News & Events

NZSL

Here’s a brief update on some of the key activities happening across our school community:

1. The Deaf Studies Guidelines project has been a significant undertaking, involving a lot of behind-the-scenes effort and collaboration. This will be launched to staff on the 14th of October.
2. We are excited to share that we have established a Secondary Provision in Wellington in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Tawa College. Planning for classrooms and staff recruitment is underway, and a successful information evening was held for families in Week 6 of term 3.
3. The Schools Implementation Plan continues to make steady progress in alignment with our Strategic Plan.
4. Throughout Term 3, we have continued to work closely with ERO on Ko Taku Reo’s draft evaluation reports. These will be released early in Term 4. This is a milestone for us, as it will be our first ERO report since the merger, and it reflects the hard work of so many across the school community.
5. We’ve made significant progress on the draft Enrolled School Philosophy framework, and meetings with parents have provided valuable feedback on the development of this framework.
6. Structuring for growth
   During Term 3, we made some important changes to our management structure to better support the school’s growth and strategic goals. I want to assure you that such decisions are not made without careful consideration and consultation as we seek to ensure we have the best structures in place to support the outcomes we want to achieve as a school.
7. What’s happening with Executive Principal recruitment?
   As previously shared, we’ve been working closely with the Ministry of Education on the Executive Principal role definition. The complexities of this role, the breadth of educational services, and our unique structure have meant that the process has taken time. However, I’m pleased to share that we are making good progress. We are on track to begin the recruitment process in Term 4. We will be consulting widely to ensure the role description and attributes we are seeking in the new Executive Principal align with the needs of our school.
8. What about the Commissioner's role and the new Board?
   Since my last update, I’ve continued to work with the Ministry on matters related to the school’s constitution and governance structures. We are now aiming to hold a Board election in late Term 1 or early Term 2 of 2025. This will be an exciting step forward for our school community, and I appreciate everyone’s patience and support as we move through this process.
   That’s a very brief update as to what’s been happening in the school.
   I encourage you to stay up-to-date with news and announcements through our website. As always, if you have any questions or need further clarification, please feel free to reach out to Cindy Cascalheira at
   cindy.cascalheira@kotakureo.school.nz.

Mike Rondel
Commissioner
Ko Taku Reo - Deaf Education New Zealand