Opening!

A new school generates a considerable amount of interest within a community and here in 'little, old' Queenstown we are BIG news - so I discovered when I was recognised in the supermarket! It is fabulous that people are taking an interest in the future of education and the direction that we are going.

As part of the opening sequence (I guess you could call it!), we hosted the community for an open day. It was lovely to see such a diverse range of people there. Young couples, who haven't yet had children, and those with very young children - right through to older generations who just wanted to see what the fuss was about. Of course, the foundation children and their families attended too, and it was lovely to see the children interacting with the spaces. 

Some spaces were a lot more popular than others, which was great to observe in an informal setting. It has sparked discussions amongst the learning mentors but how to 'activate' the other spaces and how to 'manage' the popular ones!

Part Two of our opening sequence was a BBQ and welcome for the families. The children received a name tag with their name and their 'mentor' teacher on it, as well as a treasure hunt. The children had a great time heading around the school finding all the places they needed to know about - library, toilets, fountain, bike stands, kiss and drop, their habitat, and of course, their learning mentor. It was lovely to meet the children formally, finally and for it all to start feeling 'real'. I can't wait for first day Monday!