The School Board is made up of parent representatives, a staff representative and the Principal. The Board is responsible for the school’s performance and ensuring that all legal requirements are met. First and foremost the Board is accountable for student progress and achievement to its parents, community and the Crown. More specifically the Board:
We welcome your ideas and feedback.
Kirsty McDonald
Presiding Member
SchoolDocs was established in 2006 as a user-friendly policy platform for schools in Aotearoa. Based in Ōtautahi Christchurch, the SchoolDocs team partners with schools across the motu to develop policies and procedures that keep pace with the changing educational environment. SchoolDocs sites make policy information accessible to the whole school community. Each site contains a set of policies and procedures that is tailored to the school, and feedback from community members helps to ensure that the site reflects how the school operates.
SchoolDocs sites have a unique web address for each school. All members of the school community can access the site using these details.
SchoolDocs sites are organised into sections that reflect operational requirements. The table of contents shows the key policy for each section, with dropdown menus that show supporting policies and procedures. To find a policy or procedure, use the search function at the top left with a topic name or keyword. Related topics will appear in the table of contents window. Clicking on the topic you want to read and then closing the search will show where the topic sits in the table of contents. For a list of important policies and procedures, search for the Quick Links topics that are available for school staff, and parents and whānau.
All SchoolDocs schools follow a 3-year review schedule that ensures content stays up to date. Each term, the school community is able to provide feedback on the content and implementation of policies and procedures that are under review. The SchoolDocs team uses feedback from all schools, along with research and external consultation, to make changes to core content. The team notifies schools of any action that is required.
Topics that are under review have a review button, which allows school feedback to be sent to both the school and the SchoolDocs team. All topics also have a feedback button that can be used to send general feedback or queries about a topic directly to the school.
For additional information on the role of Boards, visit NZSTA’s A Parent’s Guide to the Role of the BOT.
Kirsty and her husband Andrew moved to the area around seven years ago. Kirsty's eldest child is currently in Year 7 and her youngest will start in 2025. Kirsty is a practising lawyer, and is an Employment and Health and Safety Partner at a National Law firm. She regularly advises School Boards which has given her real insight into some of the challenges a Board may deal with at any given time. A large part of Kirsty's job is assessing and managing risk as well as working and engaging with a variety of people. She believes in a holistic education that prioritises not only academic excellence but also the emotional and social wellbeing of all students. She is committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse environment where every child can thrive and reach their full potential. She has recently been voted as the new Presiding Member of the School Board.
Nick has been the Principal of Belmont Intermediate School since 2013. He is a North Shore native and an alumni of the school and therefore has an inherent connection to the school and it’s community. Nick brings 20 years of experience in the education sector, gained across a number of Auckland primary and intermediate schools. He holds a Bachelor of Education and a post graduate Diploma in Educational Leadership. Nick is also a graduate of the University of Auckland’s Sir Edmund Hillary Leadership programme.
Working with the Board and assisted by the Senior Leadership Team, Nick oversees the overall operations and management of the school. He has particular focus on the school’s strategic and annual planning, student achievement, human resources, finance, property, health and safety, student wellbeing and student leadership.
Nick is an innovative educator who is passionate about providing an irresistibly engaging curriculum so that all students have an opportunity to achieve personal excellence and success. He strives to create a supportive environment where staff and student wellbeing are as important as academic, cultural and sporting achievement.
Tim was elected to the Board in November 2023. He began at Belmont Intermediate School in 2011 after an extensive career in the corporate world. Within the field of education, he has held Curriculum Leadership roles in physical education and mathematics as well as being an in-school Community of Learning representative. He has been a Team Leader of both Year 7 and 8, holding this position at Belmont Intermediate School for six years. Tim is now a Deputy Principal, and is responsible for many areas of our school including our PCT Beginning Teacher Programme, coordination of the Education Outside the Classroom Programme for both year groups (EOTC), liaison with our PTA and the Year 8 Dean.
Joanna was voted onto the Board in September 2022. She grew up on the North Shore and her family have lived on the Devonport Peninsula for three generations. Her son Harry attends at Belmont Intermediate. Her background is in law and policy in the UK and in NZ with experience in child protection, employment, and education law. She is currently working as a Principal Advisor to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. Joanna has previous governance experience on the board of a Community Law Centre and is the current Co-Chair of the Auckland Government Women’s Network. She looks forward to supporting the school to continue to provide wonderful academic, cultural and sporting outcomes and maintain a great community spirit.
Fleur was co-opted to the Board in 2020. Fleur grew up in Devonport, attending Belmont Intermediate School and Takapuna Grammar School. She has three children, Amelia, currently at Belmont Intermediate, Isabel and Seb who are at Belmont Primary School. Fleur is a practising lawyer and is currently General Counsel at a well-known New Zealand business. Fleur enjoys working with Nick and the rest of the Board to ensure sound governance, strategic focus and forward thinking for the school.
Rob McCaw is a parent of a BIS student finishing up in 2023, with his second joining in 2024 and a third a few years away. He has a rich and varied background, seeing 20 years of active service as an officer in the RNZN, multiple overseas operational deployments and time in command of two ships. Leaving the Navy in 2019, Rob joined Coastguard Northern Region and is now the Head of Operations for Coastguard New Zealand – the charity saving lives at sea. Rob works from strategy development, operational planning, budget accountability to financial planning and accountability for service delivery. All of this gives him a great grounding for the skillsets that a Board member needs. But more than this, he is a dad, a coach, a mentor, and he wants the best for his kids, community and our nation. He believes the Board is directly accountable for the success of our young people in their learning journey. In this, the Board must represent your views in the shaping of strategy for BIS and how we position ourselves to best serve the needs of our young learners and their futures.
