OLD Testament:Get one thing straight - RNL is not just any old school, it was founded on Christ-believing principles by Christ-belie ving people (some who have passed-away) and always will be a refuge for young people to learn and grow in a Christ-believing environment! NEW Testament:Things have changed a little at the school since I was there near the beginning but just like the Temptation in the Garden of Eden at the start of the Book, He will provide a way out near the end! The Word remains the same! 'AS IT IS WRITTEN, SO SHALL IT BE DONE'
hey, i just want to say a big thankyou to everyone who supported us the media prob wasnt the best idea but we got the message thru things will happen diffrently next time i was kicked out but am in a place that is amazing for me now ollie has been an amazing father to emma-fey we are going strong and are getting married at the end of the year... its been a tough 18months but we have overcome it so thanx everyone for your support and love xX SaraXx
I find this whole situation unbelievably bizarre. My brother Christopher Sterritt, living in England, is the biological father of Ollie Sterritt and his three siblings and has been searching the world over for his children for the past ten years after their mother Catherine unilaterally took them away from their father without letting him know where they were. In short, and in deference to the courts, the father has been denied any form of contact with his children by the mother. My bother felt it was more important that the children not suffer potential financial hardships and that at some time the kids would look for their father themselves so he paid every penny of child support granted the mother. And Catherine has taken every penny of the money that my brother continues to pay up until this day without fulfilling any of her obligations regarding the relationship of the father with his children. Now my brother is a grandfather, our mother is a great grandmother, I am a great aunt and Ollie's daughter has 6 other great aunts and uncles she probably doesn't know/won't know if left up to Ollie's mother Catherine. Ollie and his Sib's also have two small half brothers, one just born two weeks ago. Perhaps you could forward this to Ollie and the other children. Ruchel Dorfman (Aunty Ingrid)
I go to the school in question, and the problem was that the Princepal, greg, appointed ollie as head boy, but forgot to tell the BOT, so when the BOT heard about it, they revoked his title, not the princepal.also, she chose to leave, was not expelled,and is now at school (well, not excactly a school) close to her home, that is more able to supports her with her child..
the only wrong thing the school did was not consult the BOT before appointing ollie as HB.here's what happened:ollie and sara got together, had sex, and she got pregnant. the school supported her, but she CHOSE to leave. then when greg named ollie deputy head boy, he didn't consult the BOT.the BOT heard about it, and the thought, " hey, we don't want ollie as deputy head boy because he doesn't uphold the special christian character of the school."it's part of the BOT's job to make sure that the school is upholding th special character, which is part of it's charter. one group of people gave it to him, and a different group wasn't consulted, so they took it away.
I am very upset that this had to happen this way, but Ollie has to realize that our school is trying it's very best to uphold it's christian values. What kind of image does it give off when the deputy head boy is a father? Yes the school has mucked up, miss-communication between the staff of the school and the BOT. I admit that it wasn't fair to Ollie, but you cannot have a deputy head boy of a christian school displaying the opposite values to what the school would like to show to the public. I'm sorry Ollie that it had to happen this way but I'm afraid that it's your decisions that have got you to this place and now you have to live with them.
sadly things were said on the day, according to Sara but they only sensationalised the negative, as we know they do. She has since written to the school apologising for the negative account, and contacted the TV3 reporter, but of course we know we will hear nothing of this.
Rangiora new life has supported Sara through the time of when she was pregnant.I Think that they shouldnt of told the school who was head boy and dept untill it was confirmd,So yes its kinda the schools problem.We also know that the media wakes things worse than they are so on the night it was on tv,they only said bad things and didnt say what the school has done to help them out.
I am sorry that this article in part was filmed in our home, without our permission, as the parents of Sara we are not in agreement with media involvement, and if either of us had been home, there is no way that our home would of been used, violation would not be too strong a word to use. We have consistently tried to encourage Ollie and Sara to see the bigger picture (others affected by there decisions) all along, their choice of course. Sara has had every love and support from RNLS and her family, like all human beings she has free will. It is only after the fact that they will realise to think for themselves and seek wise counsell first. We as a family continue to support and believe in the work this school does, having 5 children go through the system and they are all excelling in their own way, with a healthy world view, and strong goals for the future. This is but a blip in the road folks, tomorrows fish and chip wrapper
This report addressed only one of a number of signifigant problems at this school.Recently the local paper reported on bullying of a number of students and the lack of the schools leadership ability to deal with the problems.Students have left this school to attend other institutions and found that their academic achivements were not sufficent to met the standards of the new schools. When one parent attempted to discuss why a student would not particpate in a sports programme the Headmaster indicated that the student might not be welcome to continue at the school, and was subsequently withdrawn by the parents.The BOT and administration have focused on an overseas trip for a select number of students and considerable school resources have been committed to this effort to serve a few favoured students.In our community there have been a number of other rumours about the school, the truth of which has not yet been borne out, ie: behaviour at school camps.This list of concerns raises more funadamental questions than who is the Head Boy. It suggests the broader issues are ....whether the administration and the BOT are communicating; the quality of education; the ability of the school administrators; the quality of the teaching and the teaching staff; the credentials and training of the teaching staff - so many being provincial teachers only, and ultimately whether this school should be reviewed by the Ministry of Education. Perhaps TV3 should look beneath the surface at these issues and speak to former students, and truely assess whether this is mearly a dispute over religion and moral values.then it will be possible to learn what has been going on and why students are leaving.