For a small school, Waiheke High hits above its weight, scoring well on national measures and offering specialist subjects like sea sports and viticulture. And with work started on a new teaching block to replace tired old classrooms, it’s getting a much awaited face lift too.
The school motto is ‘Striving for Success’, and the school’s board of trustees want the school to be the first school of choice for all families on Waiheke. Board chair Robyn Woodall says “This is a great school, a real treasure for our community, with good people and a bright future. But we know we need to work on communication, both listening to what people want and sharing the schools successes. The first step is to ask how we are doing”.
Over the next few weeks the school board is inviting parents of all school age kids on the island, students, teachers and the wider community to tell them what they want through a confidential online survey which has been emailed to all parents at the high school, with paper versions available at the library in Oneroa. There will also be a series of focus groups where people will be able to give in depth feedback on where they’d like to see the school heading.
School principal Jude Young says “With elections for a new school board this year, it makes sense to review where we are at and get some clear direction on what kind of school people want us to be”.
The online survey can be accessed via: http://bit.ly/WaihekeHighSurvey . People interested in taking part in a focus group should email survey organiser Anne Bailey at annebailey@xtra.co.nz