The chairperson provides a summary of the 2013 year at Pukekohe Hill School. Key points include: - There was a largely new board elected in 2013 that has faced a steep learning curve. - The school received high praise in its 2012 ERO review for its strong, dedicated teaching team and sound governance. - Enrollment has remained steady at around 600 students, placing pressure on school facilities. Repairs were made to the roof and leaks over the past year. - The board reviews the school's strategic charter and policies annually to set goals and measure progress. Efforts continue to support Maori and Pacific island students.

1. ChairpersonAnnualReport / 2013 / Annual Reports / BOT
Chairperson’s Annual Report
Pukekohe Hill School Board of Trustees 2013
Welcome to my first report for the Board. Time has certainly flown and at the time of writing this
report it is amazing to think that a year has passed since the elections. Those elections gave us a
largely new Board and I would like to thank all of those people
who put their names forward to be part of the Board and
congratulate those who were successful and form our current
Board. Without parents willing to be involved and help out at every
level our schools would struggle to function. Every bit we can do
to help makes our school a better place and allows our children to
be part of a “community of lifelong learners”.
With so many new faces around the table (including me) it has been a steep learning curve around
the governance issues that face Pukekohe Hill School and indeed many of our schools. I would
sincerely like to thank all of the current Board members for the enthusiasm they have shown to take
on key roles. I would also like to acknowledge the work of the previous Board(s) and the great
foundation they have left for us to work with.
I would also like to acknowledge the wonderful work done by Graeme Rix and his leadership team
and all of the teaching staff. This was recognised in the 2012 ERO review and assessment. This has
been covered in previous reports and a number of other areas, but it is worth reflecting that the school
received the very high commendation from the ERO team that the next review would be in 4 to 5
years, rather than the usual 3 yearly visit. This top commendation is only given to about 12 % of New
Zealand schools. It demonstrates to me that we have a strong, dedicated and committed teaching team
at Pukekohe Hill School, backed by sound governance. As a community we should be proud of the
school and the opportunities it offers our children.
Time goes by so fast that often we do not take time out to reflect on our goals and achievements. It
has been a busy year and the school roll continues to be steady at close
to 600 pupils. This places pressure on the facilities that we have and
need to maintain. The Board has developed the 5 to 10 year property
plan and are awaiting approval from the MOE, but the past year has
seen the much awaited replacement of the roof on the Sizemore block
and works to repair the leaks around the pool, plus works to upgrade
the school’s internet and broadband connectivity.
Popular learning hub
A highlight of the Board meetings is the classroom reports highlighting learning themes and what
each class is trying to achieve. We have been fortunate to visit a number of classrooms and learn from
the teachers what themes they are using to engage and inspire our children to be lifelong learners.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the PTA. The
Board and PTA have had a close relationship and the work of a
number of people within the PTA help raise funds that are used
for a number of activities and facilities around the school. As
people are probably aware, the school must operate on a tightly
controlled budget and the Board must be fiscally prudent in
how the funds are managed. The work the PTA does in helping
raise funds for the nicer aspects of school life (helping with
camps, school trips, playground activities etc.) is much appreciated. New garden and mural

2. ChairpersonAnnualReport / 2013 / Annual Reports / BOT
Our vision statement is core to how we function and underpins what we do as your school and it is
always worthwhile reflecting on it:
“At Pukekohe Hill School we are a community of lifelong learners committed to achieving our best
and making a difference”.
The key word to me in the vision statement is “community”. We are proud to be a part of this great
community and openly welcome your engagement and support. If I could make one plea to
everybody, it is to get involved with your school because it is “your” school. Any little thing that
you can do to help makes a difference, like helping with the school crossing points, cooking the
sausages at the sausage sizzle, helping on school trips or at school camps, helping the PTA with
fundraisers etc. If we all did a little, imagine what we could achieve.
We were disappointed to see the school suffer two separate acts of arson resulting in significant
damage to the school playground and lesser damage to the Sizemore block. Both incidents have
caused disruption to the school, time and costs to fix. Fortunately the police apprehended the culprits,
but we hope that these sorts of acts do not continue. It is disappointing that there are people in our
wider community who have little or no respect for others or their property.
The Board has reviewed the Strategic Charter for the school and all of the key policies in the past
year. The Strategic Charter sets the school’s direction and goals for the next three years and the
various policies are the framework of how we operate in delivering those goals. It is important to
review and update these documents regularly and to give us measurable targets to benchmark
ourselves against.
In line with the Ministry of Education’s focus on priority learners, the school continues its efforts in
addressing the needs of Maori and Pacifika student achievement with continuing involvement in Te
Huarahi and our own Whanau Hui. The Board regularly reviews the progress of priority learners and
all students against the national learning standards and also against historical information to try to
work with the senior leadership team to achieve continuing improvement.
There are still issues for our administrative team in dealing with Novopay, but these issues have
reduced in number. Hopefully these issues will continue to be weeded out by the Government.
Overall I would have to say that the Hill School has always been, still is, and will continue to be, a
great school that the community can be very proud of. As a Board, we are appreciative of the efforts
of every member of the school community and staff throughout 2013. It is wonderful, as a parent, to
bring my child to school and see so many enthusiastic kids laughing and running around, full of
energy and ready to learn.
As Chairperson of the Board, it has been a true pleasure to be associated with my fellow Board
members; Andrew Morgan, Amy Nicholson, Nigel de Maine, Julie Brooks, Rob Davis, and Principal
Graeme Rix. My deepest thanks to the team and I look forward to another positive and challenging
year ahead.
Greg Saunders
Chairperson of the Pukekohe
Hill School Board of Trustees
Reaching new heights in our learning
Taking risks in our learning

3. ChairpersonAnnualReport / 2013 / Annual Reports / BOT
“Don’t judge each day by the harvest that you reap, but by the seeds you sow”
Robert Louis Stevenson