Newsletter - Outdoor Spaces Update 1
November 2018
An Outdoor Spaces Committee has been established to help guide and oversee the development of the outdoor spaces at Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto. The PTA has done an INCREDIBLE job over the past 2-3 years dedicating their fundraising efforts to enable us to develop the outside areas across the school.
The committee comprises of: Matthew Macdonald (BOT), Paulette Newton (staff), Amanda Wolt (PTA), Natalie Doering (parent) and Carmel Wade (parent/architect).
The committee has been meeting each fortnight and so far has worked together to:
Develop a set of guidelines and processes to enable the school to achieve the best outcome for our students.
Identified the purpose of the outdoor spaces so there is a natural ‘flow’ across the school. Criteria:
3. Identified areas across the school for development and begun to create a timeline for these.
4. Present and ask for school engagement in the process. We have met with the Student School Council about using the school logo - Matau (hook) - to influence the shape of the renewed play space at the centre of the school. They were very excited about this!
We understand that this will be an ongoing plan that will have a number of smaller projects within it. The costings for each of the projects will need to be worked through. The fundraising the PTA has done will be a wonderful contribution towards getting these plans underway, but we don’t assume for a moment that it will cover the total costs! We will be making grant applications and seeking further funding from a variety of sources. Ministry of Education operational funding that the school receives each year is not able to be used to support significant capital investments such as these.
As the children are the Kaitiaki (guardians) of the school grounds and will be the ones using the spaces, it is essential they have a strong voice in this process. Much of the planning and design work will be developed and generated by the students, which is an authentic learning experience. This is such an exciting opportunity, and one that we know will take time to plan to ensure we get the best outcome possible.
The first area that we hope to develop with the students is Pūkaki (new entrants hub). The students have begun the process of generating ideas for this area. We hope to share the ideas before the end of term and work towards development early in term 1.
We will put regular updates in the school newsletter to keep you informed of proposed plans, and at times we will be seeking your input and ideas and offers of support for working bees as we action different areas across the school.
The committee comprises of: Matthew Macdonald (BOT), Paulette Newton (staff), Amanda Wolt (PTA), Natalie Doering (parent) and Carmel Wade (parent/architect).
The committee has been meeting each fortnight and so far has worked together to:
Develop a set of guidelines and processes to enable the school to achieve the best outcome for our students.
Identified the purpose of the outdoor spaces so there is a natural ‘flow’ across the school. Criteria:
- Reflect the school’s cultural narrative
- Accessible for all
- Fun and meet the needs of all students
- Able to grow as the school grows.
3. Identified areas across the school for development and begun to create a timeline for these.
4. Present and ask for school engagement in the process. We have met with the Student School Council about using the school logo - Matau (hook) - to influence the shape of the renewed play space at the centre of the school. They were very excited about this!
We understand that this will be an ongoing plan that will have a number of smaller projects within it. The costings for each of the projects will need to be worked through. The fundraising the PTA has done will be a wonderful contribution towards getting these plans underway, but we don’t assume for a moment that it will cover the total costs! We will be making grant applications and seeking further funding from a variety of sources. Ministry of Education operational funding that the school receives each year is not able to be used to support significant capital investments such as these.
As the children are the Kaitiaki (guardians) of the school grounds and will be the ones using the spaces, it is essential they have a strong voice in this process. Much of the planning and design work will be developed and generated by the students, which is an authentic learning experience. This is such an exciting opportunity, and one that we know will take time to plan to ensure we get the best outcome possible.
The first area that we hope to develop with the students is Pūkaki (new entrants hub). The students have begun the process of generating ideas for this area. We hope to share the ideas before the end of term and work towards development early in term 1.
We will put regular updates in the school newsletter to keep you informed of proposed plans, and at times we will be seeking your input and ideas and offers of support for working bees as we action different areas across the school.
