Figure 1.--Headmaster or principal reports tend to stress academic and activities achievements. Many headmasters also stress the sports prigram.
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Figure 1.--Headmaster or principal reports tend to stress academic and activities achievements. Many headmasters also stress the sports prigram. |
The headmaster or principal at New Zealand schools, especially the secondary schools, provide annual or term reports on developments at their schools. These reports contain interesting information, not only about the specific school, but about New Zealand school trends in general.
New Zealand's state school system has a number of different types of schools, including Catholic and other private schools integrated into the state system. This is reflected in the mission statements of the varying types of different schools. Representative headmaster or principal reports are presented here in each of the following links for different school types.
This headmaster aserts that his school maintains its position as the quality education provider in Christchurch and leads the way in many areas in education throughout New Zealand. He discusses the tension between traditionalists in their view of education and
those who feel that the change is not going to benefit either them or the people they work with. "Change in education." he aserts, "is never easy." He reports that many staff have been involved in the writing of the National Curriculum in Science and in Mathematics. He expresses concern that the National Qualifications Authority has unfortunately not lived up to the expectations which many had of it.
The headmaster at this school recounts the academic successes of the students and athletic teams and explains that they have many more applications for new students than they can accomodate. This term 3 report also deals with upcoming examinations. He also mentions reunion groups, which he classifies by when the boy began school, in contrast to American schools which are always by graduation year.
New Zealand has one of the smallest private or independent school system of all the western democracies. Successive governments have made a concerted effort to absorb private schools through policies of reducing state support to private schools and generous financial enducements to schools agreeing to integration. Many parents, however preceive decling standards in the state system which is creating continued demand for private school education.
The principal at a Christian school notes that it is easier to start a Christain school than to keep it Christain. The issue of integrating Christian schools was on the mind of a new principal.
