New students to learn in staffroom
Increasing student numbers has encouraged a South Canterbury school to consider alternative classrooms to cater for the growth.
Gleniti Primary School has 376 pupils, one more than it finished the year with in 2016.
The Ministry of Education requested the school implement an enrolment scheme to help manage the school roll and ensure local students were able to enrol.
However, that did not solve the immediate space problem.
While other schools around the country have turned to libraries to cater for roll increases, the school decided to use its current staff room as an additional classroom to cater for increasing pupil numbers.
School principal Steve Zonnevylle said the Board of Trustees ‘‘decided that we wanted our library to remain as the amazing resource that it is for the whole school’’.
Staff would temporarily move to a meeting room beside the hall, as the current staff room was an ideal classroom space. The school and the ministry were discussing the possible addition of a new building, he said.
It was an exciting, but challenging time for the school, as it worked with the ministry towards implementing an enrolment zone, he said. ‘‘The school has a great reputation, and with the new subdivisions building around the school, and a lot of people moving into the Timaru area, there is pressure on us to accommodate everyone.’’
Ideally schools would reach a similar level at the end of the year, not before they reached term two, Zonnevylle said.
Board chairman Sean Goodwin said the board wanted manageable class sizes to maintain the character of the school.
The school would consult on an enrolment scheme with other schools and stakeholders, which did not have a specific timeline at present, Goodwin said.
Ministry sector enablement and support deputy secretary Katrina Casey said Gleniti Primary School had nearly reached building capacity.
‘‘The roll growth has been driven by enrolment of students from outside the school’s immediate area,’’ Casey said.
‘‘Establishing an enrolment scheme will help Gleniti Primary School make effective and efficient use of its capacity, and give it more control over its numbers.
‘‘We are in discussions with Gleniti and Highfield schools about implementing enrolment schemes and we will help them to bring this about in a timely way.’’
Other schools already had enrolment schemes in place to pre- vent overcrowding.
Bluestone School principal Ian Poulter said a significant number of potential students had to be turned down since the enrolment zone was put in place. The roll reduced by 75 to 80 students in the past two years.
Barton Rural School principal Anna Miller said the school zone had nearly always been there to manage resourcing.
Geraldine Primary School principal Andrew Leverton said the zone was still in place. If a family moved outside of the zone who had a child at the school, they could go to the same school.
Winchester Rural School principal Tre Sylvawood said the enrolment zone had been in place since 2014 to avoid overcrowding or the likelihood of overcrowding.
Craighead Diocesan School principal Lindy Graham said the scheme was not in place as its maximum roll had not been reached.
The ministry recorded enrolment schemes were in place at Grantlea Downs School, Waihao Downs School and Woodbury School.
Nude photo threat
Police are investigating after a person threatened to share nude photographs of a 17-year-old woman. Senior Sergeant Dylan Murray, of Timaru, said police received a complaint at 5pm on Sunday. According to the complainant, a ’’new friend’’ threatened to share nude photos of her, which prompted her to complain to police. Police had yet to speak to the person involved. The incident prompted Murray to warn of the potential danger of sending personal messages. ’’It’s extremely important to realise that once you push send, you have lost control of those images, forever,’’ he said.
Car hits pole
Three people were taken to Timaru Hospital with minor injuries following a crash near Pleasant Point on Sunday evening. Senior Sergeant Dylan Murray said a Timaru woman, 22, over-corrected after clipping the grass verge on the highway, ‘‘slamming’’ into a power pole. Police are also looking into a crash on the Orari-Rangitata Highway, involving a truck and car, near the Orari River. No one was injured, Murray said.
Waitaki Crash
A three car crash at the Waitaki Bridge on the Glenavy-Hilderthorpe Rd about 5pm on Sunday resulted in a large amount of oil being spilled on the road and the temporary closure of one lane, a police spokesman said. No one was injured in the crash.
Drugs uncovered
A small but ‘‘reasonably sophisticated’’ cannabis growing operation was uncovered at a Glenavy address on Monday. Senior Sergeant Kevin Reynolds, of Waimate, said between 30 and 50 plants were found in what he described as a ‘‘reasonably sophisticated set up containing plants that appeared ready to crop’’. Police knew the identities of those involved and were looking to speak with them, he said.
Police notebook
A Timaru man, 23, was charged with wilful damage following a domestic incident at a Craigie Ave address at 2.15am on Monday, Senior Sergeant Dylan Murray said.