Kia ora koutou
The Board of Trustees has set up a new Property Working Party to specifically address the outdoor areas of the school, now that the building project has virtually finished.
As was anticipated, there is no money left in the Ministry of Education building project funds for any landscaping or outdoor improvements.
We have three major areas that we want to focus on this year. These are:
The Treemendous Makeover area:
This area is on the Eastern boundary of the school on Eastern Tce by the river (click on this link to see the proposal that was successful in winning a $10,000 makeover from Mazda Foundation). This proposal is now a plan and we are actively working on this for the next two and a half months. We will be having a number of working bees to support this project, beginnning next Saturday, 7th April from 9am to 3pm Click here to register your willingness to participate, and the time you think you could be there for. We will be needing people with garden tools including pruning saws, gardens forks and spades for relocation and planting of natives, wheelbarrows and energy! We also have a fence to remove, so need a couple of grinders as well.
The Bike Stand area
We are acutely aware of the need to expand this area to make it functional. We have a plan ready to go that will involve the development of a second bike stand area at the top of the Eastern Tce entrance, behind Kōmanawa (R21/22) and this will hopefully be resolved by the start of Term 2. Thank you all for your patience in this.
The junior play area
As you are aware, this area has been fenced off for nearly a year. We have been very disappointed about the length of time that it is taking for the building project team to resolve the numerous issues that have come up around this area. The biggest issue is drainage and each solution put forward to resolve the issue has in turn created a new, and often more challenging problem. The reality of the situation we now face is that this area cannot be turned back into a grass field as there are four concrete sumps within this area that would create a health and safety concern for children playing on the surface. The Ministry of
Education have funded a concept plan for this area that explores natural and creative outdoor play options and this concept is attached here for your feedback. Within this concept design, we have also included the relocation of the Gap Filler Sound Garden which we have been very fortunate to acquire as Gap Filler were looking for a new home for it.
We will have the concept plan on display in the hall foyer from next week, so please take the opportunity to have a look at it, and give some feedback.
- To give feedback on this concept plan, you can put sticky notes on the display in the foyer, or you can email Matthew Macdonald: matthew@odab.co.nz
All of the above couldn't be achieved without the fantastic support of the PTA. They have managed to fundraise an amazing amount of money so that all of our children can benefit from this. The BOT greatly appreciates their support.
Matthew Macdonald
Board of Trustees Property Working Party