| Hibiscusmatters 4 February 201514

Education&learning

COAST MONTESSORIPRESCHOOL

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P 427 5544coastmontessori.co.nz

Local MattersFebruary 2015

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Enrolments openStudents keen to enrol on a training programme with NorthTec still have time to register for study in 2015. Northland’s largest tertiary education provider offers programmes throughout the Hibiscus Coast area, with learning centres and community-based sites in Silverdale and Orewa. Keen gardeners and green-fingered locals are well catered for, with the sustainable rural development programmes offered at levels 2 and 3. This programme teaches students how to make the most of their own section or lifestyle block, as well as providing horticultural skills suited to the local employment market. Anyone wanting to get a head start in the trades will benefit from the elementary construction programme, which gives students all the basics and plenty of practical, hands-on experience. There’s also a level 2 painting programme which prepares students for employment as professional painters. Students of these programmes get the chance to put their skills to the test working on real projects in the local community. Also available are classes in Te Reo, available at NorthTec’s Silverdale learning centre. Info: phone 0800 162 100 or visit www.northtec.ac.nz

Ten years has seen phenomenal growth in and around local Catholic Primary School Stella Maris, which opened in Silverdale in 2005 with 205 pupils.In that time the school has had two roll increases, and currently the roll is capped at 500. More than four classrooms and a substantial library block, called the Maurice Boland Information Centre, have been added.Associate Principal Catherine Cyprian says in the early days, metal roads made access difficult for parents. A bus service was provided that collected children from St John’s Church in Orewa, the Silverdale Rugby Club and the Stanmore Bay Pool & Leisure Centre.The memories are expected to flow as the school celebrates its first decade on February 20, with a day that includes a Thanksgiving Liturgy, photo viewing, picnic and the cutting of a celebration cake, donated by Orewa New World.A time capsule filled with documents and momentos including a Foundation Day pin, photos and a copy of the order of service for the opening ceremony, will be interred.Anyone who has been involved with the school over the years is invited to attend.The school was the brainchild of

Above, The first intake of pupils at Silverdale’s Stella Maris School in 2005. Left, Maurice Boland at the opening of the library that bears his name at Stella Maris in 2013. Maurice, who died last year, was one of a small group behind the formation of the school.

Stella Maris celebrating its first decade

Maurice Boland, Kerry Coleman and Bishop Pat Dunn of the Catholic dioceses. Their foresight saw the church purchase a large tract of land in Silverdale more than 20 years ago – the primary school (which now provides for students in Years 1–8) was built one portion of this and the other piece, opposite the school across Millwater Parkway, is set aside for the eventual building of a co-educational Catholic college.Principal Alan Watts says the college has been a work in progress since

2010, and is still awaiting funding from the Ministry of Education.Currently he says graduating pupils wanting to continue Catholic education have to travel to Carmel or Rosmini Colleges.“The number one question I get from parents is ‘when will the college be built’?” Mr Watts says.Anyone wishing to find out more about Stella Maris’ 10 Year celebrations should contact the school, phone 427 9189, or visit www.stellamaris.school.nz

Hibiscusmatters 4 February 2015 | 15

Education&learning feature

Ph 428 0809

JamJar StudioHome of Peaches & Pickles

Performing Arts, Green Door Youth Theatre & Sole Movement

Taking enrolments nowTaking enrolments now

The Performing Arts One Stop Shop...If you want to dance, sing, act or learn a musical instrument come to JamJar! Classes for all ages!

n C h a n g i n g P l aC e s

Peaches & Pickles, Green Door and Sole MovementIt’s a success story worthy of being on stage – the transformation of a small company called Peaches & Pickles into a fully-fledged, one-stop performing arts shop.Three years ago, Sophia Pedersen and Charlotte Nightingale started Peaches & Pickles on the Coast to teach dance, drama, singing and theatre craft. It was a way to combine their love of performing arts with a flexible lifestyle that worked around their family commitments.Dancer and singer Sophia says the initial group of 12 students grew “at a rate of knots”, with classes held in term time and in the holidays in many of the Coast’s primary schools as well as on the North Shore. Currently there are 250 enrolled at Peaches & Pickles.Green Door Youth Theatre for 12–18-year-olds was added to the mix, and, at the end of last year, the organisation purchased Sole Movement, which offers classes in ballet, jazz and tap and currently has around 160 students.To accommodate all this growth, all three groups recently moved in to premises on Whangaparaoa Rd, re-named the Jam Jar and decked out in punchy lime green, white and purple.The building, formerly Luvable Pets, has been redesigned inside to include two dance studios, a soundproofed recording studio and music room,

From left, Charlotte Nightingale, Rachel Wynn and Sophia Pedersenreception and sales area, offices and storage for the many props and costumes.Principal dance teacher Rachel Wynn has been brought on board to lead Sole Movement, which she says caters for any age “from just walking, to Zimmer frame”. Rachel ran her own theatre and dance school in the UK and after moving to NZ taught at the Corelli School in Browns Bay.Other key members of the team are singing teacher Catherine Carr, drum teacher Pete Warren and Clare Saddington-Smith who takes care of accounts.Charlotte and Sophia are taking on the management and artistic director roles.Sophia says that classes will still be held at local schools, but the Jam Jar will be their headquarters.Other groups, including music therapists Raukatauri, Pilates and Yoga teachers, will also use the Jam Jar as a base.

GO FARStay close

Noho tata, haere tawhiti

Freephone: 0800 162 100

www.northtec.ac.nz Refer to our website for terms and conditions

NorthTec offers the following programmes in your area:

Horticulture

Sustainable Rural Development

Carpentry

Elementary Construction

Painting and Decorating

Forestry

Health and Safety

Te Reo

Enquire about Student Loans and Scholarships

| Hibiscusmatters 4 February 201516

Education&learning feature

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Take a look around any school at lunchtime, after the bell has gone and the children are back in class, and lunch litter is what you’ll see.Balls of plastic wrap that were aimed at the bin and missed, drink bottles, yoghurt containers, chip packets and muesli bar wrappers are among the worst offenders.Those items that miss the bin are headed for the stormwater drains and ultimately, the sea.It’s an issue that Stanmore Bay School tackled head on last term, when it ran a class competition to see who could bring the most litter free lunches, one day a week, with a prize at the end.Teacher in charge of environmental issues at the school, Linda McPhail, says the aim was to raise awareness as well as reducing waste.Around half the school brought litterless lunches, but Linda says it was definitely a challenge, requiring creative thinking and determination.She says while some parents felt there was pressure to reduce the rubbish that comes from lunchboxes, most feedback was very positive.“We will look at how to continue to raise that awareness this year,” she says. “We have applied for funding to purchase food wraps made from beeswax that we can offer new families in their ‘welcome to school’ package. We will also use these food wraps as prizes and incentives, and for any

Eliminating lunchbox litterchildren who want to have a go at reducing their litter.”It’s a wrap!Samantha Gilmour of Stanmore Bay offers a sustainable and re-usable alternative to plastic lunch wrap.Her online business, www.lunchboxlabels.co.nz includes Bento boxes which have many small compartments, eliminating the need for wrap, as well as lunchbox labels which she says gives children more pride in the boxes so they hang onto them longer.Last year she introduced a reusable wrap, made of food grade waterproof material and cotton with a Velcro fastener. It’s fully machine washable.Samantha, a fulltime mum to four young children, plans to return to work as a Primary School teacher and says she is very aware of the amount of litter that can come from a child’s lunchbox.“My family is quite environmentally friendly – not perfect, but we recycle and have worm farms and compost,” she says. “The wraps are part of our desire to reduce waste.”Top tips for litter-free lunches y Lunch boxes with lots of compartments, such as Bento boxes, or small reuseable containers reduce the need to buy plastic wrap.

y If you do have to wrap things such as sandwiches, try reusable cloth napkins or paper lunch wrap.

y Buy in bulk then divide into portions instead of buying multi-packs; single serves can be put in reusable plastic containers or ziplock bags.

y Homemade snacks such as muffins, cake or biscuits are a waste-free alternative to wrapped muesli bars.

y Fill reuseable bottles with water or juice rather than buying juice cartons. As well as the cartons themselves, those little plastic straws are now found everywhere on our beaches, parks and in the sea.

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Hibiscusmatters 4 February 2015 | 17

Education&learning feature

We love building children’s confidence in Maths and making a difference in their learning.Our qualified, experienced teachers run group programmes in schools on the Coast,supporting the learning taking place in the classroom through fun, practical activities.

As a bonus, the self-confidence our children gain from these sessions is also often transferred to other areas of their learning.After school lessons take place Mon-Thurs, 4-5pm and 5-6pm. At our custom-built premises, we target children’sspecific learning needs in a productive and friendly environment and enjoy helping to foster a love of Maths.

A wonderful opportunity for Years 9 -13 is our after school Study Buddy programme.Students are mentored by a mature secondary school/university student, working on intensiveand valuable exam preparation – this one-on-one support has proven to be very successful.

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Among local artist Susannah Law’s earliest and fondest memories is the time she spent painting at Whangaparaoa Playcentre, as a pre-schooler – in particular she recalls being happy with a butterfly painting she made there.Those memories came into sharp focus last year when the Playcentre parents approached Susannah asking whether she would create a mural for them.“In a way it was coming full circle,” Susannah says. “My mother Lesley Law was one of a group of six local couples who fundraised to get the building for a playcentre in Whangaparaoa and my brother and I both went there in the 1970s.”The mural took around 50 hours to complete and was unveiled last

November.Susannah says it was one of the most enjoyable outdoor works she has done.Inspired by the Maori creation story, it also includes the Totara tree, which stands for the Playcentre philosophy of whanau and biculturalism. The name Whangaparaoa (Bay of Whales) is represented with orcas and of course children are also depicted. Past and present children from Playcentre also had direct input into the painting, putting their handprints on Rangitoto.Playcentre president Marilee Aldrich-Wall says the organisation is very grateful to Mahi ngatahi o Puawai, for a grant of $1000 and the ASB Communities Trust ($500), as well as Susannah for her time and talent.

Mural takes artist ‘full circle’From left, Whangaparaoa Playcentre president Marilee Aldrich-Wall, artist Susannah Law and Playcentre’s Amelia (Mia) Smith at the mural unveiling.

New MontessoriA Montessori Primary School is set to open this month on the property in Wainui Rd that formerly belonged to John and Leslie Law and housed Koru Grove School. The land now belongs to Ngati Whatua. North Shore resident Rebecca Nicholson is heading up the new Montessori. Info: www.merakimontessori.co.nz

| Hibiscusmatters 4 February 201518

Education&learning feature

www.homefromhomechildcare.co.nz

The school learning environment in the 21st Century is a far cry from orderly rows of desks, with children kept apart from each other and attention focused on the teacher and the blackboard up the front.Classrooms built since 2000 have been designed according to the Ministry of Education’s Modern Learning Environment (MLE) scheme, with schools also remodelling classrooms where possible.Stanmore Bay School is currently developing its second MLE, after the first, set up last year, met with an enthusiastic response from the majority of teachers, parents and pupils.Key to the MLE design are flexible, open plan, inspiring and comfortable spaces with shared, movable desks, plenty of colour, fresh air, wireless UFB and access to shared resources.Stanmore Bay’s Associate Principal Angela Sime spent time researching MLEs and is a strong advocate for the positive effects they have on learning.“We are teaching children who are different to the way we were at school,” she says. “They are used to collaboration, more space and greater access to technology. These kids are headed for jobs that haven’t even been invented yet, so it’s not just focused on literacy and numeracy – although that’s vitally important – but problem solving, communication and research. The MLE facilitates that.”

Modern approach to learning

Stanmore Bay’s first MLE is an open plan space around three times the size of a normal classroom. It houses three teachers and around 70 Year 3 and 4 students. Each student has a ‘go to’ teacher, responsible for reporting on their progress.Angela says at the end of last year the Year 3 students and parents were offered the option of remaining in the MLE or returning to a regular-style classroom. Only two of 35 Year 3 students elected to move out of the MLE.“There’s a move away from a desk for every child because it takes up so much space and sharing a desk promotes collaboration,” she says. “Children learn from each other as well as from teachers. The environment is also more engaging, which we’ve found reduces behavioural problems.”Over the holidays, the school’s second MLE, which will cater for around 60 Year 5 and 6 students and two teachers, was created by redesigning existing buildings.The addition is a move that Angela says teachers are excited about.“Working in such a positive, colourful environment that teachers helped to design, is motivating for teachers as well as students.

START 16 FEB

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