Kia ora Whanau,
I can’t quite believe we have reached Week 7 in what has shaped up to be an incredibly busy term, involving a heap of great activities for our Dreamers, meaning our staff have also been super busy.
This year will be my 18th year working with I Have a Dream, so during term 4 I will be taking a sabbatical break. I am grateful to the Board to have granted me this time off to refresh and re-energize my hauora. I will return to work at the beginning of Term 1 2020. While I’m away I have total confidence in my outstanding leadership team and staff to keep us on track.
Next term, we also welcome a new face to our organisation. Chris Twiss will be doing work with us over the next 12 months to explore expansion opportunities for I Have a Dream into other communities within Northland and New Zealand. Chris has been a supporter of our programme for some years and comes from a business background where he’s worked on some major projects. If you see him around don’t be afraid to introduce yourself and give him a warm welcome to the kaupapa. He will also be covering some of my CEO functions next term while I’m away on sabbatical, along with Joby Hopa who will pick up managing our primary school and high school teams.
This will be the last newsletter from me for the year. Enjoy the rest of this term and all the best for a great Term 4 leading up to Christmas and all the usual school celebrations.
Nga Mihi—Ant Backhouse – CEO
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