Principals in show of support

BY KIMBERLEY CRAYTON-BROWN AND JARED MORGAN

Southland principals rallied behind Otatara Primary School staff yesterday morning as the fallout from a fake ministerial letter continued, but public reaction to the incident has been mixed.

Ten principals arrived as the school day began to show their support for staff after a creative writing exercise spilled out of the classroom and sparked a political furore.

A letter, which bore Education Minister Anne Tolley's faked signature, was given to year 5 and 6 pupils and said school hours would be extended by an hour from 2011.

The reason for this, it said, was because teachers did not have enough time to implement the New Zealand Curriculum. Pupils were asked to write a response to the minister, but were not told the letter was fake.

Armed with cake and flowers for Otatara principal Sharon Livingstone, some principals were quick to voice their opinions before a closed-door meeting in the school's staff room.

Waverley Park Primary School principal Kerry Hawkins had two words to sum up the reaction to the reaction to the letter.

"Horse s**t."

The response had been unbelievable, he said.

"What happened to common sense ... this school didn't make it about National Standards," he said. "If there was a school that had made a concerted effort to implement National Standards it's this (Otatara) school."

In a poll on The Southland Times website, 35.5 per cent of people thought the "furore" over the letter was justified. But 64.5 per cent thought it was over the top.

Jack commented that it was a school exercise that was not political or intended to be criminal.

"Of course it's creative writing, it starts the children writing letters that don't start with `Dear Santa'. Typical adults making a mountain out of a mole hill, and the poor children wondering what all the fuss is about," he said.

Another reader commented: "I am also a teacher and in full support of Otatara School and the teacher responsible! Bravo to them for trying to be innovative and come up with something that would provoke and stimulate the minds of our young generation."

Patrick said he was at a loss to understand how the letter encouraged creative writing.

"Forging a signature may be `creative', but is still a criminal act," he said.

Matt said the letter left a bad taste in his mouth, and he supported the parents who reacted badly to the letter.

A spokesman for Mrs Tolley said the minister had not mentioned National Standards in connection with the issue.

Mrs Tolley would be writing to the Otatara School board of trustees.

The board's chairman, Justin Reid, told The Southland Times on Wednesday the exercise was not politically driven, and was intended to motivate and engage students in creative writing.

The principal said students were not told the letter was fake because teachers wanted an "authentic" reaction, and it was a "mistake" that copies of the letter were given to pupils.

Senior Sergeant Dave Raynes, Invercargill, said yesterday police would not be taking further action, and the incident would be dealt with by the school internally.

- © Fairfax NZ News