Principal's Message
The final Royal Commission report into Abuse in Care was made public on Wednesday 24 July (week 1 of term 3). The report is available on the Royal Commission’s website https://www.abuseincare.org.nz/
Wesley College is named in this report as there were former students who experienced historic bullying / abuse / neglect at the college and have brought their experience to the Royal Commission.
We also know this is not restricted to the years 1950 to 1999, and we have acknowledged that far too many of our students have had experiences that should never have occurred.
This is a sad part of our history. We want our school to provide a caring environment for students, staff, and all whanau. The school board has policies and practices in place to support this and our strategic Child Safeguarding plan is going to be crucial in ensuring our campus is as safe as it could possibly be as we move forward.
‘SAS’ 2024
We continue a spotlight on SAS - Safeguarding, Attendance, and Standards - the pillars that ensure a safe, inclusive, and high-quality learning experience for all our students.
Safeguarding: fostering a Safe and happy learning haven
In light of the recent royal Commission report we are driving the roll out of our Safeguarding strategic plan as hard and fast as we can. Safeguarding is our commitment from Board level down, to creating a secure and nurturing environment for every student. Our school places the utmost importance on the physical and emotional well-being of each child.
This is a significant piece of work to the level that is rarely found in any institutions across New Zealand.
Attendance: Building consistency for Academic Success
Regular attendance is the bedrock of academic achievement. It lays the groundwork for a disciplined routine and fosters a sense of responsibility among our students.
Attendance is improving Thank You Whanau!!
I want to congratulate and thank all our whanau for making an intentional effort to getting your children into school, on time, and every day. There has been a marked improvement in our overall attendance, and it appears we are all finally moving away from the recent era where events meant the importance of getting to school had been diminished. We have a little way to go before every student can be considered at 90% plus attendance, but the signs are very positive – thank you!
Standards: Elevating Educational Excellence
High academic standards are at the heart of our commitment to providing quality education. We strive to instill a love for learning and a pursuit of excellence in every student. We are now in the important part of the academic year where a high level of focus is crucial. There is so much support available for students here at Wesley College. Check in with your children – are they taking advantage of night school tutoring? Holiday sessions and after school sessions? Encourage and support them to ensure they are seizing all the opportunity provided for them.
Maintaining high standards also includes all aspects of school life, including grooming, uniform and haircuts – we want that feeling of ‘look good, do good’.
It is disappointing at times that some students continue to wear incorrect uniform such as dickies trousers. Again, please check in with your children and make sure they have everything they need to be a success.
Principals visit to Methodist Schools in Sri Lanka
I was recently privileged to visit the 2 Methodist schools in Sri Lanka. There used to be around 138 Methodist schools in Sri Lanka, but now only 2 remain. Sri Lanka is a country of over 22 million people, but on an island roughly 4 times smaller than NZ. The annual salary is around $3000 (NZ is approx. $65,000). School sizes range up to 8,500 students! And the average school class size is 45 students.
Wesley College Colombo is a Methodist all boys school, it is 150 years old; it has around 3,000 students, the class size is 30 - 35.
Methodist College is 158 years old; it has 1,800 students and limits class sizes.
The thing that struck me the most was the feeling of how blessed both staff and students felt to be in these environments. It made me realise just how blessed we ourselves are to be at Wesley College in Paerata. Good facilities and fields, a very small overall school role of 380 – 400, quality teaching and extra curricula activities, small class sizes - particularly in the senior school, warm comfortable hostels and great food to enjoy. There is so much to be thankful for and we must always place a value on and take advantage of these opportunities.
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