Kia ora Matipo School Whānau,

As Term 4 seems to be flying by, we wanted to provide a quick update from the board! Over the last three board meetings, we have been grateful to receive presentations from the Kakano, Tupu, and Mahuri teaching teams. It has been wonderful to see the hard work, planning, and coordination that goes on within and across these teams to ensure our Tamariki’s success as they progress through the school. If you’re interested, you can find these presentations at the end of the recent board meeting minutes on the school website*. We thank all the teachers and staff for their hard work and dedication—it is encouraging to see the achievements across the school in all subjects and the planning already well underway for next year.

On the subject of planning, there is a lot happening behind the scenes as we prepare for next year. The draft 2025 budget is currently being worked on and will be presented at the next board meeting for approval. The leadership team and teachers are also actively planning classes and the curriculum for next year. Our focus on improving the school’s financial position is showing positive results. The current forecast for the end of 2024 is looking healthier than initially expected, and we thank Jonnie and the team for their continued efforts in this area. Although there is still a long road ahead, we are moving in the right direction!

To further ease financial pressure, we plan to increase the school’s income through grants, fundraising and a continued focus on the new school sponsorship program that Jonnie introduced at the beginning of this year. We will keep the school community updated on our progress in these areas as we head into 2025 and will inform you on how and when you can help us, so stay tuned!

Lastly, we want to thank the MFAW group, staff and everyone else who volunteered their time to prepare for last weekend’s diamond jubilee gala, as well as those who helped out on the day. It was an extremely successful day that would not have been possible without the army of volunteers.  Not only did the school manage to raise a significant amount of money to go towards resources and equipment to support our Tamariki at the school but it was also heartwarming to see so many of the school community coming together, connecting and having fun on the school grounds during the day.  This was all on top of the open day held last Thursday where past pupils were able to come back to the school and re connect and tell some stories about their time at Matipo and enjoy some of the schools special birthday cake!  So, from us, we wish Matipo School a very happy 60th birthday and we hope there will be many more years to come for our awesome school!

*Board meeting minutes are available in both the school office and on the school website https://www.matipo.school.nz/