History
It was in March 1877 when Mr. Robert Graham held a petition for a new school. During that time, facilities for education were already provided by the schools at Mt. Hobson, Tamaki West, Onehunga and Panmure. On May 27 of the same year, the first meeting was held at the Ellerslie Hotel and it was then that the school committee was elected. The construction of the school began sometime in June and we opened our doors to parents and students in November 12, 1877. Mr. Thomas Howells was the first principal of the school in 1878 and in June of 1880, they bought a four-roomed cottage for the staffroom.
After 2 years, the roll had reached around 150 and there was a need to build a new classroom. After a few years, the roll continued to grow that it was difficult to accommodate everyone in the school. Our rooms back then, were uneven in size which leads us to use the largest room for four standard classes. The Board accordingly applied to the government for a new classroom and our plea was approved in 1910. The new classroom was built a year after.
By October of 1913, we only had enough room to accommodate 304 students and we had 395. There was the problem of overcrowding again. The Board came up with the decision that we needed a separate infant department and our request was granted in January 1914. The modern system for drainage was installed in 1926 and in 1930, we already have our own dental clinic. We had the electric lighting installed in 1936 and applications for new classrooms were submitted in 1938 and 1939. We received the grant for these new classrooms in 1940 and we were able to use them on August 4, 1941. Our Assembly Hall was built in 1956.
We had our playground extended in 1955. We had it extended to the area behind the Bowling Club which includes access to the Main Highway. In 1957, we had a swimming pool constructed for the use of staff and students. Our school continued to grow with the construction of new buildings and facilities – caretaking shed, new toilets, furniture storage, side entrance, etc. There was a rapid growth in our roll in 2002 and with this, we had more constructions and improvements.
1995 - 1998
- Canteen - 1995
- Adventure playground and Fitness trail - 1993
- Rooms 11-15 - 1996
- Rooms 16 & 17 - 1997
- Rooms 18, 19 & an upgrade in the Administration area - 1998
2005 - 2007
- Roll count is at 500
- 22 classrooms
- 2 specialist teachers in Music and Technology
- Music specialist teacher for Year 1-6 every week in class group
- 3 orchestras, 2 choirs, 1 band
- New senior playground build
2008 - 2009
- Roll count is at 490 students in 5 teams
- Management team has 7 members
- Server room with air conditioning was built to meet the growing I.C.T. demands
- Upgrade of security and fire systems
- Introduction of an 8th curriculum “Languages” – Spanish, French and Maori offered at Year 8/7 level
- Environmental science – introduction of Worm Farm, composting and ‘Trees for Survival’ planting
Ellerslie School Principals
| Thomas Howells | 1879 |
| H.R. Hyatt | 1879 - |
| Robert M.Mitchell | 1879 - 1882 |
| Rev. Geo Brown | 1882 - 1886 |
| James E. Waygood | 1887 - 1893 |
| Evan R. Lillington | 1893 - 1902 |
| Mr Collins | 1902 |
| Joseph Wooller | 1902 - 1920 |
| James Vulgar | 1920 - 1934 |
| Joseph G. Gasparich | 1934 - 1936 |
| John Marsh | 1937 - 1950 |
| W. J. Barham | 1951 - 1958 |
| J. W. Hook | 1959 - 1960 |
| W. R. Hill | 1961 - 1963 |
| R. W. Jessup | 1964 - 1967 |
| W. Beach | 1968 - 1976 |
| John Goddard | 1977 - 1979 |
| Marjorie Butters | 1979 - 1987 |
| Jo Wilson | 1988 - 2005 |
| Christopher Magner | 2005 - 2016 |
| Lisa Harland | 2016 - present |
Ellerslie School Map 2019
Board of Trustees
All schools must operate under the provisions of the Education Act of 1989. Boards of trustees govern all state and integrated schools in New Zealand.
The boards are made up of:
- elected parent and community volunteers
- the school principal
- a student representative
- a staff representative
- and in state integrated schools – representatives of the property owner.
Independent schools are governed by committees, trustee boards and management boards acting on behalf of the owners.
Boards of Trustees
The Board governs the school, employs the staff and manages school property. Every board must establish a charter which sets out the aims and objectives of the school. Boards of trustees are then accountable for meeting the objectives in their charter and for managing the funds they receive from the government to run the school. They are required to present an annual report to the Ministry of Education which is available for you to see.
The Principal
The role of the principal is to manage the day-to-day activities of the school within the policies set by the Board. A principal is also usually responsible for assessing staff performance.
Parents
Parent groups also provide support to schools. Parents are encouraged to help out however they can at their child’s school. Check with your school to see how you might be involved.
The Ellerslie School Board
Our Board consists of 5 parents elected by parents of pupils for a 3 year term, the Principal and a staff representative, elected by fellow staff members.
| Chairperson & Finance | Rebecca Chenery |
| Deputy Chair & Policy | Jennifer Perry |
| Property | Andrew Buchanan |
| Principal | Lisa Harland |
| Staff Representative | Katie Dwyer |
| Human Resources | Catherine Murray |
| Communication & Cultural Responsiveness | Jacque Allen |
The Board meets at 6.30pm on the 3rd or 4th Monday of each month, excluding January. The Board welcomes members of the public who wish to attend meetings. Anyone wishing to address The Board however can only do so with prior agreement from the chairperson.
What do we do?
The purpose of the ACES is to fundraise and run social events that aim to foster relationships between school families, staff and the wider community. We fund and organise fun events throughout the year such as the family picnic, Bingo and trivia nights, and the annual school disco. Ellerslie School receives funding from the Ministry of Education for the basics required for educating our children. Your fundraising support of the ACES group’s activities enables the school to provide our children with more.
Our main purpose is to raise funds for the school.
We work on behalf of the school.
Our group is made up of parents and teachers who volunteer their time.
All funds raised go directly to the benefit of our children.
Advertising your business
Each full school newsletter is loaded onto our school website as well as sent out digitally via email to almost 500 families in and around the popular Ellerslie area fortnightly throughout each term. If you are interested in advertising your business, please contact ACES on aces@ellerslie.school.nz for more detailed information.
We want to hear from you!
If you have a fantastic fundraising initiative or an idea that you would like to share with the ACES, please contact us via email aces@ellerslie.school.nz with all of the relevant information as needed, We have our annual review of our fundraising calendar during term four each year so we will be in touch during that period if we are interested in pursuing it further.
How can you help?
Please join our group! We have two meetings a term that are held at school in the staff room. We need help with the following:
- Co-ordinating/helping with events
- Fun, creative fundraising ideas
- Donation of products/services
If you are able to help in any way (big or small!) please contact us at aces@ellerslie.school.nz or pop along to our next meeting.
Twice a term
16 August
28 February
October
Current newsletter sponsors:
Enrolment Info
Information & Forms
12 Kalmia Street, Ellerslie, Auckland | Phone: (09) 579 5477 | Email: office@ellerslie.school.nz