Mennie Scapens - Living & Leading from Within

Absolutely ❤️

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𝗕𝘆 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗮𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝘂𝗺𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗮𝗵𝘂𝗶 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿.

After 36 years of serving local families and offering a lifeline to children who haven’t thrived in mainstream schools, Matahui was on the verge of permanent closure, but donations from parents and grandparents have kept the school safe for another year.

This year we applied for Charter School status and progressed through multiple stages before policy changes made us ineligible. We also explored becoming a state-integrated school, but current legislation doesn’t accommodate our model. These pathways remain areas of ongoing exploration as we continue to seek sustainable long-term options.

It is important to note that Matahui School has faced significant pressure that stemmed from the impacts of COVID-19. We are still trying to recover. Now, we face a challenging economic climate.

We are a not-for-profit. Every dollar goes directly into the running of the school. We fill a critical gap by supporting children who have tried mainstream schooling without success and are left with nowhere else to turn.

Our children want to be here and our families have stepped up!

They are fundraising, sharing their stories directly with politicians and the Ministry, and exploring new models to make the school more financially sustainable.

We are actively seeking financial support so we can reduce our school fees and open the doors to even more children who would thrive in our nurturing environment.

The momentum is building. We’re not done yet. If you want to help us write the next chapter, we’d love to hear from you.

𝗔𝗻 𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗮𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗣𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘆 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗪𝗼𝗼𝗱𝘀, 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗮𝗵𝘂𝗶 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗶𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗹𝗲.

The article includes a comment from the Ministry of Education. In response to this comment, the inclusion funding is scaled for students and often those with the greatest need receive this funding. In contrast, students who have learning disabilities such as dyslexia, dysgraphia and dyscalculia do not receive in-class support as they do not fit the criteria for the funding. Students coming to us from other schools have had minimal support with their learning, if any. Often parents have paid for teacher aides to support their child.

What we provide is small classes where our students get one-to-one teacher support every day of the week irrespective of whether a child has a learning disability or an ability such as giftedness, irrespective of culture, and whether they are neurodiverse or neurotypical. Matahui School is well known for its ability to cater to every child’s way of learning. The state-funded model would not work for Matahui School.

With the comment from the Charter School Agency, it was established right at the beginning, before we submitted an application, whether we were eligible to apply. The Charter School agency supported our application by providing us with funding for a support person to assist with writing our Stage 2 Application. Our school-wide data already exceeds national expectations. The charter school funding would have been beneficial to Matahui School, allowing the school to become affordable for more families. It is, and always has been, a goal for the Board of Trustees that Matahui School is more accessible and fees would not be a barrier.

Click the link in the comments to read the full article ⬇️

"Beloved Earth, ancient dreamer, keeper of bones and stories—
We, breath in your body, stardust in your veins,
Come before you with hearts both broken and burning.

In this time of the Great Turning,
When despair and possibility dance in the same holy darkness—
May we offer ourselves as imaginal cells in your metamorphosis...

May we be scattered like spores,
Each carrying a fraction of the future,
Each vital, each necessary, each aflame
With particular purpose...

May our courage rise to match the magnitude of these times."

~ Lynne MacNeil

Art by me

Coming home to the breath...

“The best thing about being authentic is that there is no image to maintain. You will delight some and disturb others, and none of it will concern the truth of your being.”
~ Unknown

A chilling library display