CHAIRMAN’S REPORT

 Annual General Meeting

Year Ending December 2016

This year has seen possibly the greatest period of transition for NZCPT since its inception.

The Trust Deed requires Trustees who have served for four consecutive terms of 2 years to step down for a period of 12 months, before being eligible for either re-election or re-appointment to the Board.  The loss of so much intellectual property, experience and knowledge as we farewelled four long-serving Trustees cannot be under-estimated, and I record here my grateful thanks for the service of Helen Pearson, Vaughan Darby, Graham Preston and Mark Larson for the guidance and Godly wisdom that they have brought to our deliberations over many years.

With a re-organisation also proposed with the Kingsway Trust, our CEO also indicated that he would not continue in a role that would see a greater proportion of his work requiring him to be in the Auckland area.  A search for a new person to fill the dual role of CEO for both NZCPT and the Kingsway Trust was undertaken and resulted in Warren Peat taking up this role from the beginning of February.

Warren has exceeded expectations as to how quickly he has settled into this role and has brought a fair balance of relationship building and pursuing the best for the vision of the schools which are represented by the NZCPT.  Warren’s vision for professionalism sparked a rebranding process that has seen the NZCPT ‘step up’ in terms of how it is represented to the wider community.  The NZCPT has very much appreciated Warren’s contribution as both CEO and trustee. 

Based in Orewa, closer to the financial and administrative support provided by Lynn Hewitt and Julie Coetzer, the priority for the CEO in this initial period has been to establish relationships, review processes, build rapport with our network of schools and undertake new work as resources permit, particularly in the area of Special Character development.  Julie also indicated her need to prioritise her time into other work from the end of Q3 and we are yet to find a suitably qualified replacement for her financial oversight and reporting skills.  We are indebted to Julie for her services over the years also and record a vote of thanks to her for handing over her role in such a professional manner.

NZCPT has engaged contractors to fulfil our obligations on the Boards of three of our schools in recent times.  Vaughan Darby with Excellere College in Whangarei and Mark Larson with KingsView School in Queenstown have been valuable conduits as they have attended Board meetings and provided advice and guidance over an extended period to these Principals and Boards, for which we continue to be most grateful.  Andy Hart undertook this role for us with Hawera Christian School also until his resignation during the year and we also acknowledge the service that he has provided to the NZCPT in this and a variety of other contracting roles over time.

The most visible and valuable behind-the-scenes person in our organisation is our Administrator Lynn Hewitt.  She continues to be the oil that allows the financial machinery of our relationships with all families in all of our schools to function so smoothly.  Lynn continues to give herself tirelessly, caringly and accurately to her work, ensuring that deadlines are met, transfers are timely and all manner of personal circumstances considered in arranging receipt of necessary Attendance Dues from our families.  Without her knowledge and continued service, we would be lost.

The network of schools for which NZCPT holds the Deed of Integration as Proprietor continues to grow.  Horizon School in Snells Beach (previously Mahurangi Christian School) came under the ownership of the Kingsway Trust from the beginning of 2016.  We welcome this community and have been excited to work with them as they have actively consulted with their community during the year about the prospect of developing a full Year 1-13 campus to cater for future growth in the Warkworth area.  A Change of Class application to the Ministry of Education is planned for early 2017.

The work done by NZCPT through Mark Larson and Andy Hart on behalf of Jireh School was finally rewarded in June, with advice from the Ministry of Education that the Minister had approved the application for Jireh to become a stand-alone Year 1 – 8 state-integrated school, after many years of growth and development as a satellite of KingsWay School in Silverdale.  The prayerful support of many is gratefully acknowledged in this decision.  The remainder of the year has been spent in finalising those negotiations and, notwithstanding some frustrating delays, the Establishment Board of Trustees will be appointed in early 2017 with a view to a new Principal taking up their foundation role from the beginning of Term 2, 2017.

An application to integrate Tumanako Christian School in Wellington was submitted by NZCPT towards the end of 2015 and after considerable delay, received the exciting news that they had received Ministerial approval to enter into negotiations with the Crown to begin a State-Integrated School in Johnsonville, Wellington from the beginning of the 2019 academic year.  This is an historic decision for Wellington and now a process that will require careful and prayerful stewardship as the many details are worked through before and Establishment Board of Trustees can be approved.

We also record our thanks for the work of particularly David and Susan Carpenter, founding Trustees of the Franklin Christian Education Trust and long-time visionaries of Christian education in Pukekohe.  During the year, the FCET entered into negotiations with the Kingsway Trust to merge their organisations, recognising the critical mass of the latter to achieve what has not been possible to this point, the acquisition and development of a site sufficiently large to accommodate a full Primary and ultimately a secondary school for KingsGate School.  Details of this merger are yet to be finalised, but David and Sue’s contribution and faithfulness is gratefully acknowledged as they step down from their governance roles.

Hamilton Christian School has previously applied unsuccessfully for Integration through NZCPT in 2013.  During the year, a further enquiry of the Ministry of Education in Hamilton indicated that any further consideration for Integration would not occur prior to 2020.  It was with some surprise and rejoicing that we received an approach from the Ministry in Q3 requesting that an updated application be submitted as soon as possible, as network growth and the possibility of another integrated school being developed in the area made for a timely review of network capacity and provision.  This work will be submitted in early 2017, with a timeline towards an Establishment Principal and Board of Trustees being appointed for 2018, the school opening as a State-Integrated school in 2019.  The Chairman continues to play an integral role in this negotiation.

Special Character Reviews were conducted at Hawera Christian School, KingsGate School and KingsWay School as part of the triennial schedule of external reviews.  We record our thanks to Helen Pearson, Liz Horn, Yael Klangwisan and Shaun Brooker for their support of the CEO in conducting these reviews, all of which celebrated the progress in special character formation since the previous review and offered tangible and practical opportunities for reflection over the next 3 years.  We rejoice that the ‘local identity’ of our schools provided each with their own unique set of reflections and challenges, at the same time knowing that Christian Education has a common core of belief and desire to see the risen Christ glorified in the lives of the young people who attend our schools.

We record our thanks to Teresa Thomson, Principal of KingsGate School for 9 years since the school achieved Integrated status, for her leadership and service to the Pukekohe Christian community. Teresa concluded her tenure at the end of 2016 and we wish her well as she continues to teach in the Christian Education sector and seeks the Lord for her next assignment.

Significant challenges face the NZCPT in the period ahead.  Trustee renewal is a matter for prayer, as no suitable Land Trust nominations were received for the positions made vacant by the retirement of long-serving Trustees.  It is not ideal for the CEO to also be a Trustee and we will need to address this balance in the near future.  Our constitution allows new Trustees to be elected every 2 years and with the retirement of the current Chairman inevitable from 2018, deliberate thought and prayer needs to go into raising a group of potential servants to carry this work forward.

Our schools continue to look to us for guidance on the development of Special Character education, with relevant, meaningful ways of communicating a ‘faith and life’ context that honours our biblical traditions, at the same time building a resilience to live a strong Christian life and example in a 21st century world.

Developing future leaders for our schools will be a priority as we forecast vacancies for both existing and new schools in our network during the next period.

Addressing the issues of the day, offering a Godly position on topics that have the potential to challenge and divide communities, will also be important as we seek to support our Principals and Boards of Trustees in maintaining that ‘special character difference’ that brings so many families to our schools.

Shaun Brooker

Chairman