Liberton Christian School
2006 Annual Report
CHAIRMAN’S REPORT
The 2006 calendar year was the end of an era for Liberton Christian School, and a time for reflection of where we have come from and where we are going.
Our principal, Nel van’t Wout, retired in July after 23 years’ teaching at Liberton, 21 of which were as the principal. Nel joined the School when it was a small private Christian school, saw it through the State Integration process, multiple building projects and an incredible amount of change. In that time Nel touched the lives of all pupils who passed through our doors, and no-one was ever in any doubt that Nel’s heart was first was first and foremost in the School and the cause of Christian education. Nel’s farewell was a time for reflection and celebration. We wish Nel well in her retirement.
The Board of Trustees advertised to fill the vacancy in July, but were not able to find a suitable candidate at that time. Fiona Sizemore was appointed acting principal for the second half of the year, and the position was re-advertised in September. After interviewing some very good candidates, the Board were pleased to appoint Fiona as the new principal. Fiona has a real passion for Christian education and has already shown she is a capable leader at Liberton, and we are confident she will continue to grow in her new position.
This was first year for the School in the Numeracy Contract. The School has received significant professional development and resourcing in this area. In addition to the numeracy resources, the teachers have also been receiving training in the monitoring of student performance and progress throughout the year. Results of the analysis have been extremely helpful in monitoring the impact of the Numeracy Contract, and have been presented both to the Board and to parents.
Significant progress has been made on the School’s library during the year, which the Education Review Office (ERO) review last year identified as an ineffective learning resource. A review of the current holding was undertaken, a large number of old books were discarded and new reading material purchased. The new book purchases were primarily made possible through a grant from the Synod of Otago and Southland of the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand. The Board is now looking to implement a sustainable annual purchasing programme for the library.
The Board made the strategic decision during the year to make development of the senior class a focus. Review of school rolls for the last five years has shown that a number of children leave at the end of year 6 rather than at year 8. While there are a number of reasons why pupils leave early, the Board wants to provide the best possible resources so that lack of facilities and opportunities is not a reason. An upgrade to the senior classroom was planned for the summer holidays, and the Board will be working to improve resources for the senior class in 2007.
The School finished 2006 in very good heart. The roll has been close to the maximum throughout the year. As the Board looks back over 2006, all of the major goals in the School’s Annual Plan were met, student achievement levels were high, and the Board worked well as an effective governance team. The relationships within the School community were strong and there was good community spirit. The School looks forward to continuing to build upon the excellent progress made in 2006.
Neville Jopson
PRINCIPAL’S REPORT
The 2006 school year has been one of significant change as our long-serving principal, Miss Nel van’t Wout, retired at the mid-year point. Nel contributed in many ways to the life of the School, not least as a strong advocate of our core purpose: providing an education to children that honours God as creator and sustainer of His world. This is the distinctive feature of our school and one we all need to keep at the forefront of our hearts, minds and practice. We have a debt of gratitude to Nel that the School has a history based on this principle firmly established.
Nel’s send-off at the end of term two was a highlight for the whole school community in itself, as many people came from out of town to attend the function held at a local hall large enough to cater for the considerable crowd expected to attend. With Nel having served for over twenty one years as principal, the gathering turned into a reunion of sorts as many ex-pupils were reunited, along with members of the school community from the earlier days. There were many amusing stories told as speakers reflected on Nel’s faithful service to the School, and as a community we were once again able to give thanks to the Lord for His faithfulness to us.
2006 saw the School focus on numeracy teaching and learning. We signed the Numeracy Project contract and received support and guidance through the Dunedin College of Education facilitators. Teachers attended courses and cluster meetings along with teachers from other Dunedin schools. We applied new learning to our classroom practices and enjoyed using newly purchased mathematics equipment. It quickly became evident that the children also responded positively to the new equipment and modified teaching approach, and the end-of-year assessment results reflected excellent results all round. The Numeracy Project has an on-going component for 2007 and will have a long-lasting positive influence in mathematical learning at the School in the future.
As with all new approaches to learning we, in the Christian school, need to consider how they stack up in the light of our Christian approach to education. Teachers met to consider this very issue in relation to the Numeracy Project (with the help of a good book on Christian approaches to learning). We found that, compared to our traditional method, the Numeracy Project better reflects a Christian approach to mathematics learning. Its small-group, multi-level learning more constructively supports a child’s development in mathematics.
Other outstanding highlights for the year included the visit in term three by the Maranatha Christian School in Australia. We were all blessed by these year 8-13 students through their music, song and dance performances which kept us captivated for an afternoon. It was an inspirational opportunity for our students to see what can be achieved through the Arts in service to our Lord.
A special assembly held to re-open of the school library was an appropriate way to celebrate the new library and acknowledge the Otago Presbyterian Synod for the substantial grant we received to upgrade our library computer system and purchase new books. The result was a bright colourful library space that students are enthusiastic to use and which has a positive impact on student learning.
The end-of-year production, The Great Christmas Robbery, was a particularly special event. The whole school’s performance was outstanding in every way and provided an excellent platform to showcase the many talents of the students. The play centred around three neighbourhood friends who were reminded through the heartless acts of the local gang, and the gentle persuasion of a heavenly throng, that Christmas is the time to remember the gift of God’s son. The event was made even more significant when the plight of former pupil, Keiri Samuel, became known and the students enthusiastically took up the idea to use the production to raise funds for his post-operative cancer treatment. The students were delighted to present Keiri with a sizeable cheque at an assembly to mark the occasion.
With Nel’s retirement at the end of term two, and my appointment as acting principal, we welcomed Mrs Christine Jones to teach half of the junior class programme as principal-release teacher. The children quickly warmed to Christine and she has contributed well to the junior class and wider school programme over the remainder of the year.
At the end of term three we had to sadly farewell Mrs Adele McKirdy who had taught our senior class since the beginning of 2003. Adele has retired from teaching and taken up an administrative position in the health sector. We are very grateful for Adele’s contribution to the School, especially her very able leadership in the area of literacy learning. Adele led the School through the Literacy Contract during 2004-5 and has left the teaching and learning in this area in very good order.
This left the senior class in need of a teacher for term four and we were delighted to welcome Mrs Natalie Yeoman for that period. Natalie is well known for her musical talent and made an outstanding contribution to our end-of-year production by bringing together a wonderful band to enhance the musical component of the show. The staff and students all enjoyed and gained from her musical talents which we hope will have an on-going benefit in the School.
Mr Alan Robertson continued to teach in the middle class and throughout the year maintained a strong lead in many aspects of school life. In particular his contribution to the end-of-year production was outstanding as he shared his gifts in drama to bring out the potential in the students, and then worked to develop that potential into a quality performance second to none.
Mrs Kyra Jones continued to provide a high quality visual arts programme to the whole school each Wednesday. The children really benefit from the energy she puts into every unit of learning and the outcomes are often easy to see gracing the walls of the School.
We are grateful to our Lord for the many good things that have been achieved during 2006 at Liberton Christian School. Our school is a great little school and I look forward to seeing what 2007 will bring as we seek to honour God through the education we provide for his children.
“My grace is all you need. My power is strongest when you are weak.” (2 Corinthians 12 v. 9.)
Fiona Sizemore
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