Newsletter

October 26 2018 Term 4 No. 1

From the Desk of the Principal

Fakaalofa lahi atu! (Niuean Language Week last week)

Welcome to our last term everyone. We have an action packed last term for our young people,

that is going to be great fun for everyone. We welcome a number of new staff and also a number

of new students and prepare for the ‘run to the finishing line’ of the year. It’s a real shame that

our planned outing/tramp to Woodhaugh Gardens was cancelled . Instead the staff and students

came to base and played games and had a sausage for lunch.

This term is only a short term of nine weeks (school finishes on the 18th

Dec) but we have a lot to

fit into it. The junior classes will be doing weekly RDA (Riding for the Disabled) and swimming,

and the seniors will have weekly drama, sports and swimming.

This term will be the term in which parents will receive the new assessment and reporting

documentation about their child’s progress. Our senior management team and staff have had

weekly professional development meetings over two terms to get these to a stage where we feel

they best reflect the learning and progress of your child. It was great to see over seventeen

families represented at our parent evening last month where we explained the reporting system.

Thank you to all those who come to this evening it was a great success. We intend to have more

of these throughout the year so that we can develop and grow our Sara Cohen community.

We welcome Matthew and Curtis to Sara Cohen. Matt will be starting in Manuka and Curtis will

be in Totara. We also welcome Tony Martin to our teaching staff. Tony has come from

Balmacewen Intermediate and before that Macandrew Intermediate. We also welcome Mark and

Matthew to our teacher aide staff. We also have Steve (ex Gobus driver) on base doing his

teacher refresher course.

We are in the process of opening a new class on base. We have done this because of roll growth and our commitment to keeping

class student numbers low. We will also be starting our transition of students into new classes. The parents/caregivers of these

students have all been informed. If you have not been informed then your child will be in the same class.

Unfortunately there has been no progress in the teachers and principals pay and conditions negotiations. This has led to a vote on

whether teachers and principals will go back on strike. The response has been overwhelmingly to strike. The strike will be rolling

regional strikes with dates yet to be decided. We hope that the negotiating parties will be able to navigate the impasse, resolve this

and bring us back from the edge.

I have attached our complaints procedure form to this newsletter. Members of the board have received an anonymous letter that is

unable to be investigated unless it is signed. We encourage anyone with any concerns to contact us promptly so that we can seek

resolution together into their concerns.

There has not been much progress with the new build yet. We are still contracting architects and hopefully I will have more to report

in my next newsletter.

Please sign up to our Sara Cohen Facebook page. You will find this by putting Sara Cohen into the Facebook search engine. Good

luck to Joketani (Chuckie) Koroi (teacher aide Rata) who will be playing in the Mitre 10 Championship final this weekend and well

done to him scoring a try that got Otago the Ranfurly Shield back. Congratulations to Solomon Pole (teacher aide Rata and

Pikopiko) on making the Otago 7’s team.

Have a great weekend,

Matthew

SCHOOL OFFICE - Julie 03 455 8347 – 2

027 3538 244 julie.williamson@saracohen.scho

ol.nz

ABSENCES - ALL CLASSES

& SATELLITES - please phone the office by

9.00am

455 0347 – 1 for Absence line

or Text 027 3538 244 Please leave your

student’s name and a reason for the absence.

From the Kowhai Class . . .

Rebecca enjoying

playing at the park.

Brooke in her standing frame at the

School of Physiotherapy.

Lots of smiles on our walk

through Woodhaugh

Gardens.

Tyryn wants to go

for a ride in the fire

truck.

Bush walking at

Woodhaugh Gardens.

Totara News

Josh, Hayden, Levi and Jordan F. Harley is on washing playing a game of money bingo up duty.

with Chris. .

Hayden Luke, Jordan G and Harley enjoying the parachute and volleyball

at Wednesday sports.

Jordan F, Levi and Josh are blending pastels to create beautiful 3D flowers.

James is enjoying the

macaroni and cheese

we made for lunch

Sport at Sara Cohen School

Swimming was much enjoyed by the learners. We will be focusing on water confidence, flotation, and freestyle and backstroke.

This is Wednesday Sport students with the Otago Rugby Team. They played volleyball with us!

Wednesday Sport

New Faces at Sara Cohen School:

An accessible inclusive event

For people with disabilities & the wider Dunedin Community

28th October 2018

2-6 pm free entry

Featuring Live Music from Tiny Pieces of 8 Julian Temple Band

Tahu & the Takahes

Tony Martin - Teacher

Steve Alexander –

Teacher (Retraining)

Mark McCormack -

Relieving Teacher Aide

Mark Davis – Relieving

Teacher Aide

Sara Cohen School Procedure

under NAG 3: Personnel & Employer Responsibility

Complaints

Rationale

It is important that the school responds to complaints in a fair and consistent manner and provides members of the school community with procedures to follow. Outside agencies will be asked for advice in any situation where the Board is unsure how to resolve the issue in accordance with the relevant employment contracts, legislation and the school’s codes of conduct.

Procedure Statement The procedure is to: 1. ensure consistency when dealing with complaints. 2. deal with complaints in line with set procedures such as in Collective Agreements. 3. put in place corrective or disciplinary action where this is deemed appropriate. 4. safeguard the rights of both complainants and of staff or students involved. Policy Guidelines

1. Complaints may be made in writing ( by email or letter) or in person in the first instance to the relevant staff member, the principal or Board Chairperson.

2. Documentation will be stored in a complaints file which is held by the school in confidential storage. 3. Complaints of a serious nature should be directed to the principal or the Board Chairperson. 4. Other parties will be informed at the principal’s or Board Chair’s discretion and appropriate action taken at that

point as required 5. In cases of complaint against the principal which remains unresolved in the first instance, a formal written

complaint may be made to the B.O.T. chair or in person. ( see Complaints against the Principal Procedure) 6. Complainants are informed by the principal or B.O.T. chairperson of the outcomes of the complaint enquiry or

hearing. 7. Where appropriate outside mediation may be sought from organisations such as STA, PPTA, NZEI etc. 8. In dealing with any complaint the school will act in accordance with the relevant conditions of the current

employment agreement pertaining. 9. In all cases the Board, in dealing with complaints, will act as a good employer. 10. Complaints will be treated in the strictest confidence by the school and all rights respected. Where necessary

the school will assist with any language issues or cultural sensitivities. 11. All employees against whom a complaint is made will be advised in writing of the nature of the complaint, the

process of investigation and the availability of support. 12. The complaints procedure will be published to the school community at least once each year through the school

newsletter.

Dated:

Reviewed:

Signed: