Kia tau te rangimārie ki a koutou

It has been interesting watching the international press reaction to New Zealand going into the latest lockdown after only one case of the Delta variant of COVID-19 (now of course there are many more cases because of its highly infectious nature).  New Zealand has been sheltered from the worst of the pandemic while the rest of the world has been living with high rates of infection, death and extended lockdown periods.  Internationally, countries have reached the point where they believe living with this virus is going to be the only show in town with many commentators arguing that zero COVID leads to zero economies, zero society, zero freedom and zero democracy.  One international writer even made the comment that our latest lockdown is a type of poetic justice and New Zealand's approach has frightening consequences.

It is apparent that it gets a little harder every time Aotearoa moves into lockdown and our Auckland community has suffered the most.  Once more, senior students in our schools have had their education interrupted and staff are having to move quickly back into remote learning mode with all its challenges.  It is a time of great stress for those families where income is compromised, and life is made even more difficult.  After eighteen months of this pandemic, we could easily expect to see more resistance in our community to lockdown and its implications.  However, while the “Team of Five Million” is now sounding a little jaded it is still alive and kicking for which we can all be grateful.

As an active participant in this latest lockdown, the views of my education and work colleagues seems so far away from the tone of international writers.  There seems to be a feeling of great pride that our country has the courage to put the health and safety of our citizens before other considerations.  I am proud that we as New Zealanders continue to forge our own path as intensely independent thinkers where the health and dignity of the human person is paramount.  Acting in the interests of others, with a particular focus on those in our country who are most vulnerable is a hard strategy to criticise and is an act of national responsibility within our democratic framework.  Rights of freedom and democracy are hard won and must be practiced with reference to our responsibilities to be loving and compassionate neighbours and fellow citizens.  It is a shame if we lose sight of this and start to accept the death or poor health of our fellow citizens as somehow inevitable and the cost that must be paid to return to normality. 

However, democracy requires an openness to critique and the role of opposition parties in government will always be crucial in holding the government to account over its decisions.  Issues such as MIQ availability and the poor rate of vaccinations in comparison to other OECD countries continue to be raised as pressure is applied to “raise our game” to protect our citizens and begin opening up to the world.  It is inevitable that our borders will open at some stage but when this happens, like the government, each of us has a responsibility to be part of the solution and make sure we are vaccinated and are meeting our responsibility of care for others.  These are challenging and difficult times but the scenes of distress in Kabul also highlight our continuing need to support for our fellow global citizens.  The terror being experienced by many of its citizens as the Taliban take control, and escape becomes the only option for many, is a scale up on what we are experiencing in lockdown.  That is not to diminish the anxiety and difficulty of our situation but to acknowledge those who do not have the support we enjoy. The scenes at Kabul airport are very difficult to watch and reconcile within our humanity.

EPMP

APIS is currently receiving many enquiries regarding the EPMP funds.  The recent ZOOM meetings were very successful in developing a comprehensive document of frequently asked questions and this is being regularly updated on the EPMP webpage as new questions are asked of APIS.  Please be aware that all communication regarding the EPMP funds must come through the proprietor.  This is a key feature of our system of accountability to the Ministry of Education and it is very important that this is understood by boards and proprietors.

APIS has approved a small number of building projects already with one proprietor from Christchurch gaining approval for a funding transfer – very impressive.  However, APIS acknowledges that the current lockdown will not be helpful for proprietors, but the systems are there and APIS will endeavour to respond as quickly as possible.  We look forward to receiving further applications for approval over September.

Ngā manaakitanga

Kevin Shore

Chief Executive Officer

Essential Property Maintenance Package (EPMP) – Progress Update

The APIS EPMP Office is currently processing the first batch of applications for EPMP project pre-approvals.  The Office has also approved it’s first two funding release applications, both in the South Island.

We invite all Proprietors and School Boards to visit the APIS webpage dedicated to EPMP.  The webpage has all the information you need to know about the process for applying for EPMP funding for your school. The EPMP page outlines the deadlines, the process for applying for funds, the per student rate and much more information to support Proprietors to ensure they access the funds available to them.  There is a Quick links box where you can access all of the information, guidelines, forms and processes required.  There have also been four information briefings held via zoom and these recordings are also available along with an FAQ page.  Please make sure you visit the EPMP webpage to familiarise yourself with the deadlines.  They first key deadline is for all projects to be pre-approved by August 2022. For all enquiries please email APIS.EPMP@nzceo.org.nz

Schedule of charges for state integrated schools

APIS and the Ministry of Education (MoE) have co-designed an example schedule of charges for state integrated schools to use on their websites to communicate to parents about the compulsory payments and voluntary donations required each year.   To avoid confusion for parents about what is a compulsory payment and what is a voluntary donation, MoE have suggested it would be good practice for all state integrated schools to have a consistent schedule of charges.  APIS is supportive of any practice that helps parents understand their obligations. You can find the example of the schedule here.

The AIS Business Managers Conference will be now be held on Wednesday 27th and Thursday 28th of October. The venue is the Brentwood Hotel, Wellington.

There are few things to take note of

1. Registrations remain open for booking with the new dates. Please click here  
2. If you have already registered and you are still able to attend on these dates then your registration remains. 
3. For those who had booked with the Brentwood Hotel for the September dates, then please contact the hotel on 04 920 0400 or email reservations@brentwoodhotel.co.nz to change your booking.
4. If you have registered but cannot make the new dates and need to cancel, please email info.aisnz@gmail.com If you have paid already then please also provide your bank account details so we can refund your registration fee.

There is a thoroughly informative programme planned highlighted with a presentation by Iona Holsted (Secretary for Education). The Conference is a wonderful opportunity to network with like minded people.

Please see the attached programme for more information.

If you have any questions please contact Rhonda on info.aisnz@gmail.com. 

We are looking for someone to take up this important admin role based in our Wellington Office. The role is 30 hours per week but there is some flexibility to increase the hours if required. If you have great admin and phone skills then we would love to hear from you. For a job description or to apply for the role please email the National Youth Leader, Neville Bartley at Neville.b@sunz.org.nz

The staff at Scripture Union are working and available to help support your youth and children's teams as they deal with this latest lockdown. They are there just to talk, to advise and to help point you in the way of useful resources that can help during this time:

Create a Christmas card cover for The Open Home Foundation’s official Christmas cards. Enter with online or A5 sized paper. The theme is:

Any child aged between 5 and 10 and not a biological child of an Open Home Foundation staff member, and residing in New Zealand, is eligible to enter. The competition runs till 4pm, 8October. Entries received after this time will not be eligible.

For full details follow the link below