Liberton Christian School
2010 Annual Report
Chairman’s Report
2010 has been an exciting year for Liberton Christian School. The addition of a fourth class, together with the employment of an additional teacher, has enhanced the learning opportunities of the children of the school. As a school community we are deeply thankful for our committed principal and teachers, whose enthusiasm and hard work result in high quality teaching and learning, together with the maintenance of a caring and safe school that reflects its special character.
The addition of the fourth class has benefitted the school in significant ways, not least in the provision of smaller class sizes reflecting narrower age bands. However, as we end 2010, we continue to have pressure on our roll and our proprietor, Dunedin Christian Schools Association, is preparing to apply to have the roll cap increased from 75 to 100. We believe this important, not only to meet the requirements of families in our community, but also to reach an optimum number of students that will allow for the standard of provision to which we aspire. Furthermore, we have begun discussions with our proprietor regarding the provision of a permanent fourth classroom.
ICT has continued to be an area for development in the school, with both hardware and professional development provided. 2010 marked the concluding year our school’s three-year ICT cluster. Evidence of the marked improvement of ICT provision within the school was apparent during the presentation made to parents by the school’s students following the end-of-year barbeque. A sophisticated audio-visual presentation was followed by an opportunity for the students to demonstrate the use of ICT in their learning.
The school has responded to the needs of a sizeable minority of students who have been identified as having dyslexic tendencies. Training was provided by the RTLB service. We as a school recognise the importance of literacy skills for our students. However, we also recognise that research suggests that for many students reading and writing is a significant challenge despite average or above average intelligence, and supportive, literacy-rich homes. As such we seek to provide students with support, strategies and resources to ensure that they have full access to the curriculum and enhanced learning opportunities.
During 2010, the Board of Trustees said goodbye to its outgoing chairman, Neville Jopson, as well as John Hannah (a former chair) and André Copland. All were thanked for their significant contribution to the life of the school. In their place Peter Bylsma, Sheryl Davies, Jessica Smith and Anna Wescombe were welcomed. The work of the outgoing and existing trustees ensured a smooth changeover and the enthusiasm and commitment of the new board members has meant that they have already made an important contribution to the governance of the school. Strong working relationships among board members have been evident across the year.
At the close of 2010, Liberton Christian School enjoys strong rewarding relationships among its teachers, students, parents, trustees, proprietor and wider community members. High standards of student achievement, together with rich curricular and extra-curricular opportunity, are evident. Major goals evident in the annual plan have been achieved. With this firm foundation Liberton Christian School looks forward to 2011 with confidence and renewed enthusiasm to realise its vision.
David Berg
Principal’s Report
2010 has been an exciting and productive year in the life of our school. We have a strong and committed community and are thankful for the Lord’s sovereign reign over all that we do.
2010 Staff and roll
We welcomed Miss Frances Neill to the teaching team at the beginning of the year. Frances is an experienced teacher who is has particular expertise in the area of mathematics. Our starting roll was 57 and we finished the year with 74 students. The roll peaked at 78 during term four.
With roll growth, and a new maximum roll of 75 the Board of Trustees funded a fourth classroom.
The teachers and class levels were:
Year 7–8 Mrs Smith
Year 5–6 Mr Robertson
Year 3–4 Mrs Reeves
Year 1–2 Mrs Sizemore and Miss Neill
Specialist visual arts teacher, Mrs Jones.
We continue to be well supported by Mrs Karen Boyes in the office and Mrs Sheila Mannix as teacher aide. Mrs Netty van der Woude continued her long and faithful voluntary service to the school as librarian.
Christian Character
Our staff and curriculum continue to be valuable resources as we seek to uphold the Christian character of the school.
We enjoyed opportunities to join with Pine Hill School students and teachers at St Mark’s Church to celebrate Easter, Pentecost and Christmas. Mrs Benita Barton brings the two schools together for these services and we are blessed by her dedication and work in this area.
In May, Alan Robertson and I attended the New Zealand Association for Christian Schools leaders conference. We both felt encouraged and challenged as we listened to the two keynote speakers talk on intentional leadership and some of the challenges facing second-generation Christian schools around the world. The speakers were Darren Islin from Australia and Brian Cox from Indonesia, both leaders of large Christian schools. The conference was very well attended and appreciated by Christian school leaders from all over New Zealand.
Also in May, we held our World Vision 40 Hour Famine sleepover to support our students who “go without for those without.” It’s always a good time of fun-filled fellowship for those who attend and we are encouraged to see so many of our students take up the challenge enthusiastically. Congratulations went to our two top fundraisers Natalie Storm and David Marshall. This year we raised $3200, our highest total to date. We also received the news that we had again been awarded a World Vision Intermediate scholarship for our fundraising efforts. This was our third scholarship award and the recipient, David Marshall, a year 8 student, travelled to Auckland for a week of leadership training and fun with World Vision in the October school holidays.
Curriculum
Curriculum development is an ongoing process as we continue to implement the Revised New Zealand Curriculum. A new four-year framework was developed after a parent consultation evening and the Learning Areas are being revised one by one. We have also implemented the Ministry of Education National Standards into our curriculum and reporting processes.
ICT continued to be the major focus for the teachers’ professional development as 2010 was our third and final year of a Ministry of Education professional development contract. The use of technology to enhance learning is now embedded as part of the school learning culture.
Three of our year 6 students attended the University of Otago College of Education kidz@conference. The conference is targeted at creative and motivated students in the area of ICT. One hundred and twenty students from across Dunedin attend the two-day conference where they have the opportunity to use ‘cutting edge’ ICT tools and broaden their ideas and learning in this area.
Our year 5–8 students combined for a summer activity camp on the Taieri towards the end of term one. They had a wonderful time completing challenging and often new outdoor activities such as small yacht sailing and abseiling.
Our school production, Peter Pan, was an awesome experience and performance for our students. It is always a joy to see the development of individual students through the process of production and especially for those who gain the confidence to take on a role which would have once been too daunting. This year we invited guests to make a donation at the production as a way to support past student Erica Aarsen as she fundraised and prepared to travel to Uganda with Teen Missions.
Sports
Increasing sporting opportunities and experiences for our students was a 2010 Annual Plan goal. Alongside the miniball, netball, rippa rugby and soccer teams competing in school competitions, we tried a new fitness activity called Zumba led by a professional Zumba instructor. It is a very energetic form of fitness and our students were enthusiastic about the experience.
On Friday mornings we introduced a whole-school sports hour where the students participated in a variety of sports games. Swimming lessons at Moana Pool took place in terms two and three.
During term three, Mrs Jones introduced an extra cross country training session each Monday at lunchtime. We had an enthusiastic group of year 5–8 students take up this option to add to their preparation for cross country and athletics competitions. Mrs Jones and some dedicated parent runners took the students to Ross Creek and other areas for the runs. Congratulations went to Tom Berg, Curtis Parr (both year 6) and Maya Berg (year 5) who all finished in the top ten of their respective North Zone cross country races in October and qualified to compete in the Otago cross country.
We had a fantastic day at the Caledonian Ground for our athletics sports day in October. Our prayers were answered with a beautiful day and it was also good to have Amana Christian School join us. The junior class long jump and the 400m fun run were the highlights. Running right around the 400m track is a great achievement for the youngest students and really boosts their confidence to try new things.
Our year 3–6 students travelled to Millers Flat for the combined Otago/Southland Christian Schools Sports Day. Thankfully, the weather was better at Millers Flat than in Dunedin on the day, and our students were able to enjoy the sports and meeting with other Christian school students.
Student Leadership
Our 2010 year 8 students took up their leadership roles enthusiastically. Alongside school-based leadership opportunities they attended the Halogen Young Leaders Day at the Regent Theatre. This is a wonderful opportunity for our students as they hear very inspiring and often famous New Zealanders tell their stories to help encourage young people to ‘plug into their (God-given) potential.’ This year Mr Nick Tuitasi was again a favourite among our students. We also heard from Rob Harley, Mark Inglis and Dr Justin Vaughan. Shorter interviews were held with James Blake, Matt Gibb and Alison Shanks.
As part of the comprehensive careers programme Mrs Smith has developed, our year 7 and 8 students attended the career expo held at the Edgar Stadium. They came back buzzing with career ideas and bags full of information! This experience can be an important starting point for them to begin thinking about and discussing career ideas for their futures.
During term four our roll peaked at 78, the highest point in the history of the school and although we have had to sadly farewell several families to the call of Australia or other locations in New Zealand, new families have come to join our community and we are blessed by them too. Christ is the centre of our school and we welcome all those who join our school as sent by Him.
I would like to sincerely thank our committed staff, Board of Trustees, the Dunedin Christian Schools Association (DCSA), parents and wider community for all the support and encouragement given faithfully to our school and students over this year. We give thanks for the many wonderful moments and achievements through the year.
Our school vision is to see, “our children, as part of the Christian community, learning with enthusiasm, growing in knowledge, developing their abilities, and desiring to serve God.” Thank you especially to all those who uphold the school in prayer as we work to achieve this vision for our children together.
Serving Him together.
Fiona Sizemore
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