Koraunui School is governed by a Board of Trustees.
The Board is responsible for ensuring a quality education for all pupils and for the safety and well-being of pupils and staff. It sets the school's strategic direction in consultation with parents, staff and pupils. It also oversees the management of personnel, curriculum, property, finance and administration.
The Board is committed to working with our school community so that everyone can have their say and to ensure that the Board makes well-informed decisions.
Our Board of Trustees Blog is a good place to get more information about what we are doing.
The Board draws on the diverse skills, knowledge and experience of our school community. The Board consists of five elected parent representatives, one staff representative, the Principal and co-opted members. Trustees are elected for a 3-year term.
Contact phone details for the Board are in the school newsletter. Please be mindful when you contact with Board members (i.e. not too early or late in the day).
Part of us, as a BoT, getting to know our community and the community getting to know us will be short little introductions from all of our members. It will help put faces to names and set up a connection for some community engagement we’re going to do in Term 4. That might be through Facebook posts, face to face chats at school drop offs and pickups, surveys and things like that. What we’re hoping to achieve from this is getting a good, well rounded view of what parents and whanau want from Koraunui school during their child’s time at our school. Your views will help shape the plan the BoT set. These are what Dave and our staff can use as guides each year when making their plans for in the classroom and around the school.
If you see these posts come up – please interact with them, having your say is important to help us make sure Koraunui is the best school for our children and families during their time here.
The current members are:
Kia ora koutou.
My name is Spencer Hiess, I’m the Chair (or the Presiding Member) of the Board of Trustees (BoT).
My family first started our journey with Koraunui kura in 2015 when we joined the Stokes Valley community, moving back up from Christchurch, and we’re really happy and settled here.
I’ve been involved with the BoT since 2018 and have enjoyed using my skills, knowledge and experience to help guide the schools direction. I strive to ensure that input from our broad community happens so that we align our plans and decisions with our community’s expectations. Curiosity, interpersonal connection, mana enhancing interactions and positivity are some of the key considerations I use for my decision making.
Ngā mihi
Spencer
Dave Lamont joined Koraunui as our principal from Term 1, 2018. He brings several years of strong leadership experience in a number of schools. He enjoys the special character of our kura and how we value diversity, inclusiveness and the other aspects of our korau values, prioritising relationships as the basis for building strengths in schools - both individually and within the wider school community.
Dave impressed us with his genuine manner, straight forward approach and passion as an educator. We are also impressed by the importance Dave attaches to getting to know the whanau in the schools he works in, including finding out what's important to those communities about their school. We believe he has the vision to build on our existing strengths and the skills required to guide us into the future of education for our students.
Email Dave
Kia ora koutou,
Ko Remutaka te maunga
Ko Te Awa Kairangi te awa
Ko Koraunui a hau
Ko Gilmour toku whanau
Ko Craig Gilmour toku ingoa
Kia ora, my name is Craig Gilmour, I’m a teacher in the senior end of Whetu o le Moana. I’ve been teaching at Koraunui School for a few years now and really love my role in the school. I’m really looking forward working alongside you all in the community and within Koraunui School.
Ngā mihi.
Email Craig
Kia ora, my name is Kris Dando and I’m a parent representative on Koraunui School’s Board of Trustees.
I’ve been a part of the school community since 2014 when our eldest (Harry) began attending – he’s now a Year 9 at HIBS. Our daughter Elliot is currently in Year 4 with Whaea Ceri.
My wife Sharon and I have been in Stokes Valley since 2006 and live a block away from the school. The proximity to school is fantastic and has allowed me to do the school crossing on Stokes Valley Road on Monday and Tuesday mornings during term time for the past six or so years. I’m happy to don my yellow high-viz and stand there no matter what the weather because while I work full time, believe this is a small thing I can do to help our pupils. Sharon also helped out with school breakfasts before Covid came along but intends to resume this soon.
We’ve watched our kids flourish and mature during their time at Koraunui and standing for the board gives me a chance to give something back. I’m also on the Stokes Valley Football Club committee (have been for three years) and captain of the mighty SV Mentors masters football team, so I’m engaged with school and sport in Stokes Valley. I’ll never be a ‘proper’ local, but this is our home and has been an amazing place to have a family and make a tight-knit circle of friends.
Being a board member is my chance to give some of my time to a place that has benefited my children for so long. A former journalist, I now work in communications for Porirua City Council, so am fully aware of rules, regulations and what makes an organisation succeed. I have an open mind and am willing to listen, contribute and put in the mahi to help Koraunui School thrive in the challenging times we now live in.
Email Kris
My family and I have been part of the Stokes Valley community for the last 11 years, although my wife is Stokes Valley born and bred and attended Stokes Valley school as a child. We moved back to the Hutt Valley after spending 6 years in Melbourne, settling in Stokes Valley to be close to family and our roots.
We have 2 children, Zachary (7) and Zoe (2). Our eldest son Zachary is in Rm 4 with whaea Dale and it has been a pleasure seeing his interests fostered and watching his confidence grow each day. We are proud to be part of a school community that values respect and individualism and encourages our children to be exactly who they are.
I have been part of the BoT since the start of the year and have enjoyed getting more involved in the school community. I’m grateful that we have enthusiastic board members that bring a variety of ideas and experience to the mix as that can only make for better experiences for our children. Personally, I’m really excited to see the results from both the Structured Literacy and DMIC programs which are already making a positive impact within the school.
Email Chris
Our family has been with Koraunui School for the past 7 years, with 3 children currently in attendance. I am grateful for the opportunity to give back to the school community by being on the Board of Trustees. I value the diversity of our school and look forward to supporting all our children’s education. I am especially interested in advocating for the needs of the children that struggle in our education system the most. I urge the school community to reach out with your ideas of how the school could be doing things better and of course let us know what is working well.
I have a background as an enforcement officer, auditor, inspector, and educator in the field of Environmental Health and currently work in quality assurance overseeing a Quality Management System. I enjoy CrossFit, hiking, gardening, reading and cooking
Email Amber
Tēna koutou katoa,
Ko Renee Madsen tōku ingoa
Ko Taranaki tōku maunga
Ko Waingongoro tōku awa
Ko Aotea tōku waka
Ko Aotea tōku marae
Ko Ngāruahine tōku iwi
Nō Taranaki ahau
I whānau mai au ki Te-Whanganui-a- Tara
He kaiako ahau ki te kura o Fernlea
Ko Max rātou ko Jaya, ko Levi aku tamariki
My name is Renee Madsen and I am a parent representative on the Board of the Trustees. My two youngest children Jaya and Levi are current students in Te Puāwaitanga o te Kākano. I am a teacher at Fernlea School in Wainuiomata and would like to use my own experiences to help meet the needs of all tamariki across the bi-lingual and mainstream classes. My personal and professional passions are to promote and foster te reo Māori and tikanga Māori in consistent and meaningful contexts within the classroom and to ensure the physical and emotional needs are met for all children.
Kia ora rawa atu.
Email ReneePolicy documents explain how the school will meet its legal requirements under the National Administration Guidelines set by the Ministry of Education.
These areas are; Curriculum, Self Review, Personnel, Finance and Property, Health and Safety and Legislation and Regulation. These policies detail the governance responsibilities of the school.
The school community develop procedures based on the policies. They detail how the policies will be implemented on a day to day basis. Policies tell people what we must do and Procedures tell people how we will do things.
Copies of our school policies and procedures will be made available upon request at the school office.
To access all of the school’s policies and procedures online go to the below Schooldocs website link:
https://koraunui.schooldocs.co.nz/
Username: koraunui
Password: koraunui
Every state and state integrated school in New Zealand has a Board of Trustees. Their role is to govern and manage the school, which includes planning and reporting.
Whilst the Governance Plan is a longer term plan, the Annual Plan covers a one year period. It is required that the Annual Plan is submitted to the Ministry of Education Annually.
"Strategic planning is the process of setting goals, deciding on actions to achieve those goals and mobilizing the resources needed to take those actions. A strategic plan describes how goals will be achieved through the use of available resources." - www.thoughtexchange.com
The Koraunui Board of Trustees are seeking information from our school community about what priorities, dreams, hopes and ideas there are for our kura, tamariki and staff over the next 2-3 years. Thank you to those who have already completed the first survey.
Please contribute to this short Strategic Engagement Survey that can be completed anonymously to help guide the Board in their decision making for the 2023 - 2025 planning and will guide the work we do with you tamariki.
The BoT plans to complete the evaluation of feedback and will communicate this back with the school once completed.
We will be going through the information we have received so far at the board meeting next week. Please contribute to this consultation as this will guide the work we do with your tamariki.
Boards of trustees meetings are "open to the public". This means that even if you're not a trustee you are welcome to attend as an observer although you will not have speaking rights the way you would if it was a public meeting.
Some items on the agenda may need to be discussed in private, for example if they concern a complaint to the board or a disciplinary matter. The board chair will tell you when you need to leave the meeting, and when you can come back in after the in-committee discussion is complete.
The agenda for public meetings along with other documentation related to that meeting will be publicly available in the school office two working days before the meeting, and posted on the school website as soon as possible after that. Once minutes are ratified as true and correct by the Board of Trustees they are also available in the school office, and then on the website.
Details of our meetings can be found in the downloadable files section below and also on the Board of Trustees Blog.
The dates and times of meetings are included in the school newsletter and are posted on the school website. BOT meetings are usually held the first Wednesday of each month, 7-9pm in Koraunui School staffroom.