Welcome Whaea Kelly
Happy New year to all returning and new children and whānau. We were straight into it this year officially welcoming Whaea Kelly with a full school pōwhiri.
We would like to thank all of the teachers, staff and whānau who took time out of their school holidays to plan and organise the Pōwhiri, the parents and whānau who attended and/or helped, to the tamariki who embodied our steps for success throughout the day and a very special mention and a thank you must go to Robyn and Konga.
It was really lovely to meet all of Whaea Kelly’s whānau and the entire busload of Hampton Hill children, staff and parents who came to support Kelly. We are so pleased to officially welcome Whaea Kelly and her whānau to Gracefield School and we know that she is looking forward to meeting you all so please if you haven’t already, don't be shy, stop and say hello.
2020 Building Refurbishment
For many years now the Board of Trustees have investigated several options to try and extend the teaching area of several classrooms (Rooms 3&4 and Learning Support) in the main block. Unfortunately, most of the options that were available to us did not justify the cost involved for the very little teaching space that we would gain. However, last year the Ministry of Education offered schools specific funding to design Innovative Learning Environments, which are spaces best designed to develop and grow 21st-century learners.
Initially, the BOT agreed that in principle it would be a great way to modernise and maximise the limited space in our main block. After much discussion, research and communication back and forward with the MOE over many months, the work was confirmed and went out to tender at the very end of last year. Since then, everything has moved along at speed and just this week we found out that the builders will arrive in the next few weeks!
We know that many of you will have questions and or concerns about the project, especially those of you with children in the classrooms who will be directly affected. We want to assure everyone that we have considered the implications this project will have on staff and children carefully and we believe that the outcome will be well worth the short term disruption. We are also very fortunate that Whaea Kelly has worked with the same Ministry of Education Project Manager and the construction company Peryers, who have a good reputation working with schools.
We have informed the building and design team that we expect clear and regular communication throughout the project, so we can inform the community and staff of any health and safety issues, timeframes and progress.
At the Meet the Teacher Evening on Wednesday, we will have information about the build, including plans and timelines and staff will be on hand to answer any questions you might have. For those who are unable to make the evening, we will have information available on the school’s website.
Information and basic timeline
1. Ashby Property - MOE Property Managers
2. Peryer Construction Company - Building company
3. DesignIt - Architecture company
4. Classrooms affected - Rooms, 3, 4 and Learning Support - Toilets in between library and Room 2
5. R4=Library R3=Room 10 Learning Support working across the school - Toilets TBC
6. Building company will be onsite from Monday 9th March
7. Possible time frame = 14-16 weeks
8. Start date 9th March / End date - Mid to late term 2
Health and Safety aspects
● Peryer Construction will provide a Safety Access Plan - This includes an aerial map of the school where safety fences will be placed, access ways into the school, car parking, storage for the building company workers
● All onsite workers will be police vetted and will be available to Gracefield staff
● Sign in book of all onsite workers will be accessible to Gracefield School staff at all times
● Peryer’s will only use staff toilets, breaks will be taken during morning tea and lunchtimes
● Access to the site will only be during class times not during the school times allocated to morning, lunchtimes and before and after school
