Rebuild update:
Christmas has come early for the school’s rebuild with work on ‘construction proper’ commencing from December 9th – the day we break up for the year.

After completion of the main block excavation, remediation and preparing the building sites, Downers will be fully mobilized to begin construction of the new buildings in Waiorea – the whare tapere (performance space/gymnasium) and whare ako (2 storey teaching block) in the construction area adjacent to the admin. block.

It will be great to see some actual building happening after the long wait after the ground remediation to get it to a fit and proper state for construction.

The initial works include some temporary realignment of crucial services such as water, electricity, data and gas – followed by more excavation and piling works in the build area adjacent to the administration area of the school.  Vehicular access will not be possible to this area once this work begins but pedestrian access will be maintained.

The second construction area is the three storey main block building which will begin with form work, reinforced steel and concrete works to the foundations and structure.  This is a massive building – 126 metres long, 40 metres wide and 3 storeys high!  We are informed that there will be in the vicinity of 200 construction workers on site by the middle of January!

Because this major construction site is well separated by 3 metre high plywood barrier walls, the operation of the school will continue virtually as normal.  Students have been well used to navigating their way around the site and separation of construction traffic entering entering the site will be further enhanced by the construction of a pedestrian overbridge for student use on their way to PE/Health block, gymnasium, Te Whakamanu sports centre and northern fields.  There are some more detailed access notes for school users and visitors elsewhere in this Newsletter from Jessie Bernard – our H&S officer.

Downer Construction will be working for all but 4 statutory days of the Christmas/New Year holiday period.  Normal security patrols around the site will be in operation and when we return for the new school term, very visible signs of progress on our wonderful new school will be evident.  Do check out the information board at the school entrance for a rendering of the finished product - it is truly magnificent!

Annual Beach Picnic:
As the end of the school year approaches I will take the opportunity of reminding you of our annual beach picnic, a fine tradition of this school that is only possible because of the total commitment of all of our staff. 

You will find a letter from me in your email in-box regarding this, or access it via this link here.  This picnic is for all of our year 9 and 10 students, permission was signed at enrolment, most of the monies are in, and we are looking forward to a fine day at the beach with 500 kids!!!  Last year we were forced to cancel because of truly awful weather, but hopefully we will not have a repeat of that this year!  As noted in the letter notification of a cancellation will be by midday on the day before the event.

Tomorrow evening (Wednesday Nov. 29th) at 7.00 pm in the library we are holding a consultation meeting in relation to our proposal to formally adopt a co-governance model.  You will have received an email with an attached letter about this meeting last week.  Over the past 6 years the Board of Trustees of Western Springs College/Nga Puna O Waiorea has had in place a co-governance model of operation and decision-making.  By this model decision-making is by consensus.

Our Board seeks to formalize this co-governance arrangement to ensure sustainability in the ongoing governance of the College by adopting an alternative constitution, which will require the approval of the Minister of Education.  Before seeking the approval of the Minister, the Board wishes to hear your views on what is being proposed.

….and finally, from me and the staff of Western Springs College/Nga Puna O Waiorea – Seasons Greetings, best wishes for a summer break and a happy and prosperous New Year.

All the best,
Ivan Davis
Principal

Executive Officer/ Business Manager
Western Springs College Auckland

Western Springs College is a co-educational school of 1,450 year 9 to 13 students.  It includes a kura kaupapa Maori immersion school Ngā Puna O Waiōrea operating in a co-governance partnership.
We are seeking a full-time, permanent, experienced Executive Officer with proven leadership capability to manage the school’s support staff, finances, property and ICT.   The role requires leadership and management of the school support staff team and strategic contribution to the senior leadership team.The finance portfolio includes budget preparation, financial statements, school payroll and preparation of accounts for audit.
Strategic thinking and problem solving combined with attention to detail are important in this role, as is being adaptable and collaborative.  As the Executive Officer it is imperative for the successful applicant to be approachable and demonstrate high level interpersonal skills.
The successful candidate will need to be able to work with the Co-Governance aspirations of Western Springs College/Ngā Puna O Waiōrea.
The Executive Officer reports directly to the principal and the Board of Trustees and will be a member of the senior leadership team.
Experience in the education sector is a definite advantage, and top level remuneration will be awarded to the right candidate.
This position commences at the beginning of the 2018 school year.
Applications including CV and covering letter should be sent to the principal’s PA Christine Goodes at goodesc@wsc.school.nz 
Applications close on Monday December 11th 2017 at 9.00 am.

As we head into the next phase of development for the rebuild we will see works continuing and moving forward. You will see significant change in this phase of the work as Springs is well and truly under development.

The following works are commencing currently:
Temporary Access Road (beside the Contractors Road) will be built connecting the Motat Road entrance to the Sports Centre. The estimated time frame for this is 2 weeks.
Tree Work outside Motat Road Entrance - trimming on both sides has been completed.
Temporary Fencing  around the Waiorea build site has begun.
Drilling works will commence after hours into the weekend at the back of Ko Waikanae.
Staff Carpark (outside Admin Block) is NO parking zone. All parking will be redirected to the Tapac/Zoo carpark. Contractors have been instructed to do no works in the admin carpark area until after exams and only after 5pm and in weekends until school finishes on 8 December.
No Contractor Access to Front Gate until after 8 December.
Waiorea Build Site will be having works done on services and site preparation for the build.
Ko Waikanae Demolition is scheduled for 9 December with Contractors Safety Plan approved by MOE, Downers and WSC.

Back of Waiorea will have plywood boarding put up to minimise impact and disruption.

Pedestrian Bridge will be constructed outside the entrance to the building compound and will be over the entrance and give access to the PH Blocks, gymnasium, courts and fields. This will be erected from 9 December onwards.
Main Building Compound - Works inside the main building compound area will start during the school holidays.
After Hours ACCESS to sports fields and gymnasium: for all visitors, parents, coaches and sports teams.

There will be no access through the front gate or the admin carpark area.
The ACCESS ROAD to be completed in 2 weeks is for Operational Staff only, Groundsmen, PE and Sports Centre staff only. No other vehicles will be permitted to use this road. It will be monitored and will be locked daily at 3pm.
Pedestrian Access is via the Tapac/Zoo carpark through the school to the Pedestrian Bridge to the fields.
There will be a Traffic Safety Management Plan issued around the above which can be used to send out to visiting sports teams and visitors to WSC. This will include a map of the current footprint outlining the options for access around school. Traffic safety is a real concern for staff and students and with the development ongoing and the works increasing we must be vigilant to ensure we take safety seriously.
Please note the Contractors Road around the school is highly hazardous and only to be used by the Contractors at all times.

Please remind students to report any potential hazards to staff who will report them on the hazard register. (under Health and Safety portal). Students must remain outside the building compound areas at all times and not enter these areas as they are hazardous.

Thanks for your ongoing support of the redevelopment works.

Jessie Bernard
Health & Safety Manager - Western Springs College
09 815 6730 x708

Thank you to the 30 parents and staff who took up the opportunity to feed back on the draft "Student Protection Policy".  The BOT Policy Committee considered all the suggestions and comments carefully and amending the draft policy accordingly before it went to the BOT for ratification.  The final policy, along with all other WSC/NPoW policies, can be viewed in the Charter/Plans/Reports/Policy section under the BOT Heading on the School website.

We try to keep policy documents to just two pages, but many policies are accompanied by more detailed procedures.  Several valuable pieces of parent and staff feedback will lead to changes in procedures, or other related policies, even if they do not show directly in the Student Protection Policy itself.

The BOT has recently embarked on a new cycle of policy renewal and will be consulting on a number of other policies over the coming year.  Once again, thank you for your interest and contributions.

Paul Alford
Deputy Principal

Springs own published author.

Congratulations to aspiring author, Ellen Hucker Year 13, whose delightful short story Lavender Sprigs in the Summertime was published in the September edition of The Rangitawa Collection 2017. We are proud of Ellen's writing achievements and look forward to reading more of her work in the future.

TAPAC is seeking volunteer ushers! If you’re interested in the performing arts, this is a great way to see theatre shows for free. Successful ushers may be issued a reference letter upon request (beneficial if you would like to pursue a career in the performing arts or be an usher at other venues). So if you are friendly, presentable, reliable, and over 16-years of age, please contact us at info@tapac.org.nz asap!

SPOTLIGHT on Tiaan McIntyre

What a year 2017 has been for Tiaan McIntyre, who has recently been nominated for the ASB College Sport Auckland Young Sportsman of the Year Awards, in the sport of Touch.
Tiaan captained and assisted in coaching our senior mixed touch team which contested and won
the North Harbour Mixed A grade, going through the season undefeated. Apart from Touch, he
has excelled in athletics and basketball as well.

His major achievements of 2017 include :

• Captain of the Auckland U18 Boys, winning silver at the Youth Touch Nationals
• Captain of the Auckland U20 Boys, winning silver at the Open Touch Nationals
• Auckland MVP player for U18 & U20 Boys
• Selected in the New Zealand U18 Boys in the Trans Tasman Touch series against Australia
• Selected in the New Zealand Open Mens Invitation team against Japan
• Invited to trial for the New Zealand Open Mixed team
• Recipient of the school’s Outstanding Male Touch Player
• Recipient of the school’s Senior Boys Chairman’s Cup for Athletics
• Recipient of the school’s Ellis Cup, Most Promising Athlete
• Recipient of the school’s Sportsman of the Year award

Recently we shared in a tremendous day and event with our annual Junior Arts extravaganza - Junior Arts Festival on Friday 17th November. The best yet was showcased both in theatre and exhibition as departments promoted incredible creativity collectively.

TAPAC was transformed for the big Arts day out as teachers and students organised a spectacular show and exhibition of junior art. Again this year we were very fortunate to have the talented HOD Drama – Robert Pollock as MC.

Special thanks to the Parent Action Group for providing drinks and nibbles to mark the occasion. Families, friends, teachers are always so appreciative of all that you and your families so generously donated for the event. It was great to see our school community get together to celebrate student success and the work of all our juniors.

Thanks to TAPAC and staff for support on the day and at all events throughout the year. Thank you also to all the teachers who worked tirelessly with preparation and set-up, with rehearsing juniors for the shows and even more so for your help with the afternoon performances. A special thank you to Danielle Voyce and 10Art students for assisting front of house. This event couldn’t happen without you all!

The Arts Faculty provides a pivotal platform for creative and critical thinking, innovation, exploration and collaboration where identity is explored, leadership is promoted and self expression is shaped both in and outside of the classroom.

Enjoy the Junior Arts Festival photo-documentation to follow and special thanks to Nina Gastreich Photography for so brilliantly recording this year’s event.

Thanks to all for the continued support this year. Have a wonderful, safe and happy holiday season.

arts@wsc.school.nz                                                   Kirsty Britton – Arts Coordinator

Greetings from the Art Department. It is currently week seven as we head towards the end of the school year and the official start of the festive season – a time for celebration, collective merriness and aspirations for the coming year.

Despite our ‘temporary’ abode this year, the students have continued to produce high standards of work throughout the year.  With the Arts Coordinator, Kirsty Britton, we have had the chance to promote and showcase to the school a range of junior work (Junior Arts Festival, Prize giving, Mural) and the ten senior classes (Senior Library display, Mural).

This year we also created a new award to celebrate the critical creative excellence in Level 1 Art.  The cup is named after the former HOD Art - Peter Coxon who was instrumental in establishing and developing the Visual Art programmes at Springs.  Whilst we never got the opportunity to formerly farewell him on his second ‘tour of duty’, he was ‘chuffed’ to have his name on the cup and sent an email to this year’s winner Stella Renner-Allen (pictured) congratulating her as he was unable to present it personally. 

Beyond cellular confinement - making the Visual Arts more visible in the school and wider community imprints value of the creative industries and authenticity by reflecting student ‘voice’.

An extended thank you to the Art team, support networks, parents and guardians for your combined efforts in supporting the Visual Arts – and congratulations to all the students who completed their work this year; all the best for next year.  Happy and safe holidays to all x
Ia Manuia                        Lily A Laita - HOD Art

Our year 9 and 10 students have been busy selecting their options for next year and while some will already have a career in mind, many will not. While a career in the arts may not be what they're after, the skills taught in the arts are transferable to so many disciplines. A recent business survey  of the recruiters hunting for top MBA talent to figure out what attributes are most valued in managers rated the following skills as most desirable, yet not at all common amongst job applicants:

creative problem solving
communication skill
strategic thinking
leadership skills

In the Dance and Drama departments creativity, team work, and problem-solving are fundamental to the classwork. Virtually all the NCEA standards we teach require students to work together to create their own work, solving complex problems in the process and to then  present that work for assessment. This process involves all of the desirable attributes listed.

You may have missed an interesting interview in the Herald with educationalist Professor Peter O'Connor of Auckland University. Here's a snippet:

What's wrong with our education system?
"We're too focused on building skills for the future but a lot of our kids can't see a future. What they really need is help to make sense of their lives now and how to imagine the world differently... I consider myself an arts activist. Teachers ...need every advocate they can get."

Why do you spend so much time teaching applied theatre in China and Singapore?

"The biggest revolution in arts education is happening there. They've worked out that for economic success you don't just need compliant workers, you need creative people who can think outside the square. There's been huge investment in the past five to 10 years. I was asked if I had the capacity to train 10,000 teachers in applied theatre in six months. China has whole provinces where the arts are now compulsory in schools and they start the day with arts. They've worked out it's the edge and we're running in the opposite direction.

You can find the full interview here

So if your son or daughter is contemplating Dance or Drama rest assured that not only will they be totally engaged in the learning process, but they they will also be learning skills that  many businesses and professions are now looking for.

Robert Pollock
HOD Drama