College calls for urgent meeting after opening
Parents of students going to a new Hamilton school have been called to an urgent meeting to address low attendance, truancy, fights, vandalism and other issues.
Mangakōtukutuku College principal Dr Thilo Govender said in a letter to parents and caregivers of year 7, 8, and 9 students that despite best efforts, the school continued to experience difficulties with settling students into the new school.
“We need your help with their behaviour,” she wrote.
“A large number of children are not attending timetabled classes, truanting, engaging in fights, being disrespectful to staff, congregating in bathrooms, vandalising school property, vaping, and not wearing acceptable school uniform.
“With this type of behaviour, our teachers and staff are not able to support your child/children with their learning.”
The school came under fire after a year 9 student was allegedly knocked out cold by a senior in the presence of teachers on February 13.
Parents were alerted to the “disorder” at the school via a social media post made at 12.34pm last Tuesday, saying the school was in lockdown, and asking them not to come to either campus.
The school is in its first weeks of operating with students after it was formed by amalgamating Mellvile high and intermediate schools.
Parents and caregivers are invited to the meeting today at 6pm at the Collins Rd Campus Hall to discuss “how we can move forward” with their help.
Martine Richards-Tai, who has two grandchildren attending the school, in years 7 and 10, said the measure was too late and not good enough.
Richards-Tai said she was originally planning to try the school for a term, but it “isn’t working out very well from the first week”.
She expected a lot of angry parents at the meeting tomorrow, and said many were concerned about their kids’ safety.
“I don’t blame them, because we don’t know what's going on.
“I’m hoping that they’d actually communicate with us about what the hell's going on.
“They put up on Facebook that they were in lockdown, but they never communicated with any of us when we were asking about what was going on. There was no communication.”
While the school had taken up a new identity, Richards-Tai said there was no management to get the school running.
“Like the uniforms – we weren’t notified about any uniforms until the middle of January, and they’re expensive.
“And in the end, where the school is situated, it’s the lower-income families. Most of us are on benefits.”
She was peeved that the letter “made it sound like it’s our fault for the children's behavior and they can’t teach them”.
“I don’t feel that my grandchildren are safe at that school, and it shouldn’t be like this, and they’re blaming the parents. They’re wanting the parents to step up for the children’s behaviour, which I understand totally.
“But where is the discipline from the school’s part? From the first week that they came in and all those fights first started? Why are those kids still there?
“They’re the ones that are still ongoing with this behaviour and the issues.”
Richards-Tai said the school was not organised enough to open.
After the lockdown last week, Richards-Tai said some parents took the initiative to organise a meeting because they had heard nothing from the school.
“The school should have actually put this meeting well before now. This is ridiculous It’s not good enough what they’ve done.”