Date: 11 Mar 2023
10 March 2023
SCHOOL CLOSURE – Thursday 16 March 2023
Dear Parents and Caregivers
We have been notified that our teachers will be taking strike action on Thursday 16 March 2023.
As the Board of Trustees will not be in a position to provide teaching or supervision for students during the upcoming strike we have made the decision to close the school for instruction on this day. This means that students will not be able to attend school on Thursday 16 March 2023. Please make alternative arrangements for the care of your child/children on this day.
The key message from the NZEI union on behalf of teachers and principals, in regard to this strike action is;
“Our tamariki need a quality education. And we want to give that to them. Unfortunately, the funding for our schools is not enough for us to give us the time we would like to support all our kids to thrive. We need to attract and retain educators by ensuring that teaching is a valued and attractive profession. Principals and teachers in primary and area schools have considered at length offers from the government to settle our respective collective agreements. The offers did not meet our expectations, nor make sufficient steps towards the changes we need for our children to succeed. You may have seen that we voted to take industrial action on 16 March. It’s the last thing we wanted to do. And the decision was not taken lightly. We felt that this was the only way the government would listen and recognise that when they support our children to learn and succeed, we are supporting whānau and communities to thrive. We look forward to another great year in 2023 – and together with your support, building the case for better investment in our tamariki”.
We thank you for your support and apologise for any inconvenience that this action may cause you and your family.
Please note - all OOSPA music lessons will still take place at the usual times on this day.
Kind regards
Angela Strange
BOT Chairperson