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themillwaterinsider Millwater Awards Huge congratulations to all those who were nominated in the recent Millwater Awards. You will find a full article elsewhere in this magazine on page 11, with instructions on how to vote for a grand winner. In reality we are all winners, because these people all go the extra mile to make Millwater a better place. So again, thank you for your efforts.
Tagging Isn't it a great disappointment that some less-than-desirable individuals have decided to vandalise local properties? This again raises the question of whether additional CCTV systems in the area would at least provide some deterrent to this kind of behaviour. It seems unlikely that CCTV is going to get funded by Police or Council, so will probably fall back upon residents and businesses to take the lead.
Gardening Competition Our annual Gardening Competition will be running again soon, with judging in late November. Categories in the past have been Best Lawn, Best Vege Patch and Best Overall. This year we are looking at introducing some new categories, possibly including something for the Children's garden scene. Please email any enquires to sarah@themillwatermag.co.nz
Red Light Runners This still seems to be a feature, with a reported increase in the numbers of offenders again. We all need to take responsibility for this. If you stop on the orange then generally the person behind you, who was going to run the red, can't. If we report offenders to #555 then eventually they will get a track record with the Police, who will do something about it. Same goes for people driving around Millwater with phones to their ears;
report them or, if possible and safe to do so, take a photo and send it to the Police.
School Reclassification Silverdale School recently held a public meeting, hosted by principal Cameron Lockie and the Board of Trustees. Unfortunately, there was some mix-up with the date so attendee numbers were a little low. The Board of Trustees is seeking submissions on a proposal from the Ministry of Education, to reduce the school from taking Years 1-8 to only taking Years 1-6. This is in response to an ever-increasing role and a finite capacity to grow physically on the current site. The presentation is available on the Silverdale School website. In short: it will drop Years 7 & 8 over a two-year period, so that there are only Year 8's in 2018, no Year 7's. Then, in 2019, there will be neither Year 7's nor Year 8's. The assumption is that Orewa College will be able to take up the additional children. However, it was uncertain as to whether they would have actual capacity to do so by 2018, or whether the growth would be accommodated with temporary buildings. The Board is seeking submissions, to be presented to them by 21 October, and Cameron Lockie is seeking a further public consultation with MoE representatives. He is also personally seeking a meeting with local Council, MPs and the MoE to obtain some clarity around a longer-term plan rather than the slightly haphazard approach currently being used. The concern from a local community point of view is that a lot of the local schools are going to be attempting to limit roles in the future; through either reducing zones or the number of year levels that they take. This will have a huge impact on Orewa and Whangaparaoa Colleges and it seems very uncertain as to whether they are going to be able to cope. The provision of good schooling is essential to the growth of any area and there is now increasing uncertainty as to whether we will be able to claim access to good schools as of right. Get your submissions in and get involved – this is bigger than just Silverdale School.
Photo Competition In the August issue we launched the Millwater Photo Competition. Paul has already received many great entries but there is still time to submit your photo. All entries must be received by September 15th and the winning photo will feature on the front cover of the October issue. The competition is sponsored by the new Millwater Bistro & Bar, who have kindly donated a $100 dining voucher, and by Paul Conroy Photography. See page 7 for details.
