Goodman Fielder School of Year Winners Announced

Goodman Fielder School of the Year Winners Announced

A clear vision, a well thought out plan to achieve that vision and then making it all happen is behind a south Auckland school's success in the 2002 Goodman Fielder School of the Year Awards.

Mountain View Primary in Mangere is the 2002 Goodman Fielder School of the Year as well as category winner of the Goodman Fielder Medium Primary / Intermediate School of the Year. Uniquely headed up by two co-principals the school won the same category in 2001 and was a runner up in 2000.

"Mountain View knows what it wants to achieve and is going about reaching that goal in a well organised and effective way," says Goodman Fielder New Zealand Managing Director and judging panel member, Ron Vela.

"It has a holistic approach to its sports, cultural, academic and environmental programmes and is delivering educational expertise across all of our judging criteria. On top of that, Mountain View is also being run along very sound business and financial lines. The judging panel was incredibly impressed at how well it was communicating with its diverse range of stakeholders including staff, community and pupils to ensure they are fully informed and engaged."

Mountain View Primary receives $50,000 cash and the supreme trophy as a result of its win.

Judging panel chairman Sir Michael Hardie Boys says Mountain View Primary clearly demonstrated continuous improvement and high achievement in every respect.

"This is a school that has an outstanding relationship with its community. Its academic progress has been achieved through a number of initiatives and the school's stimulating, challenging, exciting and instructional programmes are a testament to the abilities of staff and their pursuit of excellence for the school's pupils.

"While the judges were unanimous Mountain View should be the Goodman Fielder School of the Year, all the finalists, with their dedicated staff and strong community support, are achieving extremely high academic, cultural and sporting standards."

Mountain View was one of 15 schools confirmed as finalists last month, six of which had been runners up or winners in previous years.

The four other category winners are Otepopo School, Oamaru (best small primary / intermediate), Selwyn Ridge, Tauranga (best large primary / intermediate), Mt Roskill Grammar, Auckland (best secondary) and Clover Park Middle School, Auckland (best composite school). Each receives $10,000 cash and a trophy.

School principals and student representatives from each of the finalist schools were in Wellington today for the awards' ceremony at Te Papa attended by the Minister of Education Trevor Mallard and the Chief Executive of the Ministry of Education, Howard Fancy.

With Sir Michael and Mr Vela on the judging panel were television and radio personalities April Bruce and Robert Rakete and educationalists Pat Riley and Gae Griffiths.

The annual Goodman Fielder School of the Year Awards are designed to celebrate and reward outstanding initiatives in education and to support schools which Goodman Fielder believes are the cornerstone of every community.

© Scoop Media