could cater for around 510 students.
The school’s growth comes on the back of the booming Ravenswood subdivision.
‘‘The toughest part is the uncertainty and having no clear direction, but I can’t do anything about it until I get some direction from the ministry,’’ he said.
Schools around the country are feeling the pressure while they wait for an update from the Ministry of Education’s review.
Education Minister Erica Stanford announced an inquiry in February, which immediately put the brakes on the projects.
At the time, Stanford said the scope of the building works were ‘‘unrealistic and unaffordable’’.
Ministry of Education Te Tai Runga (South) Hautū (leader) Nancy Bell said there were no updates on the North Canterbury building projects.
‘‘We continue to work closely with the schools in our planning to deliver roll growth teaching spaces to accommodate the schools’ in-zone rolls as required.’’
■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
Worst Xmas ever?
There's a a lot of planning that goes into Christmas day and sometimes things just don't go to plan. But it can be a good thing - a family mishap or hilarious memory that you can laugh about in Christmases to come.
Whether you burnt the dinner or were stranded at an airport...
Share your Christmas mishaps below!
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
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