Rising rolls across the years a hit with principals

Linda Woon

Local principals are keen to start their school year, with many Rotorua schools opening for the first day today.

Otonga Road Primary School principal Linda Woon said they saw "fantastic" growth in their school roll for 2015.

"We made the decision to put in an extra class in the senior school last year and I'm so glad we did, as there have been more enrolments come in. Our roll is very healthy," Ms Woon said.

"The new entrants have also been very good, all our children have generally pre-enrolled, but we've had a few international families who have the joined us and we are really looking forward to a productive year on top of fantastic results we achieved last year."

St Mary's School principal David Macmillan said they had also experienced a roll increase across the years. Its students will not start until next Monday.

"Our staff have been preparing [for this year] the year before and are already back at school starting their blogs, so they can communicate with parents letting them know what's happening in their classes," Mr Macmillan said.

"The highlight for us this year would be having the kids back to school and doing their very best ,and staff working to get the very best from them."

According to the Ministry of Education, more 51,800 students in the Bay of Plenty region from Years 1-13 will be heading back to school today. There were 710 5-year-olds starting school for the first time and 4270 throughout the entire school year.

"There are plenty of things parents can do to support their children to achieve well at school. For example, it's important to ensure there's a quiet area at home for homework, and that you make time to listen to your child's school-related concerns," said Ministry of Education head of sector enablement and support Katrina Casey.