The new board held their first full meeting on 27 September (after an induction meeting the week prior, to assist the board with understanding their roles and responsibilities). New parent-elected board members, Victoria Mahan and Sunny Patel; along with new staff representative Anna Cooper, and returning members Kim Tay and Russ Clements, were welcomed to the meeting. Joy Bradfield was re-elected the Presiding member (Chair) with Kim Tay, Deputy.

Thank you to all those who stood for election, it takes courage to put yourselves out there, we appreciate your willingness to serve our school and your ongoing support.

Our first meeting commenced with an excellent presentation from Shona McRae, HOD Social Sciences. The Social Sciences curriculum review covers Social Studies, Classical Studies, Geography and History. Shona provided the board with insight into the MOE’s curricular changes for the new Aotearoa New Zealand History curriculum for Year 9 and 10, and the refresh of Social Studies curriculum. Shona also presented an overview of the extensive co-curricular activities that her department is engaged in for the benefit of all students, with guest speakers and relevant activities during lunchbreaks and outside of school.

Dan Benadie then presented the annual AV/IT Risk Management and Cybersafety reports. This provided the board with an overall snapshot of the recent upgrades and modifications deployed to further enhance the school’s network performance, security, and infrastructure over the past 12 months. The school’s ICT infrastructure services over 2500 users and up to 8000 devices. The board is well aware of their legal responsibilities and the implications of cyber risk to the school and works with Dan, and external experts, to continue to build cyber competency and ensure the establishment of an effective school-wide cyber risk management framework. The report covered the school’s network and projects, backups and disaster recoveries, cyber security and safety, along with an AV update and proposed expenditure for 2023.

Deputy Principal, Paul Davis, who was in attendance as the Senior Leadership member for the above two portfolio areas, was able to present his Health and Safety report to the board in person. Paul prepares the Health and Safety report for each board meeting, and also leads a school Health and Safety meeting each term, with minutes provided to the board. Health and Safety is an important aspect of the board’s work, and the board thanked Paul for the work undertaken in preparing these comprehensive reports, and during the pandemic especially with regard to the ever changing MOE Covid protocols.

Aside from the regular board business, this was the last meeting for our outgoing student board member, Kate Liu. Kate has been an active member of the board providing valuable student voice during our meetings. We wish her well in her upcoming exams and her last year at school.

We will welcome our newly elected student board member, Jappan Kaur, at our next meeting on 15 November. The agenda for this meeting includes the draft budget for 2023, a tour of the school site, and a board update on all aspects of property management and planning, in preparation for the next 5 year property plan. Our Property Manager, Grant Brown, is retiring after 12 years at WGHS. He has overseen all our property projects, including the administration block, covered courts and the new event centre, and has been instrumental along with his committed team in ensuring our school property is always well maintained and fit for purpose. Grant has been an invaluable Property Manager and we wish him well in his retirement.

Please note that board meetings are open to the public and anyone is welcome to attend.