2248 days ago

Hamilton Christian School Integration

Jamie Neighbourly Lead from Chartwell

I'm excited to let you know that state integration has been confirmed for Hamilton Christian School. This has been a long journey for the school, and will provide opportunity for lower fees, increased roll growth, and stronger support from the Ministry of Education.

The following message is from Principal Shaun Brooker:

Kia ora whānau. It is with great excitement that I let you know I received a phone call from our Labour MP Jamie Strange, to let me know the Minister of Education has now signed our integration deed.

This signals the realisation of Hamilton Christian School becoming an Integrated school from the beginning of 2020. This is the most important step in the school becoming integrated. There are now some finer details that we will work through with the Ministry of Education.

One of those details is the Attendance Dues that we will need to charge for the coming year. While we are very excited that the school will become much more affordable for families we are still required to fund two aspects of the school. One is the buildings as we can now begin some significant building projects for more classrooms and a gymnasium. The second aspect of the school which is not funded by the MoE is our special character. For each of these we need to collect funds from parents, however, in return for the MoE not paying for these the MoE allows us to support our special character as we chose.

To fund the above Hamilton Christian School will charge parents Attendance Dues and Special Character Donation. While we do not have the final amount for these the overall total for these is expected to be approximately one-third of the current costs. For your planning we expect this to be between $1800 and $2400.

Please understand that the benefits of integration go well beyond just the money side of things. We will now have access to more Ministry resources for our students including ESOL support, learning support and behaviour support. We will also be able to access a number of Ministry funded initiatives for our NCEA students particularly in areas of the trades and alternative education.

This is a fantastic day for Hamilton Christian School. Thank you for your prayers and patience through this process.

To God be the Glory.

Shaun

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3 days ago

Scam Alert: Fake information regarding December Bonuses from MSD

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

The Ministry of Social Development is reporting that fake information is circulating about new ‘December bonuses’ or ‘benefit increases’

If you get suspicious communication, please contact Netsafe.

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4 days ago

Poll: Are Kiwis allergic to “exuberance”? 🥝

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

In The Post’s opinion piece on the developments set to open across Aotearoa in 2026, John Coop suggests that, as a nation, we’re “allergic to exuberance.”

We want to know: Are we really allergic to showing our excitement?

Is it time to lean into a more optimistic view of the place we call home? As big projects take shape and new opportunities emerge, perhaps it’s worth asking whether a little more confidence (and enthusiasm!) could do us some good.

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Are Kiwis allergic to “exuberance”? 🥝
  • 41.8% Yes
    41.8% Complete
  • 33.5% Maybe?
    33.5% Complete
  • 24.7% No
    24.7% Complete
591 votes
8 hours ago

Fonterra cuts forecast milk forecast after a ninth straight global dairy trade auction dip

Libby Totton Reporter from Waikato Times

Fonterra has cut its forecast Farmgate Milk Price for the 2025/26 season after a ninth straight global dairy trade auction dip.

On Thursday, the Co-op adjusted the forecast range from $9-$10 per kilo of milk solids to $8.50 to $9.50 with the midpoint changing from $9.50 per to $9.

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