Kia ora Whānau – Greetings everyone.

Parking issues and dangerous manoeuvres outside St Martins School have been the talk of the week following the article in The Press over the weekend. We are situated in an area that makes ‘close-parking’ difficult, yet each day there are plenty of examples of inconsiderate behaviours that make it dangerous also!

As a school we do send out reminders about safe and courteous behaviours we would hope to see modelled to our children, but a small few continue to break the law and make before and after school entry to the school potentially hazardous.

Following the article the City Council’s Senior Parking Compliance Officer has made contact to discuss what can be done to address these issues. We do know that we can expect frequent, spontaneous visits to observe and enforce illegal behaviours. More importantly we will be hoping that some longer term solutions to these issues can be worked out.

In the meantime we are relying on ALL adults who drop off or collect children from St Martins School to act respectfully, safely and legally. This is OUR community issue and it really is our responsibility to manage it for the well being of our children.

We are thrilled to announce that ‘The Homework Club’ before and after school care service will be operating from the school hall each afternoon from the start of Term 2, Monday 2nd May. We believe this is a positive move that will benefit our children and families both from a convenience and safety perspective.

It was a great night on Tuesday at the S’Mart Community AGM. I had an opportunity to share some design concepts and possibilities for the rebuild as they stand at the moment. It was fantastic that we had parents with various forms of expertise offering their support to the Board of Trustees as they move through the design process.

There were also many questions about Collaborative Teaching and how it is working at St Martins. We have previously offered ‘tours’ for groups to see our school in action from the Year 0 to Year 8 syndicates during core learning times. We will continue to offer this to all interested parents and caregivers. If you would like to look at what is happening in our school please email Michele on micheles@stmartins.school.nz . It would be helpful if you could advise what days would suit you best. Parents who have taken up this offer previously have found it a worthwhile experience.

Kind regards

Rob Callaghan