BIRKENHEAD COLLEGE
Minutes of the Meeting of the Board of Trustees held at Birkenhead College on
Thursday, 23 May 2019
1. Present
T Dobbin (Chair), C Waller (Principal), T Brooksbank, S Beattie,
M Darragh, J Tawhai, A Pageau
Secretary
Reneé Lubbe
2. Apologies
A Sturny, D Cox
3. Minutes of the previous meeting
The Minutes of the Meeting held on 28 March 2019 were accepted.
Brooksbank / Dobbin
4. Matters Arising:
o Amendment to spelling of Darrah to Darragh in heading 1, trustees present.
o Amendment to name of trustee seconding item 3, from Dryburgh to Darragh.
o The swimming pool is stil leaking. Repairs to be carried out later this year.
5. Correspondence
o NZEI Te Riu Roa Notification of paid union meetings
o NZSTA Letter – EWSG (Education Workforce Strategy Group)
o MOE –Staffing Banking balance
o NZSTA – AGM Notification
o Magazines: Tukutuku Korero; Education Gazette; STA News.
6. Principal’s Report
The Principal’s report was tabled, and Mr Waller spoke to some items.
o There is a lot going on in co-curricula.
o The senior group made it to Rockquest round 2.
o New staff as per report.
o Two senior staff attended a 2-day EOTC workshop.
o Physical Education teacher, Tom Al en, has been chosen to play international 3-on-3
basketball in China.
o NZQA fees removal is good, as this used to be huge logistical maintenance for
schools.
o A Vietnamese student enrolled for 4 to 5 years.
Mr Waller thanked Jamie Tawhai for his support and assistance to him being a new principal, and
service to the school.
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7. Committee Reports
Finance:
o The month of March resulted in a surplus of $103.
o The month of April resulted in a surplus of $64K.
o Projected year-end Working Capital as at 31 December 2019 was $70K
Property:
o Auckland Council have signed off the plans for H-block.
o Remediation work to be carried out on the Corbel stage 2 roofing works.
o The BOT Contribution towards rationalisation is $40K.
o Talks continue with the Kohanga Reo trust with regards to parking and an outdoor
playing area.
o A Birkenhead Licencing Trust grant application for landscaping was successful.
Drainage is needed and student seating wil be included. Works have a 6-month time
frame as per grant conditions.
o Disabled access has been assessed around the school. A dedicated disabled toilet is
being considered in the Admin block, between the current ladies rooms and the sick
bay toilet. The Ministry wil require the Board’s approval if work costing are accepted.
The Board agreed for works to be carried out as required.
8. Student Representative’s Report as handed out:
o The new family zone wifi has been integrated into the school well, and there have
been very few complaints from students.
o Al winter sports have begun, as well as preparation for production at the end of this
term.
o International day was a huge success at the very end of last term.
o Career expo was held in week two, with a big turnout from students.
o Applications for universities and scholarships for next year have opened and a lot of
year 13 students are busy applying.
o BC entered two bands into Rockquest, with our senior band Distraction making it
through to regionals.
9. Staff Representative’s Report:
o PPTA supported the NCA review. 50% Credits wil be externally assessed which is seen
as fair marking.
o Strikes on next Wednesday with all schools participating. Following this, Secondary
schools wil taking part in ‘light action’, rostering certain classes as non-teaching days.
o Mr Pageau wil not be standing for the next trustee election and said that he had enjoyed
serving on the board of trustees.
The Chairman thanked Mr Pageau for his amazing contribution over the past 6 years, and that
is was great to see his passion for education and this school.
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10. General Business
o BOT Elections are underway.
o As trustees, Jamie Tawhai, Antoinette Sturny and David Cox are not standing in this
year’s elections. The Chairman thanked these three outgoing trustees for their
knowledge, guidance and valuable contributions for serving on the Board.
o Mr Tawhai was also thanked for arranging the electronic key system that has benefited
the school in all areas that are hired out to the public.
11. Date of next Board Meeting: Thursday, 27 June 2019.
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