Mark Bang standing down as BOT Chairman

Mark Bang has announced that due to the realities of his current job he is standing down as Chairman of our Board of Trustees. Mark will remain a valued Board member.

We owe Mark so much!

He has been an inspirational and visionary leader and has lead Bluestone so well during its establishment.

Mark has encouraged us all to focus on our vision for our students. He has been a great listener, and been a very reflective thinker encouraging us to think before we act.

I have been very grateful for Mark's wisdom and support.

Mark has encouraged board members to grow professionally in their role. Thanks to this we have a highly competent board ready to lead Bluestone confidently and competently into the future.

I hope those of you involved in the life of Bluestone will take time to thank Mark for all that he has done in his role as Chairman of our Board over many years.

Art Exhibition at Bluestone

At our Art Exhibition we have had 18 exhibitors who are parents or who have close connections to our school. In addition we have had work on display that has been completed by our students.

The Exhibition has given students the opportunity to see artists in action and the questions asked have reflected their level of curiosity and interest.

It has been humbling to realise the depth of artistic talent that exists in our school community.

What an awesome and worthwhile event on our school calendar!

Helping and supporting children affected by the earthquakes

We have been thinking about what we can do for the children affected by the earthquakes in the Canterbury district.

We are exploring the possibility of running a camp in Timaru. There are members of Rotary and a good number of teachers who are keen to organise a camp with fun activities to give some of the children affected by the earthquakes a break from the realities they are facing. We will be looking to our community to rally around with ideas and support to make this idea a reality. We may be able to bring a bus load or two from areas like Kaiapoi.

We could look at providing some counselling sessions for those who want to talk and de stress.

I think our community will rally round and donate experiences and time and goods to make sure that the children we work with will have a great time with happy memories.

I have emailed local schools to see if they might consider sponsoring a child. Already several have replied to the affirmative which is great!

If anyone reading this blog can help or has some useful, creative ideas then please let me know