Principals Today #99

Issue 99 Term 3 | 2013

www.principalstoday.co.nz

LEADERS IN EDUCATION NEWS SINCE 1989

THE LANGUAGE PORTAL Following the success of Language Perfect, founder Craig Smith and his team are taking on the entire school curriculum with Education Perfect

TARGETING TEACHERS When bad behaviour turns on teachers, violence in schools takes another disturbing turn

ONE SIZE DOESN’T FIT ALL David Shearer says an educational vision of conformity doesn’t cut it

ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT Is professional development for educators up to par?

CHARTERING DANGEROUS TERRITORY Charter schools - mistaken ideology or a good idea?

ISSN 1170-4071 HAVE THE FOLLOWING PEOPLE SEEN THIS?

HAPPY

100

Don’t miss our bumper 100th issue out next term, full of ideas, issues and tons of free stuff to win.

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T of dohousand of Re llars s wo ad in th er Rewarth is iss rds See pag ue! e4 fo r de tails

Principal Administration Dept Board of Trustees Property Manager Outdoor Ed Dept Teachers

A World Away

Welcome to

Willow Park Though only half an hour from downtown Auckland, Willow Park is a world away from the city itself.

For conferences, schools, churches, business groups, or just relaxing - all you need is right here in seven acres of park-like grounds on the edge of the beautiful Waitemata Harbour.

Willow Park is a multi-purpose venue, available for a wide range of guests.

Willow Park can accommodate 180 people in bunk or family style rooms with some twin rooms available.

The beautiful inner harbour of the Hauraki Gulf is perfect for watersports and safe for the Willow Park canoes (8 available).

Our latest addition is a multi-purpose Recreation Centre. The innovative Flotex floor is ideal for both large conferences and a wide range of sports including basketball, volleyball, indoor hockey, badminton (4 courts), or indoor soccer.

• Conference areas • Sports fields • Children’s play area • Tennis courts

WILLOW

• Recreation Centre • Beach • Quiet places • Mini Golf

Willow Park Christian Camp & Convention Centre 1 Hostel Access Road, Eastern Beach, Auckland 2012. PO Box 54 098, The Marina 2144

Phone: 09 534 9640 Fax: 09 537 0930

Email: office@willowpk.org.nz Web: www.willowpk.org.nz

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Issue 99 Term 3 | 2013

www.principalstoday.co.nz

LEADERS IN EDUCATION NEWS SINCE 1989

Contents 8 TARGETING TEACHERS Armed for education

THE LANGUAGE PORTAL

Anti-social behaviour is nothing new in schools, but when bad behaviour turns on teachers, the issue of violence in schools takes a sinister turn

Following the success of Language Perfect, founder Craig Smith and his team are taking on the entire school curriculum with Education Perfect

TARGETING TEACHERS When bad behaviour turns on teachers, violence in schools takes another disturbing turn

ONE SIZE DOESN’T FIT ALL

HAPPY

100

Don’t miss our bumper 100th issue out next term, full of ideas, issues and tons of free stuff to win.

David Shearer says an educational vision of conformity doesn’t cut it

Is professional development for educators up to par?

CHARTERING DANGEROUS TERRITORY

See page 4

Charter schools - mistaken ideology or a good idea?

ISSN 1170-4071 HAVE THE FOLLOWING PEOPLE SEEN THIS?

RR

T of housa of Redollars nds wo ad in th er Rewarth is iss rds ue! fo

ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT

r de tails

Principal Administration Dept Board of Trustees Property Manager Outdoor Ed Dept Teachers

Principals Today

5,234

Issue 99

www.principalstoday.co.nz Academy House 47B Birmingham Drive Middleton PO Box 1879 Christchurch

21 PRINCIPAL Q&A Louise Anaru Flaxmere College’s Louise Anaru shares her teaching philosophies

MANAGING DIRECTOR Gary Collins

OPERATIONS MANAGER Di Barclay

SALES & ADVERTISING

The language portal Following the success of Language Perfect, founder Craig Smith and his team are taking on the entire school curriculum with Education Perfect

NEWSROOM

Phone: 03 940 4734 Fax: 0800 555 054 Email: editor@academy.net.nz

PRODUCTION

24 CHARTERING DANGEROUS TERRITORY A case of mistaken ideology or a good idea?

Phone: 03 940 4732 Fax: 0800 555 054 Email: production@academy.net.nz

Disclaimer: This publication is provided on the basis that A-Mark Publishing is not responsible for the results of any actions taken on the basis of information in these articles, nor for any error or omission from these articles and that the firm is not hereby engaged in rendering advice or services.

A-Mark Publishing expressly disclaim all and any liability and responsibility to any person in respect of anything and of the consequences of anything done, or omitted to be done, by any such a person in reliance, whether wholly or partially upon the whole or any part of the contents of this publication.

Advertising feature articles are classified as advertising content and as such, information contained in them is subject to the Advertising Standards Authority Codes of Practice.Contents Copyright 2012 by A-Mark Publishing (NZ) Ltd. All rights reserved. No article or advertisement may be reproduced without written permission.

ISSN 1170-4071 (Print) ISSN 2230-6358 (Online)

www.magazinestoday.co.nz

7 ONE SIZE DOESN’T FIT ALL David Shearer says an educational vision of conformity simply doesn’t cut it 11 CHILDREN IN CRISIS The conference looking at creating a better place for all children

Supplements 10 TOOLS Perceptual games, the problem with phonics and how Numicon can aid the understanding of fractions

26 SPECIAL EDUCATION Is there enough focus on children who have already exceeded the standard in both knowledge and skills?

22 COVER STORY

Jonathon Taylor EDITOR Melinda Collins Davina Richards

Caroline Duke PRODUCTION MANAGER Carolynne Brown CO-ORDINATOR Jenna Day DESIGNERS Janelle Pike Sarah Betman Jarred Shakespeare Andrea Frame Luke Wattchow Ian Knott ONLINE

6 TIME TO READ BETWEEN THE LINES Our reading literacy rates are plummeting and a new report points to our teaching methods as the likely culprit

25 RESOURCES Focusing on priority learners

ADMINISTRATION

Kylie Moore ADMIN MANAGER Kelly Allen Jade Haylett Cindy Breward Shannen Johnson Rob Cochrane Kayte John Bill Thew Verne Williams Evaon Watkins Grant Williams

news

18 ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT Professional learning and development for educators has been slated as piecemeal and incoherent

ABC circulation as at 30/06/13

HEAD OFFICE

Issue 99 / Term 3, 2013

Charter schools seem to have the best of both worlds - public funding without the constraint of a sanctioned curriculum

27 WEB DESIGN Is your website doing a good job of selling your school?

28 FINANCE How to free up valuable working capital to be spent elsewhere 31 PROPERTY Using contemporary design to create functional space 32 SWIMMING Before and after – what to remember in open water swimming 34 SCHOOL CAMPING A collection of great places for the perfect class getaway 38 CARETAKERS’ CORNER Products designed to keep it clean

RR Reader rewards in this issue…

• Be in to win one of two Happy Blooms valued at $75 each with Edible Blooms and get in the draw to win a guided trip for your class to the Kingdom of Zion on page 37 • Win more than $6000 worth of Bosch appliances for your school with 5+ A Day on page 26

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All mills are ISO 14001 certified

4 | Term 3, 2013 www.principalstoday.co.nz

* CONDITIONS OF ENTRY: One entry only per person and must be sent on the official entry form or as otherwise stated. Entry is free and open to all residents of New Zealand. All entrants must be over the age of 18, proof of identity and date of birth may be requested. Employees and their immediate families of Academy Publishing, the promoter and agencies associated with any promotion in this publication are ineligible to enter. Winner(s) will be notified by e-mail/phone. The judges’ decision is final, no correspondence will be entered into. No responsibility is accepted for late, lost or misdirected mail. Prizes are not transferable or redeemable for cash. Academy Publishing, the promoter and agencies associated with any promotion in this publication shall not be liable for any loss or damage whatsoever suffered (including but not limited to direct or consequential loss) or personal injury suffered or sustained, during the course of prize winning travel or in connection with any other prizes won. Academy Publishing, the promoter and agencies associated with any promotion in this publication accept no responsibility for health, luggage, insurances, travel, personal expenses and transfers other than specified.

Entries remain the property of Academy Publishing, the promoter and agencies associated with any promotion in this publication and cannot be returned. Academy Publishing, the promoter and agencies associated with any promotion in this publication reserves the right to photograph and publish winners. Entries may be used for further marketing purposes by Academy Publishing, the promoter and agencies associated with any promotion in this publication but are not made available to any third party.

News | Young Leaders

Recognising young leaders The concept that recognition can reap significant rewards is one not lost on pretty much anyone in the education sector and certainly not on the Sir Peter Blake Young Leader Awards.

The awards, working in association with Westpac, recognise young people who have shown promising leadership in their schools and communities.

Nominees for the award must demonstrate a number of leadership qualities and characteristics, such as integrity, determination and will to succeed, be a good team builder, leader and member, be hard working and know how to have fun.

Case in point is two emerging leaders at Kristin Junior School recently recognised thanks to the awards.

Year 6 student Ayla Hall was named as this year’s recipient of the Sir Peter Blake Young Leader Award, with Lena Jacobs as runner up.

Both significant contributors to their school, Ayla is a peer mediator and class captain and known for the positive and enthusiastic attitude she applies to her many co-curricular activities. Lena is also actively involved in a number of leadership roles within the Junior School, including that of peer mediator and vice house captain, and positions on the student council and chapel committee.

Caption: IMG_2170 Pictured from left are: Ayla Hall, Kristin Junior School principal Diana Patchett, Westpac Bank manager Gareth Southcombe and Lena Jacob

Kristin Junior School principal Diana Patchett says the school celebrates a culture of leadership.

“These two students are a part of a larger group of wonderfully skilled and motivated Year 6 students, each who would be a deserving recipient of the award. However, we selected Ayla and Lena because of the many ways that they demonstrate the attributes of leadership set out by the Sir Peter Blake Trust. They are each incredibly

talented and involved students who set a wonderfully positive example to their peers, as well as to the younger students in the school.”

The Junior School celebrated the life and achievements of Sir Peter Blake

Time to read between the lines Reading, writing and ‘rithmetic have always been part of the staple education diet in New Zealand. But despite its positioning at the top of the list, our reading rates are plummeting. And a new report points to our “fundamentally flawed” teaching methods as the likely culprit.

The report, by Massey University Institute of Education researchers, found that despite major efforts by the Ministry of Education, and more than $40 million spent each year on the Reading Recovery programme, New Zealand’s reading achievement scores have not improved during the past decade.

Professor James Chapman says the current approach to teaching literacy is not working.

“New Zealand’s strategy has failed. The current approach is not working for too many children – and we need to change it.”

Professor Chapman and his colleagues say the failure of the strategy is not the fault of teachers and principals, but the result of misguided policy decisions.

They recommend major scientifically supported changes to New Zealand’s approach to literacy education.

The strategy was recommended by a Literacy Taskforce established by the Government in the late 1990s. Reading Recovery has been in place for 30 years and targets the bottom 15 percent of learners.

But the report says the international data shows the large gap between scores for Pakeha and Maori/Pasifika children has not closed during the past decade and remains significant.

Distinguished Professor Bill Tunmer says the Reading Recovery programme “is of limited benefit to those pupils who need help the most”. He pointed out the lowest achieving children are less likely to successfully finish the programme.

6 | Term 3, 2013 www.principalstoday.co.nz

with a red sock day on the last day of the second term, with students wearing red socks in place of their usual school socks to raise money for the Sir Peter Blake Trust in support of KidsCan.

By Melinda Collins

“Moreover, a significant number of the lowest performing six year olds are excluded from Reading Recovery because they are considered unlikely to benefit, or are withdrawn early when they do not meet expected rates of progress. This adds to the evidence that Reading Recovery does not work well for pupils who are most at risk for failing to learn to read,” Professor Tunmer says.

Recommendations of the report include: Identifying children who are likely to struggle with learning to read when they start school – not in their second year, which is the current practice.

Using explicit teaching of phonological awareness and letter-sound patterns for children with limited readingrelated skills when they start school.

Using different strategies for different children – “a more inclusive approach to literacy teaching that responds to the diverse literacy learning needs of all children”.

Replacing Reading Recovery with a remedial reading programme that

targets children who need help the most during their first year of schooling - avoiding the current “wait-to-fail” approach.

The researchers point to literacy initiatives adopted in some South Auckland schools and Titahi Bay School – designed by Massey education graduates – as examples of strategies putting current theory and research into practice and raising literacy achievement in classrooms.

News | View Points

How involved should you get?

One size doesn’t fit all

Karen Degen is the owner of Set Free with EFT. Email karen@setfree.co.nz, or visit www.setfree.co.nz

The concept that employees should leave their personal lives at the door is becoming obsolete. Many bosses not only want to know about the personal lives of their staff, but are getting actively involved in helping them.

Although an organisation’s greatest asset is its staff, generally managers have only wanted to know the ‘at work’ part of that asset, keeping a comfortable arm’s length from involvement in their personal lives.

This attitude is finally changing with managers taking a holistic approach.

The word ‘holistic’ means to emphasise the importance of the whole person and the interdependence of all the different parts. It is the understanding that all aspects of people’s needs, including the psychological, physical, social and spiritual, need to be taken into account and seen as a whole.

The ideal employee is someone who has grown to and is operating at their fullest potential. According to Abraham Maslow, the full realisation of one’s potential is only realised when all other needs are fulfilled.

His hierarchy of needs model proposed that one must satisfy lower level basic needs before progressing on to meet higher level growth needs. Once these needs have been reasonably satisfied, one may be able to reach the highest level called self-actualisation.

Maslow described self-actualised people as those who were fulfilled and doing all they were capable of.

Every person is capable of moving toward a level of self-actualisation, but unfortunately progress is often disrupted by failure to meet lower level needs. It is at these lower levels that astute managers are offering assistance.

Companies who actively assist their employees up the hierarchy of needs

are more likely to have self-actualised people on their team - those who can perform at the highest possible level.

Most people already have their basic needs met however, after the Christchurch earthquakes this was no longer the case. Recognising that the worry associated with this would impact on their staff’s ability to be focused and productive, smart companies stepped in to assist with meeting that need. One large multinational company for example offered five additional days paid leave so their staff could sort out any earthquake related issues.

It also offered to quickly send constructional engineers to evaluate the homes of staff members. This went a long way towards creating peace of mind, or where there was serious damage, certainty and an ability to make decisions straight away.

Most people’s progress up the hierarchy of needs is hampered at the third and fourth levels. These levels are primarily emotional, including self esteem and confidence. Any assistance given to move employees through these levels will be well rewarded.

One way that managers can take the more holistic approach is to have regular holistic (whole person) meetings with each employee, using that time to find out what is happening in their lives, but more importantly how they feel about those situations.

In finding out how they feel about themselves and their lives, any barriers to achieving their full potential can be identified and assistance provided.

For many managers this is not the type of discussion they feel comfortable having. These discussions also require a particular skill set that many managers may not possess. It may be more prudent to provide access to an expert in this field who can hold these holistic meetings and provide any assistance needed to move through the various personal challenges.

David Shearer is the MP for Mt Albert and leader of the Labour Party

Recently during parliamentary question time, Education Minister Hekia Parata said that she was focused on “belting and bracing the education pipeline”.

As a former teacher, married to a reading recovery teacher, those words really jarred. I know that a pipeline is entirely the wrong analogy to use when talking about the education of children – who should never be standardised.

Labour has always been the party of education and educational innovation.

We introduced universal free secondary school education, pioneered Tomorrow’s Schools and were behind the new primary curriculum that is widely applauded by teachers.

As a result, New Zealand’s education system is admired around the world.

On international comparisons, we sit consistently in the top 10 in reading, maths and science – well ahead of the US, UK and Australia.

One of the reasons for our educational success as a nation has been the philosophy that our children are unique individuals with differing strengths and talents worthy of nurturing. Our broad, flexible curriculum reflects that, allowing our teachers to do what they do best; make sure every child achieves their full potential.

At the moment, my team and I are refining Labour’s economic policy ahead of election year. We’re looking at how to increase the number of well paid, fascinating jobs in New Zealand, how to encourage more ideas through research and innovation to boost exports and how to attract international investment through the momentum in our economy.

What we do..... provides a comprehensive and tailored service for your institution, this includes: • Recruitment Management • Market Management

Take national standards - kids learn at varying rates. Labeling a six year old ‘below standard’ will undermine his confidence and certainly won’t instill the lifelong love of learning – and sense of adventure - he needs.

National standards encourage teachers to focus most attention on the children who are just below the ‘line’, to get them above; the least effort for the greatest reward.

But that will be to the detriment of those who are well below, needing intensive help or those who are gifted and need stimulation.

Teachers will feel pressure to focus on subjects that are assessed – to the detriment of art, music, drama, social studies and even science.

To me, success in education is about valuing great teachers and trusting them to make sure children fulfil their potential. And it also means recognising and celebrating diversity and difference.

I acknowledge that there is a small group of children who are falling well behind educationally. They need intensive help. That doesn’t mean trying to force them like square pegs into round holes.

A world class education is their best shot at a good and full life.

Together with Labour’s education spokesman, Chris Hipkins, I am looking forward to working with you to give them that.

If one thing is clear, it’s that 21st century jobs are going to require our children to be flexible, innovative, risk-taking, adaptable, daring, inventive and bold.

Finally, a straightforward approach to INTERNATIONAL STUDENT RECRUITMENT • Enquiry Management • Agent Management

Yet the Government wants to standardise education. Its educational vision is one of conformity.

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TEMA where success is measured through the achievements of our clients

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Please call Richard van der Jagt to discuss your institutions needs M: 021 704 697 | P: 07 543 9279

www.tema.co.nz www.principalstoday.co.nz Term 3, 2013 | 7

News | Issues

Targeting teachers Anti-social behaviour is nothing new in schools, but when bad behaviour turns on teachers, with cases of children coming into school threatening educators verbally and even walking through the school gates armed with scissors, knives, hammers and even guns, whether they are replicas or not, the issue of violence in schools takes a disturbing and sinister turn.

The New Zealand Council for Educational Research 2012 report found that 22 percent of all secondary teachers felt unsafe in their own classrooms and 33 percent in the school grounds and public places.

Generally speaking, children can be difficult whether it is at home, in school, or in public and most of the time the bad behaviour we acknowledge is just a stage children go through as they grow up – and hopefully grow out of.

Teaching is one of the top 10 most stressful jobs and it’s easy to see why.

Inevitably, they have to deal with challenging children at some point in their careers, for some testing their patience to breaking point.

Although most situations are easy to deflate, there have been incidences where teachers have been placed in a position where they feel unsafe in their own environment.

Figures released to the NZ Herald last year under the Official Information Act revealed that in the 11 months to November 2012, more than 21,000 school students faced serious disciplinary action. Of those, 1,874 were aged under 10, including 170 five and six year olds – and 75 were banned from returning to their school after going before the board of trustees for a disciplinary hearing.

Figures from 2011 revealed that more than 1,000 students were removed from schools for possessing, or using a weapon in the previous two years. At

By Davina Richards

least 700 cases involved knives, blades, hammers, scissors and guns, including replicas.

Despite verbal and physical attacks on teachers and placing other pupils at risk, the Ministry of Education is forcing schools to re-enrol students who have been previously expelled, after announcing a plan to reduce the number of suspensions and expulsions – an implementation thwarted by schools across the country.

The number of students being stood down for bad behaviour is at its lowest point for more than a decade, but principals and teachers say there is still an increasing number of children who are difficult to handle.

Under the Official Information Act, information reveals that the Ministry ordered schools to enrol more than 600 students between 2003 and 2012 who had previously been thrown out of other schools, with physical assaults on staff and pupils being one of the main reasons for their exclusion from their previous school.

The issue was grasped by the mainstream media after the case of a 10 year old pupil with a history of violence, who had moved schools 14 times, was kicked out of Paeroa Central Primary school for assault on a teacher.

“Schools are being forced to turn a ‘blind eye’ to increasingly unacceptable behaviour and violence because of a drive by the Ministry of Education and so-called experts to reduce the numbers of suspensions and expulsions,” Family First NZ director Bob McCroskie says.

8 | Term 3, 2013 www.principalstoday.co.nz

“It seems ironic that as we are saying no to violence within families and our community, schools are tolerating an unacceptable level of violence, sexual and offensive behaviour and intimidations.

In an attempt to tackle bad behaviour, last year education minister Hekia Parata launched Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L) which she says will help schools create a safe and secure environment for learners.

“The school is quite right to tell the Ministry of Education to get stuffed.

The rights of children and teachers to be safe are paramount and should not be sacrificed because of one student who obviously needs far more intensive care than the mainstream education system can offer.

PB4LOnline provides practical ideas and tips for responding to challenging behaviour and for creating environments that encourage positive behaviour in children and young people.

“The Ministry of Education is burying both its head and the extent of the problem in the sand, and both staff and children are being put at risk by the unacceptable behaviour of a minority who know that the consequences of their behaviour are negligible.

“Parents can’t discipline, teachers can’t discipline and now Boards of Trustees can’t discipline. It’s certainly going to get a lot worse for our communities.”

Post-Primary Teachers Association president Robin Duff has labelled the situation “intolerable” saying competitiveness in schools gave them an incentive to hide issues of violence towards teachers and staff, and some schools didn’t want police involved because it could lead to negative publicity.

According to media reports, the national executive of the PPTA was “particularly concerned” to learn that some schools were actually forbidding teachers from reporting instances to police.

It was announced in May that funding for the PB4L programme will be continued and shows the Government is prepared to put resources into projects that work and support a long term investment.

PPTA president Angela Roberts welcomed the Minister of Education’s pre-budget announcement of four years continued funding for the programme.

“PB4L has been a transparent partnership between government and the education sector. This is a great example of the government collaborating with unions, listening to schools and supporting them,” she says.

PB4L was a successful “slow burn” project that required full school and community buy-in and it was good to see certainty of funding for something was not expected to show results by the end of the term, Roberts says.

“It is an evidence-based programme that connects schools and communities together. It has been well researched and given a robust evaluation process to ensure a New Zealand flavour.”

News | Issues

Communication is the key

Talking to kids If a traumatic, scary event takes place close by, miles away or far on the other side of the world, today’s technology and media can bring it right into a child’s home, and in graphic detail.

For some children, this can be extremely distressing. They may react in a wide range of ways to the anxiety, fears or distress the event may cause them.

Every child is different, but most children’s key concern usually is, “Will this happen to me – or to people that I know and care about?” This question lets you know what they need the most – a sense of safety and reassurance.

Here are 20 helpful tips from Skylight about talking to your child when a terrible event has happened.

• Remind yourself that your goal is to increase their sense of safety and security. Remember it’s not so much about what you say, but how you make them feel • Listen to your child to learn how they think or feel about what’s happened.

Watch their behaviour and their play. Check in with them. Ask them what they know. Gently correct any mistaken ideas about the event.

Encourage questions and answer them. Let them lead the direction of the conversation if possible. If you’re asked why something happened, it’s okay to say if you don’t know why • Use language that suits their age and stage • Keep it simple and honest • Keep calm and patient. Some children need to keep asking the same questions as they try to figure out what’s happened

• Be straightforward when you describe the event. For example, “A man with a gun went into that school and hurt a lot of people, very badly.

He was very sick in his mind and got confused and mixed up. What he did isn’t a normal thing to happen.

It’s very, very sad. Isn’t it good that where you go to school is such a safe place where you’re looked after very well” • Reassure them that feeling upset when something like this happens is okay and lots of other people will be feeling upset about it too.

• Be careful what you let them see or hear through the media. Limit this. Switch off the TV or radio or internet, or put away the newspaper.

Repeated images or sound or stories can intensify this event for them unnecessarily or even traumatise them • Help them to see that when something scary or awful has happened, we can always see people who are helping. For example emergency services, local community people, friends and family, schools, doctors and nurses, and so on.

This can be reassuring and helps to balance out the picture they have in their mind about the event • Keep up routines and make extra time to spend with them. Extra hugs, reassuring smiles and eye contact are important. Bed time is often when good talks can happen

sense of balance as they learn about the world – especially if it’s feeling less safe than it was before. It can also help them release some of their distress constructively.

• It’s okay to grieve, to cry and express sadness, when there’s been a loss.

Grief is part of life – it’s normal – so sharing such times together is completely okay • Your child will pick up on all your reactions. What sort of atmosphere are you creating? A very over stressed, very afraid parent won’t be able to give their child reassuring, calm support. Look after yourself. It might help to find another adult to talk to about your own reactions to the event

• Talk about what’s most important to you, as a family. The time after a traumatic event can be a time when some things become very clear. For example, who matters to you the most, what you’re grateful for, what is and isn’t okay • If the event involved violence, talk honestly about why criminal violence is not okay. If guns have been used, talk openly about what real guns can do and why they are very dangerous

• Watch out for a wide range of reactions. Reactions can be physical, emotional, mental, behavioural or spiritual. Some children may become especially tuned in, anxious or sad about what happened. Others won’t at all

• Realise that sometimes a child’s reactions can arrive a long time after an event has happened. Questions may pop up weeks, months or even years later. This lets you know that your child has been processing the event in their own time, bit by bit, but that it’s troubling them. Whenever the questions or reactions come, support your child

• If your child is extremely anxious, ask them what might help them to feel more safe. Often it can be a very simple thing • Look out for those children who are especially vulnerable. This event might trigger reactions in them that relate back to things they’ve been traumatised by before. They will need extra attention and reassurance, or perhaps some professional help from your doctor, or a psychologist or counsellor

• Don’t be afraid to seek advice. You can contact Skylight for extra support or get some wonderful resources and articles for all ages and stages that can assist you to parent an anxious, distressed or traumatised child after a difficult event.

• Do something positive. As a family do something positive that reminds you all that life has good possibilities in it too. Do something that helps others or have some fun times being together. This can help them to get a

For more information visit: www.skylight.org.nz, call (04) 939 6767 or email rs@skylight-trust.org.nz Article kindly supplied courtesy of Skylight

you and Your SchOol can Make a DifFeRenCe. Here at CanTeen, we provide support to young people aged 13 to 24 living with cancer as a patient, sibling or bereaved sibling. Young people like Noah here. We receive no direct government funding, so we have to rely on the generosity of people like you.

Schools, just like yours, play a major role because it’s peer support in action – young people helping young people through tough times.

Register your school for Bandanna Challenge 2013 to help your students and teachers give hope and strength to young people living with cancer.

Konagh Garrett Patient 07

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Register your school today by visiting canteen.org.nz or call 0800 CANTEEN.

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Noah Lockett-Turton CanTeen Patient Member

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News | Tools

puzzLE time Smart Play perceptual games have been designed by a team of educational experts to meet the needs of early learners from three to eight years old.

Smart Play products help develop essential language, thinking and perceptual skills which are vital for early learning. They are designed to help children become more self-confident and better able to cope in today’s fast changing world.

They are used extensively by educational therapists and teachers worldwide, which means that they are in line with the curriculums taught in early learning centres

Every beautifully illustrated game is made of wood and is packed with carefully written instructions to help parents, home schoolers and teachers make the most of the precious time they spend with their children.

Stephanie Happe Agencies is the New Zealand representatives of the RGS group of South Africa, the largest manufacturer and distributer of puzzles, games and toys in South Africa. The company says it has “Given the age ratings on our products much thought however, these are simply a guide. Suggested ages may vary according to the child’s abilities and experience.

“No rainforests have been damaged in the manufacture of our wooden puzzles and all have passed the required standard, international and New Zealand testing requirements.

“We have been marketing our puzzles to the New Zealand market for more

The problem with phonics The world is awash with phonics programmes.

We know that good readers and spellers can read and spell words they have never seen before.

To do this they need to use the alphabetic code.

Phonics programmes teach children about the alphabetic code.

The problem is - how do we know if the programme we choose is effective?

Written English has one of the most complex alphabetic codes of all alphabetic languages and most children need explicit instruction to understand how it works. How the alphabetic code is taught will determine how easily children grasp the key principles of how it works.

Effective phonics instruction should meet all the criteria suggested by current literacy research.

There are two critical areas where most phonics programmes fall down: The fundamental principle that underpins the alphabetic code of written English is that the letters of the alphabet are used to record the sounds of English. Most phonics programmes teach only some of the sounds of English in the first year of school (between 25 and 30), but children need to use all of them (45) as they learn to write the words they have in their heads.

Children need to work with all the sounds of English in their first year at school.

than a year and I feel sure you will find our prices competitive and interesting.”

You can view the range on the Smart Play Puzzles website, which includes the contact details for Stephanie Happe Agencies for an extremely attractive wholesale price list.

T (09) 479 3611 M 021 663 611 E s-happe@xtra.co.nz www.smartplaypuzzles.co.nz Contact us for a wholesale price list.

The perfect option for your child’s development, a delight for young learners.

Contact 021 663 611 or order online today at: www.smartplaypuzzles.co.nz Like us on Facebook! www.facebook.com/PuzzlesAndPlay

10 | Term 3, 2013 www.principalstoday.co.nz

By Joy Allcock

Most phonics programmes do not teach children to expect diversity in the way the code works – that one sound can be written in different ways and that one letter or spelling pattern can be pronounced in different ways.

Children need to be exposed to this concept from their first exposure to print.

These two principles are fundamental to the way written English works, but most phonics programmes are teaching insufficient information in the first year at school (not all the sounds) and an inaccurate concept of how the code works (one spelling pattern for each sound).

Children have to unlearn this incorrect concept if written English is to make sense.

The alphabetic code does not have to be taught like this. It is possible to teach children to hear and record every sound of English and to understand that sounds can be written differently and letters pronounced differently in less than a year at school.

If you go to www.spelling.co.nz you can download the criteria for effective phonics instruction and watch some video clips of teachers in action, teaching phonics effectively.

Knowledge of how the alphabetic code works is critical for success with reading and writing and we use phonics instruction to teach this. We also need to carefully evaluate our current instructional strategies to ensure they are effective.

News | Tools

News | Children In Crisis

Building made easy Children in crisis conference One thing every school wants with a building project is to be able to see exactly what they are getting, before having to commit to a building contract.

You can eliminate the risk with Steel Shed Systems - the company provides you with a 3D replica of your dreambuilding, exactly as it will be built – before you’ve even paid a cent.

The company walks hand-in-hand with clients throughout the whole process to ensure the dream is fulfilled. Because the company offers a no-obligation engineering and design assessment, potential clients can get in touch with Steel Shed Systems risk-free.

It can design, plan and execute your school building project from conception to completion.

It understands architecture, and recognises its value and functionality in our lives.

Starting from scratch Don Kerr (director Whangarei & Auckland) has worked with schools and the Ministry of Education for many years and knows the importance of working with Board of Trustees’ and staff to ensure all interest groups, get what they need, out of a new building.

“We offer guidance throughout the process. We will talk to you about what your school needs from your building, and how it can meet the future demands of education,” Don says.

At the start of every project someone from Steel Shed Systems will go out and meet at the school, have a look as

to want and need, and view the site – “Let’s talk, we listen, is our motto.”

A vision in 3D The next step is building a solid design to bring the project to life, through Steel Shed Systems 3D software. This generates a replica which enables the school to see a working model of its desired building on its desired site, exactly as it will be built, with a full quote; no surprises for anyone.

Worries about organising building consents will be a thing of the past too with Steel Shed Systems, which deals directly with the Ministry of Education and all local and national building authorities.

It ensures any new school building will be fully compliant in all applicable areas such as occupancy, food safety, zoning, fire compliance, occupational safety and public use.

As the design of your building takes shape, Steel Shed Systems is also modelling your budget. It develops a budget plan for you from day one, keeps you constantly apprised of the costs you will incur, and works to ensure your budget is sustainable for you.

Hamilton-based director Paul Kingsbeer, who also looks after South Auckland clients, says the company employs a flexible approach.

By getting Steel Shed Systems involved in your school project as early as possible, it promises to head off as many potential delays and planning issues as possible. Its professionalism and excellent customer service aims to make the building process as unobtrusive as possible.

For more information visit: www.SteelShedSystems.co.nz

Through Steel Shed Systems’ 3D software, we can build a solid design to bring your project to life. This generates a replica which enables the school to see a working model, of its desired building, on its site, exactly as it will be built. You can see how it will fit into the existing grounds and any linkages that will be required. We include a full budget and quote; no surprises for anyone.

Our experience and knowledge guides our selection of products and materials of the finest quality and finish for your building, and our engineering and design team pay close attention to the little details of every project we embark on - this way we ensure you receive a high-quality, custom-made and -engineered product.

Steel Shed Systems will guide you through every step of the building process. Our approach of working in close collaboration with our clients means you’ll get the building that you’ve envisioned.

Please refer back to the Term 4 2012 issue of Principals Today for a company profile.

If you look at the recent statistics on child abuse, poverty, health, youth suicide, youth unemployment and overall welfare, unfortunately New Zealand no longer seems to be the great place for many people to raise their children that we have so fondly believed.

There were more than 150,000 care and protection notifications made to Child Youth and Family in 12 months up to 30 June 2012 and identified cases of physical, emotional and sexual abuse totalled more than 21,000.

It’s in response to such a raft of figures that educationalists at the University of Waikato have organised the Children in Crisis conference scheduled for October 7-9 this year in Hamilton.

Professors Michael Peters and Tina Besley from the Centre for Global Studies in Education at the University of Waikato are the key organisers, along with Dr Jayne White, Paul Flanagan, Dr Timotei Vaioleti and Tamatea Karaitiana.

The aim is to bring together people who are involved in the disparate strands that affect the wellbeing and safety of children and young people, so there are four major strands that will be covered at the conference – child poverty, children’s rights, child abuse and policies and practices.

“Too many children and young people have lives that are more precarious than we would want for our own children and this is just not good enough. We can and must do better since children are our taonga, our future,” professor Besley says.

“Many are let down by the very people they should be able to trust. Dealing closely each day with children and young people means that teachers are often amongst the first to identify problems and issues in young people’s lives. And it’s for this reason that we’re aiming the conference largely towards teachers,” she says.

Teachers will be able to come together with other related professionals to find solutions and positive ways to bring about change in the lives of children and young people.

“But all of this will tie into the work of many other interested groups such as counsellors, social workers, academics, police, youth justice, paediatricians, voluntary and government agencies who will all find the conference beneficial.

“We want to discuss issues, but more than that, to encourage inclusiveness in developing evidence-based solutions for better services for children and young people.”

Keynote speakers at the conference will include the NZEI and PPTA presidents, professor Jonathon Boston, coauthor of the report on Child Poverty (2012), Anthea Simcock (ONZM) from Child Matters, deputy children’s commissioner Dr Justine Cornwall, professor Kuni Jenkins and Helen Harte from Mana Ririki, associate professors Susan St. John and Michael O’Brien, convenor of the Child Poverty Action Group and politicians.

There are already a superb range of other presenters from social agencies, from the whole education sector (from early childhood to schools to tertiary institutions), and Maori, Pasifika and Pakeha.

Professor Besley says she’s keen for the conference not just to be a talk fest. “I hope it will be the start of an ongoing forum and I’d like to see people getting together to develop a handbook for teachers.

“The issues are too big for schools to handle individually… there needs to be nationwide approaches and interagency co-operation and we need to develop policies and practices to support our children to grow and flourish.”

For more information or have any questions about the Children in Crisis Conference, October 7-9 contact: Administrator – Centre for Global Studies in Education T (07) 838 4466 ext 6149 E globalstudies@waikato.ac.nz www.2013cic.wordpress.com

Let’s Talk, We Listen No obligation appraisal

Freephone: 0800 800 750, Mobile: 021 426 851 Email: mikeT@steelshedsystems.co.nz

Website for your local company, www.SteelShedSystems.co.nz www.principalstoday.co.nz Term 3, 2013 | 11

Tools

setting the STage

numicon

for teachers and students struggling with fractions

For teachers who are feeling overwhelmed or not excited about teaching fractions, the Numicon teaching approach is a great support.

Stronglite Staging is a specialist in the design, manufacture and hire of premium staging equipment that is ideal for schools, universities, theatres, community centres, sports and multiuse venues. The Stronglite range is ideal for school halls, auditoriums, drama suites, gymnasiums, sportsfields and swimming pools.

All Stronglite products are manufactured to exacting standards and feature unique benefits.

Strength: Stronglite stage and seating products are designed and manufactured to be strong and durable and are tested to make sure they meet our high standards of performance under live and static load conditions.

Lightness: Innovative design and use of material creates equipment that is light and easy to handle, saving time and possible injury.

Portability: Designed for easy handling, transporting and storage.

Choir risers fold up and wheel away.

Grandstands quickly disassemble for easy transport and storage. Wheels and trolleys are also available for increased manoeuvrability.

Stage Sections: These are portable, safe and easy to handle and store.

They’re ideal for stages, catwalks, tiered audience seating, seated choir/ orchestra risers, display/work tables, ramps and more. No tools are required as there are no folding or moving parts

to trap fingers etc. Sections can be stacked on castor wheels for storage and moved as a stack.

Pit Infills & Stage Extensions: These can be custom designed and are ideal for either new venues or refits.

Choir Risers: Two, three and four-level, folding choir risers with safety rails and carpeted decks are quiet, stable, easy to handle, transport and store.

Grandstands: These all aluminium grandstands can be demountable or fixed. Wheels can be fitted for manoeuvrability making them ideal for the gym, around pools and the sportsfield.

Stronglite Staging Ltd is committed to finding a solution that works for the individual client and guarantees its products. They can also provide a comprehensive range of equipment for hire to support occasions where a larger or more complex staging/seating set up is required.

Full sound and lighting services are available for hire to support and enhance any event. Just call and a member of the team will be happy to discuss your specific requirements (sales and/or hires) and can provide references from many satisfied customers.

Stronglite Staging Limited 196 Finlayson Rd RD10, Hamilton T (07) 825 2933 E stages@stronglite.co.nz

Stage Sections, Choir Risers, Grandstands, Audience Seating, Drama Suite Modules, Drapes, Steps, Lecterns, Trolleys, Ramps etc.

Top quality, NZ made products, designed to be easy to handle and store.

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Choir/Chorus Risers

Stage, Steps & Lectern

Design • Manufacture • Sales • Hire Services Email: stages@stronglite.co.nz Phone 07 825 2933. Mobile 027 473 4443

12 | Term 3, 2013 www.principalstoday.co.nz

Lessons are provided in a sequential, and thorough visual format along with Assessment Guides and notes to accompany the teaching process.

There is not a bunch of lessons for you to try to choose the best one, but one lesson following after the previous.

Each lesson’s concept is built on work and discussion covered in the earlier lessons. The concepts are generalised into measurement and living examples of how these are at work in our lives.

Teachers really enjoy using the programme. They enjoy seeing their students knowing they are making true and steady progress.

Children who are secure in relationships with whole numbers will be better able to meet the challenges of the key ideas in understanding fractions.

Exploring fractions through the real world where discussions around books being read as halfway or quarter the way through, single objects being divided into parts and half hours being described, provide meaningful contexts for learning. Numicon provides the step between the real and abstract world; Numicon patterns are structured and representational.

Most of us are visual learners. We understand abstract concepts so much better if we can see what the person is talking about, and then have a ‘go’ to learn from the experience.

Children are mainly visual learners so helping them ‘see’ pictures of numbers with Numicon is very helpful. They not only see the individual numbers, but how they relate to each other and the key language used to describe those relationships.

Which is greater?

Half or quarter?

Simply, ½ decribes ‘one of the two equal parts’. ¼ describes ‘one of four equal parts’.

These key ideas of the equality of parts and how to describe them can be expanded to other fractions.

Maths is all about relationships.

Think about fractions.

Easy with Numicon!

1/7

2/7

3/7

4/7

5/7

6/7

7/7

Addition and subtraction, multiplication and division of fractions becomes so much easier when you can use equipment and see it for yourself.

News | PhotoWonder NZ

Worth a

thousand words Wouldn’t it be nice if, instead of being a logistics mission straight from the dark side, the taking of school photographs was a simple and straightforward procedure?

Well it can be with PhotoWonder.

The business started out in New Zealand in July 2011, bringing a proven international track record in digital art and enhancement services to school and sports team photography.

“With sports and class photos, very little has changed in decades – and after talking to a large number of parents who were over the “old” style and keen on something “new”, we felt sports photos for young players first and foremost needed a little sprucing up,” the company says.

“As a result of the sports shoots we conducted last year (clubs and schools), we had a good number of satisfied schools asking us to take on their class and portrait photos too, which we only got in to at the beginning of 2013.

“We are also very aware of the need for our client schools to fundraise and will be opening up a new photo fundraising option within Term 3 to our clients – offering the photo-to-art product range and restoration services we offer globally. We want to partner with our client schools/clubs and work with them to assist, where we can, on the fundraising front – beyond just class/portrait and sports photos.

“It is encouraging (for us) to hear how many schools are not satisfied with their current suppliers – we just need an opportunity to present to them, and educate them on how we operate - bringing many new benefits to the school and parents.”

In their words “At North Shore United Football Club we needed player team photos for the 2013 season. Understandably we were a little nervous about how we would cover the 600 players over two nights. Bringing everyone together at the right time, wearing the right clothes and taking the right amount of money can be tough. 2013 was the first time we used PhotoWonder and the experience was brilliant!

“PhotoWonder did a great job in managing the whole process – start to finish. They worked closely with the club on the communications to the members and what the best schedule should look like. They provided a professional and friendly team on the night, who handled all the players and parents. They provided clear instructions to everyone, took great photos and took all the payments. The club hardly lifted a finger.

“The beauty of the photo process with PhotoWonder is that players are pictured individually and then digitally “dragged & dropped” into teams after the event. The pictures look great and faultless and of course players can have their pictures taken individually on separate days. This was perfect for those with other commitments and of course for those young parents that wanted to bring all their kids in together at the same time.”

- Sean Jones, First Kicks Club Manager, NSUAFC

* Refer to inside and outside back cover for more information

www.principalstoday.co.nz Term 3, 2013 | 13

News | Super Student

By Melinda Collins

AYLA HUTCHINSON SUPER STUDENT

Watching their mother take off the end of her finger with an axe is something most young girl’s would want to wipe from their memory. But Ayla Hutchinson is well on her way to turning the experience into a viable business venture.

Well, not the injured finger, but a contraption designed to prevent it from happening again.

The Year 9 Inglewood High School student came up with the idea of safely cutting wood using an enclosed axe blade. The wood is placed on top of the enclosed blade then hit with a hammer, splitting the wood with no risk of injury.

The 14 year old Ayla was the winner of the James and Wells Intellectual Property Award at this year’s Fielddays event in June, which gives her $3,000 worth of IP strategy advice on how to own, protect her idea and commercialise it. She has also gone on to win the prestigious Young Inventor of the Year Award.

James and Wells associate Peter Brown says the simplicity of the idea and how beneficial it is to people were key factors in the success of the ‘Kindling Cracker’, but could also be its downfall when it comes to its IP, particularly with copycats.

“It works really, really well and is safe and easy to handle, but with an idea so simple it’s even more important to protect the idea because it would be easy to copy. We want to guide Ayla through the process and help her make the most of her fantastic invention.

“She’s a very clever young woman.”

Not surprising then that any proceeds for her invention will be going towards future university studies, likely in engineering, design or architecture.

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Thanks to her dad Vaughan, a bit of an inventor himself, Ayla already had a provisional patent on the Kindling Cracker before she launched it at Fielddays to an audience of more than 100,000 people. In fact, her dad was already attending the event to market his own latest invention.

helped me weld it up. Now I want to sell it to everyone in New Zealand and overseas,” she says.

She’s very excited about all the interest she’s had in her invention and what the future may hold. “I designed it and dad

Her biggest problem now is that most nights she is the one using it to get the household’s firewood!

She had a week worth of school work to catch up on after attending the Fielddays event, but it was well worth it for the young inventor.

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14 | Term 3, 2013 www.principalstoday.co.nz

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News | Super Student

Megan blackwood SUPER STUDENT

By Davina Richards

Solving a global issue isn’t something you would normally expect to find from a Year 8 student, but 12 year old Megan Blackwood landed herself firmly in third place for her creative thinking at the International Future Problem Solving competition in the United States.

The Future Problem Solving New Zealand (FPSNZ) programme, which teaches children how to think and not what to think, engages students to explore, research and solve existing or emerging issues in a futuristic scenario.

Students are given a topic and narrow their focus down to write creative solutions to one underlying problem which they have decided to solve.

The scenarios are based on real problems, addressing issues such as violence, health, education and social and economic gaps in different countries.

Megan represented Rangi Ruru Girls’ School in Christchurch at FPSNZ and was one of 2,000 children from 13 different countries who took part in the four day international competition held in Bloomington, Indiana in June.

Despite Megan feeling naturally a bit “up and down” on the day of the competition, she knew the format well and understood the process, having practiced scenarios with her experienced coach Sue Williams, who helped prepare her for the big day.

She competed against 26 children in the Individual Junior Division where they received the same topic ‘Global Status of Women’. They had just two hours in what’s called ‘the lock up’, where students had to read the topic and apply the six step future problem solving process to identify problems and challenges within a global future scene and write out their solutions, before being put before a panel of judges.

16 | Term 3, 2013 www.principalstoday.co.nz

Megan was ecstatic when she came in third place in the world for her division.

Proud mum Angela Blackwood says it’s simply something she’s good at.

“She had to be analytical, then creative, then prioritise her solutions and finally go back and assess her own work.

Although she’s generally an aboveaverage student, this is something she wanted to work really hard for and she understood the process really well. It should stand her in good stead in the future to solve problems.”

All the children who participated in the competition were encouraged to swap mementos with each other. Megan was provided with stickers, little hard hats and road cones from SCIRT (Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team) along with items provided by Rangi Ruru and Air New Zealand to swap with other students.

After all the hard work, Megan and her family enjoyed a holiday afterwards with a trip to Washington, New York and Chicago. Megan was overwhelmed when her school friends surprised her at the airport and made posters and banners showing their support.

Out of school, Megan enjoys ballet and jazz, basketball, mountain biking, water skiing and is an avid reader, which Angela says is the biggest thing which helped her most at the competition.

The FBSNZ programme has enabled Megan to utilise her creative skills which will no doubt help her to excel in all areas of her life in the future. Well done Megan!

News | Professional Development

Arrested Development A report based on two separate PPTA surveys has revealed both teachers and school leaders agree current professional learning and development (PLD) provision is inadequate.

The PPTA says the conclusion indicates that PLD for educators is piecemeal and incoherent and, as such, raises questions as to whether this money is being well spent.

PPTA president Angela Roberts says the surveys were conducted in May this year “after noise in the sector over the current PLD provision had grown to an unbearable level.”

The stark message emanating from the PPTA is that the Government is spending $200 million a year on woefully inadequate teacher PLD that does not help lift student achievement.

“There is clearly a need to ensure the professional learning that happens in schools challenges teachers to work differently with students to raise their achievement, but 44 percent of teachers said that only happened sometimes with the current provision of PLD. “Visiting international experts have reiterated the importance of teacher professional development in improving equity of student achievement. This is an issue that needs the urgent attention of the government,” she says.

One of the biggest concerns voiced by both teachers and school leaders was the lack of local provision for PLD. The current contestable contracts tended to be centred on particular

18 | Term 3, 2013 www.principalstoday.co.nz

providers, often a long way from where the PLD must be delivered, dismantling a trusted model of ongoing local support.

“The closeness to the contract directly influences the quality of PLD. If you are in Taranaki, Wainuiomata or Gisborne you will have worse PLD opportunities than in Auckland or Hamilton.

“The type of PLD teachers and leaders find most effective is ongoing, looks at students’ achievement data and takes place in a professional learning community, especially with teachers from other schools. This is what used to be provided by the locally trusted, officially sanctioned, university-based School Support Services.”

The surveys also revealed a number of PLD sources many teachers found worked the best had been stopped by the ministry – including the Te Kotahitanga programme aimed at raising Maori student achievement.

“The PLD spine needs to be rebuilt across the whole country,” Angela says.

The full report is available on the PPTA website at: http://ppta.org.nz/ index.php/resources/publicationlist/2717-pld-research-report

News | One in five

Regional education information a

good step forward The release of regional education achievement information on the Ministry of Education’s website has been welcomed by BusinessNZ. The organisation’s chief executive, Phil O’Reilly says the information needs to be used to increase the achievement of all students.

“Making this information available is a good first step - but it is important to have continuous improvement strategies in schools and in the wider education system in order to increase students’ achievement.

“The information shows considerable differences between the 16 regions, especially with regard to success rates for boys and Maori and Pacific students.

“We have to make sure that schools have the flexibility, capacity and capability to innovative and respond effectively to students’ needs.

“A recent economic survey of New Zealand by the OECD highlighted the importance of high quality teaching, increased resource flexibility, and on-going professional development of leaders and school boards.

“We will be looking for the Ministry of Education and other relevant government agencies to support school boards, leaders and teachers through incentives and opportunities to innovate more readily in order to make progress.

“New Zealand’s challenge is to improve our international competitiveness and standard of living. To meet the challenge, we must ensure all students are well prepared for life after school,” Mr O’Reilly says.

Big increase in workload for school counsellors The New Zealand Association of Counsellors (NZAC) says the ability for troubled students to access school counsellors when they need them is being threatened as demand begins to outstrip supply.

The pace of work is accelerating, leaving many of us with the experience of being overwhelmed, frustrated and stressed.

We’re deluged with information, tortured by impossible deadlines and overwhelmed by high expectations.

No matter how well organised we are, work can sometimes feel impossible to deal with. The tools developed more than ten years ago are insufficient for today’s work demands and the complex environments in which we work.

• What if, on a daily basis, what you did clearly fulfilled the things you and your pupils consider to be of great importance?

• What if you lived life as the author of what you were doing, versus merely reacting to what happens?

• What if you had the power, freedom and peace of mind to handle everything there is for you to do?

• What would you do?

Mission Control™ is now available in New Zealand. It is an exciting new approach to productivity, resilience and performance, providing a dramatic increase in your productivity and effectiveness while reducing stress.

In Mission Control™ participants will be aware of the unseen self-imposed limitations of your own productivity and performance in a thought provoking way.

Using Mission Control’s™ innovative principles, tools and practices, you will find yourself accomplishing what is important to you while being more productive. Your stress levels are cut in half and your sense of satisfaction and work/life balance are increased.

The NZAC says most counsellors are now seeing up to 50 students a week who need their help, with problems as serious as bullying, sexual abuse, family violence and self harm.

NZAC spokesperson Sarah Maindonald says the increase in students wanting to see school counsellors means some students with potentially serious problems are not getting appointments when they need them.

The Education Review Office is reviewing guidance provision, including school guidance counselling, and the NZAC welcomes the move.

Also a counsellor at Hillmorton High School in Christchurch, Sarah says the association is particularly interested in the review of school counselling and guidance provision.

“We want the review to take a good look, using robust data, at the ratios of school guidance counsellors to students.

20 | Term 3, 2013 www.principalstoday.co.nz

Counsellors are good ‘go to’ people with whom students can discuss a range of issues, she says, not just focussed on medical or mental health matters, without the fear of being stigmatised or labelled.

Mission Control™ courses are now open in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch or available for specific work groups or sectors.

Initial results From individuals implementing Mission Control indicate 1 - 4 hours of recovered time each day and 50-100% increases in results over a 6 - 12 month period following the programme.

“The two days I spent were of great practical value. The workshop ultimately brings the participant to a clear understanding of his or her limitations - the constraints of time and energy that we usually deny. What I saw in the workshop was that accepting these constraints was the beginning of real creative stewardship of my gifts.” - Steven R. Tomlinson, Professor, McCombs School of Business, University of Texas Austin.

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She says some schools are more supportive of guidance counselling than others. “Counsellors work very hard and are doing an awesome job.

However some need more support to cope with the increase in students coming to them. Some schools take money out of their operation grant to employ extra counsellors if they need to, to make sure their students are safe and have access to help.”

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“Every town can have different crises that they have to deal with that will increase their workload at times. There have been some rural communities where there has been a cluster of suicides and that certainly put extra pressure on counsellors.”

HUMAN RESOURCE EXECUTIVE MAGAZINE

News | Q&A

PRINCIPAL Q&A Louise Anaru is a first time principal at Flaxmere College, a position she’s held for three years. Prior to this she was deputy principal at Taipa Area School for five years and a teacher, head of department and Te Kotahitanga facilitator at Waitakere College for five years.

What is the role Flaxmere College plays in the life of its students?

To work with our learners to ensure educational success.

What are the main objectives of the school?

• To build leadership capacity and sustainability • To ensure consistent effective teaching and learning • To improve student achievement, attendance and engagement outcomes.

What socio/economic background do students come from?

Decile 1a What has been the biggest challenges facing teachers at the moment and how are you dealing with it at your school?

Challenging the perception of Flaxmere College and low expectations for our learners. Flaxmere College students are capable and have limitless potential and their achievements deserve to be celebrated. Also by building the culture of success within the school… success breeds success.

What, in your opinion, are the most compelling challenges within today’s education system?

A positive challenge is to ensure all learners experience educational success.

What new initiatives are you looking to implement at the school this year?

Nil. We are working to develop sustainability of our current practices e.g. align all initiatives to our strategic goals and ‘do less well’.

Who or what influenced you to become an educator?

My grandmother Keita Anaru has inspired me to want to make a difference for our students in terms of equity of opportunity and outcomes.

Who has most influenced you throughout your career?

Students, whanau and the school community, alongside educational research and educational leaders.

students and school’s success. I feel a strong sense of responsibility to continue to contribute to education and society as a positive leader.

What are the most rewarding aspects of your job?

Seeing students experience success and have pride in themselves and high expectations for their futures.

What have your students taught you?

To put our students at the centre of everything we do. Seek student voice/ feedback and be responsive as a school to their learning needs.

You were rewarded the Sir Peter Blake Leadership Award - how does it feel to be recognised for your contributions?

Very humbled. It’s an extreme honour and privilege, I feel very proud of our

What would you change if you were Minister of Education?

I would continue to focus on ensuring success for all learners – equity in educational opportunities and equity in outcomes.

learning anywhere, anytime

a reality for nearly 760,000 school students Microsoft Schools agreement renewed to 2015.

Teachers and students across the country have greater access to modern e-learning tools through the renewed Microsoft Schools Agreement and the know-how to use these tools, thanks to the software developer’s commitment to the education sector.

The Ministry of Education has renewed the Microsoft Schools Agreement through to the end of 2015. The agreement provides schools with unlimited access to the Windows operating system and Microsoft Office software for school-owned or leased devices, as well as unrestricted use of Windows Core Servers.

Microsoft has been visiting schools around the country giving free seminars about how to enhance teaching, learning and assessment with technology. To ensure that schools can easily upgrade to Windows 8 and Office 2013, Microsoft will be releasing a step by step deployment kit during Term 4, 2013.

Microsoft Education Sector manager, Evan Blackman says the renewed agreement gives schools certainty about what technology platforms are available to them, so that teachers and students can fully utilise the technology in their classrooms.

Pauline Barnes from the Ministry of Education agrees. “The extension to December 2015 gives schools greater ability to make IT network management plans. It will support schools to access and provide modern digital teaching and learning environments.”

Schools can also use Microsoft’s Office365 cloud service at no cost.

With cloud computing, students and teachers can access documents and software from anywhere with any device, irrespective of the software loaded onto the device.

It also allows multiple students to work on the same documents at the same time, lending itself to online project work and collaboration between students in different classrooms, cities and countries.

Blackman says technology is now an integral part of the way teachers

teach and students learn and is key to lifting academic achievement in New Zealand. “E-learning is changing teaching and learning. With our suite of software and infrastructure almost any form of information sharing is possible.

“For example, rural schools will be able to organise lessons for their students via our video conferencing software, Lync. Equally, teachers will be able to share resources and work on lesson plans together,” Blackman says.

Microsoft is supporting teachers to engage with their students using technology by running free seminars led by education specialists. These Windows in the Classroom seminars are available to schools across the country and in the last six months have reached hundreds of schools.

A teacher who attended one of these seminars, Matthew Short from Glen Eden Intermediate says “Windows in the Classroom was an awesome workshop and I came away very impressed at how I could engage my students with these modern tools.

Microsoft is now leading ICT in the classroom.”

To make the upgrade to Windows 8 and Office 2013 as easy as possible, Microsoft has created a step by step guide and has completed the first step of the upgrade to help schools to move to this modern technology.

“Technology should enable collaborative learning and give students access to amazing resources, not take educators away from the classroom to roll it out. So we’ve created a deployment kit that basically does the heavy lifting involved for schools in upgrading to Windows 8,“ Blackman says.

Upgrading is particularly important for the schools still using XP software as after April next year, support for XP will be switched off. Schools still using XP will be vulnerable to viruses and over time will find new technology will not be compatible with XP.

www.principalstoday.co.nz Term 3, 2013 | 21

News | Cover Story

the language portal It’s a valuable skill to be able to communicate with others in a foreign language, but the amount of hours spent scrolling over words and phrases in textbooks trying to embed them permanently into our minds can be dull, time consuming and somewhat agonising.

Confidence has been restored to thousands of students around the world thanks to Language Perfect – an engaging, online language learning tool which tests reading, writing and listening abilities.

The programme already helps 200,000 students from 1,000 schools in New Zealand, Australia, Europe and the UK, with students answering more than one million questions each day. As numbers soar students have cause to believe things are looking up.

While many students were still thinking

22 | Term 3, 2013 www.principalstoday.co.nz

about what they want to be when they grow up, Craig Smith, founder and CEO of Language Perfect, knew his calling when he thought of the idea while in high school.

What began in a dorm room back in 2007 now takes up half an office building in central Dunedin and last year raked in $1 million in revenue.

The 24 year old entrepreneur, who describes the programme as relevant, accessible and fun, was the winner of the Audacious 40k Business Plan competition 2007, the Computer World

Excellence Award, Young ICT Talent Category 2008 and named Young New Zealander of the Year semi-finalist in 2012.

This role reversal of student turned businessman is awe-inspiring. If you could bottle the determination, persistence and enthusiasm of an entrepreneur, Craig Smith would be the result.

Following the success of Language Perfect, the team behind the revolution is taking on the entire school curriculum with its latest release Education Perfect.

News | Cover Story The big idea

How it works

The idea for the education revolution was set in motion seven years ago when Craig was at Saint Kentigern College learning French and Japanese for his NCEA exams. It was here that he found languages, particularly vocabulary, difficult and time consuming to learn and built a computer programme to test himself.

Language Perfect is available in more than 10 languages and the content is fully customised to each school’s curriculum. Annual licences provide full access and most schools enrol all their language students. The programme can be accessed from any computer with internet and can be utilised in school and at home – which means teachers can set students homework through the system.

“Over a few weekends I built the first version of Language Perfect for my own use. What I didn’t realise at the time was that a lot of other people would find the resource useful too,” he explains.

“As a student I knew that it helped my friends and I. The first schools to evaluate the system found it worked really well with their students, had a positive impact on student motivation

“

This accessibility offers a competitive edge to learning and the level of engagement with students is sensational.

“Languages can be a very difficult subject for students, yet it’s an increasingly important skill for a global citizen. Language Perfect is a powerful resource to aid teachers and

Every morning I get up and I’m so excited. Working with teachers and students every day inspires us and we’ve got a world class team that

“

are just as passionate about education as I am.

CRAIG SMITH - FOUNDER AND CEO OF LANGUAGE PERFECT

and once they were doing well with their vocabulary, other aspects of language learning became much easier.”

While studying business at Otago University, Craig, his brother Shane and friend Scott Cardwell developed a more polished testing system.

It took perseverance and every inch of effort for Craig and his team to reach their first sale in 2008, with business picking up momentum in New Zealand in 2009, followed by Australia in 2011.

“Over the years since Language Perfect has been in our New Zealand schools, the standard of student achievement has risen, and Language Perfect I am convinced has been a factor in achieving that,” Craig’s ex-Japanese teacher, Mr Doug Anderson Head of Languages at Saint Kentigern College and a senior examiner for NCEA says.

“We are continually inspired to see how students and teachers are utilising Language Perfect,” Craig says, adding that no traditional marketing is undertaken. “It’s all word of mouth from happy teachers and students.”

Last May 140,000 students participated in the annual Language Perfect World Championships – the largest online language competition where students compete against schools, countries and against each other.

provide students with a personalised vocabulary tutor both in and out of the classroom,” he says.

“Firstly, it’s delivered through a medium which is accessible to students. Students can hear the pronunciation of words as they are learning which is really useful. They receive a tailored learning experience as the software identifies words they are struggling with. It’s a nonthreatening environment where they are comfortable to make mistakes and learn.

“Students also find the online live competition really motivating.

During the 2012 Language Perfect World Championships students were answering 10 million questions a day.”

Education Perfect Education Perfect is an extension of Language Perfect. With one login, schools have access to all learning data for their students across maths, science, English, history and other key subjects.

Early feedback is positive, with more than 700 schools trialling the system in the 21 days since launch.

“Behind the scenes we’ve spent the last year building Education Perfect – a framework which can be used by most of the core subjects in Year 7 - Year 13.

“We released a beta version of Education Perfect to our Language Perfect subscribers at the start of May for free. We’ve been blown away with the response. Over 500,000 questions have been answered in the last three weeks from 700 schools,” he says.

Like when starting any business, company growth is vital to move business forward and add value to a product or service. It’s something Craig has already thought about.

His five year goal is to have 2,000 schools using Education Perfect. This equates to educating around two million students and answering an estimated 20 billion questions a year.

Close up Living the life of a young entrepreneur must be as exhausting as it is fun – Craig explains that along with his team he spends 25 minutes every week to chat about anything but business and every two years takes a break for two weeks.

Despite working non stop he still manages to get up at 5.15am every morning for a five km ocean swim and arrives at work with the same amount of enthusiasm he’s had since the day he started Language Perfect.

His passion resonates in the tone of his voice. “I’m living the dream,” he beams in a conversation which is casual and jubilant, and you can’t help but converse with him as if you’ve just bumped into an old friend.

“Every morning I get up and I’m so excited. Working with teachers and students every day inspires us and we’ve got a world class team that are just as passionate about education as I am,” he says.

We all have to start at the bottom somewhere; no one lands at the top of the mountain without a little help from people in the know. “I’ve been very fortunate to have a number of amazing mentors who have taught our team to really value relationships with all customers.

“Key mentors include Scott Mason (accountancy group WHK), Todd Scott (National Business Review), John Ferguson (New Zealand Trade and Enterprise) and my parents,” all of whom Craig believes have assisted in his success.

With long term success in mind, it’s the little steps Craig has taken right from the start and carried through which ensure the philosophy behind Language Perfect remains at the core of the business. “It’s all about taking a genuine interest in everyone we deal with – most importantly our staff and customers. They’re all amazingly interesting people with dreams and goals,” he says.

“We focused on positive outcomes for students and schools rather than short term financial gain. When we set out it was with a long term view to work towards financial independence while having a big impact on education.”

Craig accounts the three books which have had a big impact on their philosophy towards business.

Man for Our Time by Ian Hunter: “The story of Robert Laidlaw who founded Farmers Trading Company really resonated with us. His focus on customer support, utmost honesty and his view of using money for good rather than as a success comparison point.”

The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It by Michael E Gerber: “This had a big impact on the training systems through our business.”

How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie: “I come back to this book a few times a year and whenever I’m struggling to move something forward the answer is almost always in the psychology of how we are approaching it. This book has many answers.”

The endeavour Launching a new venture for the first time will inevitably induce many trials, tribulations and triumphs, but challenges are something Craig says is all part of the entrepreneurial endeavour.

He recalls the first talk he gave to 50 teachers about Language Perfect and only five registered for the trial – although this didn’t shake his confidence, he persevered – a common quality seen in many entrepreneurs.

“When we started we went 18 months without making a single sale. If I had listened to initial feedback from would-be customers we would have stopped after two months. But I knew how valuable the resource had been for my school, it just took a long time to establish credibility and enough momentum to move things forward effectively,” he concedes.

“People have different motivations for starting a business and I think it’s really important to think about why you’re there in the first place. If you’re passionate about what you’ve set out to do, which in our case was to make language learning fun and where that’s actually going to help people, then you’re likely to have a long term view. This means that early setbacks and challenges feel like they’re part of the learning experience as opposed to being fatal blows to the concept itself.”

He adds that the common challenges for business start-ups is sticking with one idea, not spreading resources between multiple projects and retaining an excellent team.

I posed the question to Craig of what should first time business owners be aware of in the first few years of starting out in business.

“You don’t need to have experience to get started. We had absolutely no training or qualifications. We learned through our mistakes. The most important thing is having a burning desire to learn.

“Focus on the goal of where you want to be in five years, the impact you want to have on the people you have set out to help and remember to ask for help when you need it.”

www.principalstoday.co.nz Term 3, 2013 | 23

News | Issues

By Melinda Collins

Charter schools – they seem to have the best of both worlds; public funding without the constraint of a government sanctioned curriculum.

But what’s all the fuss behind this recently passed bill? Melinda Collins goes in search of the answers.

Partnering or privatising?

Charter schools are, by definition, publicly funded secondary schools which have been freed from some of the rules and regulations of public schools, in exchange for producing certain results. Sounds good; at least at its most basic.

The controversial bill allowing charter schools in New Zealand, which will be known as Partnership Schools or Kura Hourua, was passed into law in June this year.

Developed in consultation with the ACT Party, the schools are designed to give parents more educational options, provide greater flexibility and improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged students. Associate Education Minister John Banks explains.

“Partnership Schools will provide new opportunities for the education, community and business sectors to work together to raise achievement and deliver much needed choice for students, parents and whanau.”

There have already been 35 applications to run charter schools, the first of which will start opening at the beginning of the next school year. However, with the schools not subject to normal rules regarding hours and holidays, not under the Official Information Act and not required to hire registered teachers, many are opposed.

Legislative reproach Education Minister Hekia Parata says the changes in the Education Amendment Bill allowing charter schools will lift achievements across the board for all students.

Chartering dangerous territory However, Labour has promised to repeal the legislation allowing the creation of charter schools immediately upon becoming the government, with Labour leader David Shearer describing them as “an ideological experiment inflicted on the country as the result of a dodgy cup of tea deal between John Banks and John Key”.

Green Party co-leader Metiria Turei calls it a “deliberate attempt to privatise the public school system.

The bill implementing charter schools provides these schools with a high level of discretion and control but fails to provide an adequate level of oversight.”

New Zealand First education spokesperson, Tracey Martin says the schools will lack transparency and shun the usual constitutional safeguards by exempting the schools from the Official Information Act and the Ombudsman’s Act. “Charter schools will also become a cash cow for foreign investors who can operate multiple schools and receive handsome dividends at the expense of New Zealand taxpayers.”

President of the New Zealand Principals’ Federation (NZPF), Philip Harding points to research showing that charter schools fail challenging kids; they can employ people to teach who have no teacher training and who don’t have to follow the curriculum or have sound pedagogical practice.

They have no local board of trustees or community involvement and their objective is to make profit from the public purse. “Challenging and vulnerable kids need the highest quality teachers we can give them.

They need experienced, well trained, culturally competent, highly creative teachers who have the capability to respond to the extraordinary needs these kids present,’” he says.

“This bad policy brewed up over a cup of tea represents a sad day for education in New Zealand.”

24 | Term 3, 2013 www.principalstoday.co.nz

Rallying the research It seems even researchers agree. A new independent study in the United States shows that after 20 years in existence, traditional public schools continue to out-perform charter schools overall.

In 2009 a study for Stanford University’s Centre for Research on Educational Outcomes (CREDO) found a “wide variance in the quality of the nation’s several thousand charter schools with, in the aggregate, students in charter schools not faring as well as students in traditional public schools.”

The study stated 37 percent of charter schools showed gains that were worse than their traditional public school counterparts and 46 percent made no difference.

An updated 2013 study by CREDO has found 56 percent of charter schools made no significant difference and 19 percent had significantly weaker learning gains than their traditional public schools.

NZEI national president Judith Nowotarski says this study shows that even after two decades of significant additional philanthropic investment in charter schools, these taxpayer funded privately-run schools do not justify their existence.

“It backs what educationalists in New Zealand have been saying all along – that charter schools are not the answer to improving educational outcomes for children. Instead, they’re about privatising our public school system by allowing private companies to run and profit from schooling.”

Key features of partnership schools • Have a sponsor as the governing body and be held to account through a fixed-term contract to deliver specific school-level targets negotiated with the Crown

• Be required to report publicly on an annual basis on progress against the school-level targets and have that data included in any student achievement information provided by the government to parents • Be approved to open by the Minister of Education • Have the authorising body to work with Education Review Office to conduct educational performance reviews based on the terms of the contract and milestone data requirements. The government has the right to intervene and require the sponsor to address any breach of contract • Partnership Schools/ Kura Hourua can choose to use The New Zealand Curriculum (NZC) or Te Marautanga o Aotearoa (TMoA), or use or develop an alternative curriculum framework that is mapped to the principles of the NZC or TMoA • Partnership Schools/ Kura Hourua must report against National Standards for Year 1-8 students, and must offer NCEA or an equivalent qualification recognised by industry and tertiary providers in New Zealand • Partnership Schools/ Kura Hourua can negotiate the percentage of registered teachers they wish to employ as part of their contracts (with police vetting of non-teaching and unregistered employees) and negotiate salary levels and employment conditions directly with employees • Partnership Schools/Kura Hourua can set their own school hours and term dates as part of the contract • They must accept all students who apply regardless of background or ability, using a ballot if oversubscribed • They must negotiate the maximum number of students enrolled with the Crown as part of the contract. This can be reviewed annually according to success at serving existing students and community demand for places.

Resources

Focusing on

priority learners

The Education Review Office (ERO) plays a valuable role as an agency for change in the education system.

In addition to individual school reviews, it completes evaluations on education issues of national importance.

the outcomes for priority groups of learners including Māori, Pacific and learners with special education needs.

Evidence continues to demonstrate the disparity between achievement levels of certain groups of learners. Some of our children are just not achieving and, collectively, we need to take action to change this.

With this in mind, we have implemented an approach to evaluating educational outcomes for Māori, as Māori. The approach is consistent with ERO’s focus on the complementary nature of external review and school self review. The goal is for ERO’s reviews to help school boards, leaders, staff and whānau to make ongoing and significant improvements in achievement and success of Māori learners.

These evaluations give the ERO an opportunity to provide a broader independent picture of topical issues, initiatives and policies of interest to the sector and the government. They are, in our view, a catalyst for change by helping to strengthen the policypractice link.

This year we have already released national reports on Pacific learners, Science for Years 5 to 8, National Standards and the inclusion of students with special needs. These are just the school related reports – we have also released reports specific to early childhood education.

While some of the findings in these evaluations are disappointing, embedded in most of the reports are examples of effective practice which we encourage schools to study and use as appropriate in their own school contexts.

ERO is particularly interested in priority learners. We want to know how well schools are focusing on lifting

YOUR ONE STOP

for art, crafts and puzzles

Wylies is a Kiwi company supplying high quality educational wooden toys and puzzles – a perfect resource to quench the thirst of inquiring young minds.

The company also offers art, craft and other educational resources as well.

The head office and warehouse is in Christchurch, but representatives service customers throughout New Zealand.

you’d want in terms of art supplies, craft supplies, stationery, wooden educational toys and puzzles, and high density foam sporting equipment.

And Wylies offers its range direct at wholesale prices to your school.

There are more than 3,000 product lines which include everything

For more information visit: www.wylies.co.nz

Out of our reviews will come stories of Māori success in schools which we will publish for schools and the wider community to understand what is working for this group of learners.

We will also continue to look at the achievement of our Pacific learners and how well schools are including children with special needs. Two of our recent national reports continue to tell us that more can be done to help these priority learners.

We have seen and documented schools that are consistently raising the achievement levels of priority learners, so we know that it can be done. We encourage you to read these reports, and our other evaluations, and share the information with your staff.

Article provided by Chief Review Officer Dr Graham Stoop

WYLIES ARE WHOLESALE DISTRIBUTORS DIRECT TO THE SCHOOLS OF: • • • • •

Educational Wooden products and puzzles Craft and Art Supplies Stationery High Density Foam Rubber Sporting Equipment A massive range of Stickers.

CALL US ON 03 366 7704 TO RECEIVE A LOGIN FOR OUR WEBSITE WWW.WYLIES.CO.NZ

Visit www.ero.govt.nz to read ERO reports on national education issues, individual schools and early childhood education services, and for information about the review process.

Recent national evaluation reports available in hard copy and online: Secondary Schools: Pathways for future education, training and employment (July 2013) Stories of Resilience and Innovation in Schools and Early Childhood Services: Canterbury Earthquakes 2010-2012 (June 2013)

www.principalstoday.co.nz Term 3, 2013 | 25

Teachers’ Resources

Special Education

Walking the talk

5+ A Day teaching resources Developing and providing teaching resources for national distribution is a large part of what the 5+ A Day charitable trust is all about.

to ensure it provides relevant and useable lessons and activities.

The resource is linked to the New Zealand curriculum supporting health and physical education, literacy, numeracy and science through practical learning experiences.

Many of the lessons and activities have cross-curricular links and include achievement objectives, strands and appropriate learning objectives with accompanying resource sheets.

The resources are designed to empower and enable students to create and maintain a healthy lifestyle using sustainable practices.

The resources can be incorporated into long, medium and short term planning.

The new resource themed ‘Growing and Learning with 5+ A Day’ has been developed in partnership with teachers

Educators are welcome to order resources online at: www.5aday.co.nz

WIN OVER $6,000 OF BOSCH APPLIANCES FOR YOUR SCHOOL 5+ A DAY PRIMARY SCHOOL COMPETITION 2013

REGISTER FOR THE COMPETITION AT www.5aday.co.nz How to Enter: • Register at 5aday.co.nz • You will recieve our new curriculum linked resources free of charge • By ordering the resources you are then eligible to enter the competition • All the information you need to enter the competition is on-line How to Win: • Simply theme a school event with 5+ A Day • Publicise your event in your school newsletters and use the media tempate to invite along your local media • Collect any coverage you achieve for your event • Send your coverage to fredge@5aday.co.nz by 1st November 2013

The 5+ A Day Charitable Trust PO Box 66047, Beach Haven, Auckland 0749 Ph: 09 480 5057 | www.5aday.co.nz

26 | Term 3, 2013 www.principalstoday.co.nz

National Standards provide our schools with a broad description of the knowledge and skills that are required at each year level. These standards also give clear guidance in how to use this information to improve the teaching and learning of students.

Much has been written about how to help students who do not reach the required levels stipulated by National Standards. The focus on this group of children is both necessary and welcome. However, is there enough written about children who have already exceeded the standard in both knowledge and skills?

Curriculum Teaching and Learning group manager Mary Chamberlain has spoken about taking our education system from great to excellence and how we meet the needs of all students.

It is a concept that is relevant to all education systems.

“In every state, in every school, in huge cities and in tiny farm communities, students are ready for much more challenge than the system provides.

“These children perform better than any politician dares to expect. They are the top scorers, the ones who break the curve. They are the kids who read shampoo bottles at age three and read newspaper editorials at age five. They can add up the cost of groceries faster than a cash register.

“But when they enter school, things change. They’re often the most frustrated students in the classroom.

They’re bored in kindergarten, and they’re bored again in first grade. Year after year, they learn little that they haven’t learned already. They hope things will get better, but things rarely do. For many of them, nothing changes.”

Can this statement be written about New Zealand children and schools?

Our challenge is to provide these options, and more, for all our students, using the guidance of National Standards as a starting point.

An education system that strives for excellence needs to provide a diversity of options for all students. Our gifted students have the potential to be our leaders in their field of giftedness. Our role as educators is to nurture their abilities, ensure they maintain their passion for learning and provide them with the strategies and tools to fully develop their giftedness.

For more information visit: www.giftededucation.org.nz

Web Design

Is your school website in the

Here are nine things your school website should be doing to make a favourable impression:

sales business?

You don’t have to look further than the property prices in suburbs where ‘good schools’ are located, to realise that parents take their choice of school very seriously indeed. Dr Cathy Wylie of the NZ Council for Educational Research is quoted recently as saying, “Secondary schools, more than primary schools, were in competition with each other for students”.

Very often parents have had little or no direct experience with local schools.

They rely on personal perceptions and observations, word of mouth, rumour and the reputation, or the brand perception, that the school holds.

Ninety-seven percent of New Zealand web users research products and services online (Nielsen Online Retail Report). It isn’t too big a leap to realise that parents are also checking out schools online.

• Conversion orientated: prioritise information that visitors are looking for

In addition to being an education portal for your students, your website is: 1) A valuable communication medium to existing parents who go on to influence word of mouth perceptions and; 2) A window on your school’s brand, which directly influences a parent’s decision, as well as the wider community’s perception of your school.

And your website has less than a second to do the job.

Researchers led by Dr. Gitte Lindgaard at Carleton University in Ontario are emphatic, “Unless the first impression is favourable, visitors will be out of your site before they even know that you might be offering more than your competitors.” (Reported in the eCommerce Times).

Dr Lindgaard and his team found that you have just 1/20th of a second to form a good first impression, particularly when it comes to your website and brand.

The strong impact of the visual appeal of the site seemed to draw attention away from usability problems, he says.

• Make sure your home page has a purpose: who are you addressing and what do you want them to do?

• Tell parents clearly what kind of school you are - your values, vision and achievements. Who are your teachers (include photos)?

What do they like?

“

• Simple to navigate: reduce the number of steps to your objective to no more than two clicks

97 percent of New Zealand web users research products and services online

• Easy to contact: make sure the site has click-easy functionality for phone numbers • Visually clear, crisp and professional: your brand communicated clearly

“

If you think that the role of the school website is one of information rather than sales, you might need to think again.

• Be quick to load

“Even if a website is highly usable and provides very useful information presented in a logical arrangement, this may fail to impress a user whose first impression of the site was negative.”

• Have a succinct, compelling call to action: what do you want the parent to do? Book a tour? Download an information guide? Get in touch?

• Use mobile site responsiveness: your site should recognise whether your visitor is on a mobile phone, and give them a mobile-friendly layout.

A good website is a school’s main communication tool and, more than just an information and education medium, it’s a sales tool too.

www.principalstoday.co.nz Term 3, 2013 | 27

Finance

A better way to

balance the books

By Peter Mc Breen

involved in doing school audits from 1991 – 1994. Since then I have been involved in the school accounting side of things, seeing first hand the evolution of the school accounting environment during the last two decades.

Let’s just say the early years were an “enlightening” experience. In some cases the audit process commenced with the school dumping a big box of “stuff” off for the auditors, invoices for Africa in no particular order, bank statements – not all of them, no annual financial statements or even a ledger recording the transactions.

But the scariest thing was the apparent oblivion of the schools, both principals and board members, to the nature of the problem. More often than not they all thought their financial systems and reporting was fine.

Since the advent of Tomorrow’s Schools in 1989, the management of school finances and their subsequent reporting environments has been a roller coaster ride.

attempt to do the school’s books. It was seen as being in the same vein as being on the committee or being the treasurer of the local golf club or rugby club.

It was, back then, common place to see a parent volunteer, who was often roped into being the board treasurer,

Managing finances

Quite often the cashbook was handwritten and the monthly report to the board could be anything from tabling the cashbook, just the bank statements or even nothing at all.

Everything appeared fine until audit time rolled around.

While I was not involved in the first two years of Tomorrow’s Schools, I was

Even today there is still a bit of this laissez-faire attitude to the financial system. Schools often don’t know what they don’t know. I do think in general – though admittedly not always – schools don’t know the difference between good and poor accounting.

It is often only during the course of an audit, or when replacing key office personnel that schools will evaluate their financial functions.

• No software needed at the School • No special accounting skill needed at the School • Reliable, on time, every time • Service provided anywhere in the North Island We operate from seven sites.

If you would like a no obligation quote to compare the cost of our service to what you are currently receiving, or would like to enquire exactly what our service involves: Pete on 06 757 5489 or email: pete@educationservices.co.nz www.educationservices.co.nz

We would love to welcome you to our family 28 | Term 3, 2013 www.principalstoday.co.nz

However, I think there is a bit of a threat out there when some schools are seeing software alone as the silver bullet. While there are some really good and innovative software packages on the market, they are only as good as the user.

If you are contemplating a change to an in-house system several questions also need to be asked: • What is the cost of the software?

• How many extra hours am I going to have to pay my staff?

• Do my staff have the skill to do the annual financial statements?

• Do I receive my monthly reports in a timely fashion?

I have, over the years, seen many schools come unstuck thinking they were making really prudent cost saving decisions – but when the above factors were weighed up it was actually costing them significantly more.

• Are my reports comprehensive? Do I get all the information I need?

• Did I receive an unqualified audit opinion?

I think most schools these days can answer the above questions with a

Take all the worry out of Financial Management and have everything done on time, every time, and done right!

The internal controls and procedures in relations to school’s finances are also an area of importance. In my journey of over 20 years of being involved with school finances, all instances of fraud or misappropriation of funds that I have come across has involved schools using an in-house system. In my book outsourcing and having someone else reviewing all transactions is gold.

• Will I need to pay an accountant at year end?

• And in this day in age – can I access my financial information anytime, or anywhere via the web?

Education Services provides a Financial Reporting Service to over 600 Schools. We are the largest provider of accounting services to Schools in New Zealand.

In-house finances

The key questions all schools must ask of themselves are:

• Were my annual financial statements at audit by the statutory deadline of March 31?

Financial Reporting

yes – but if for any reason you can’t, a revamp or just an evaluation of your financial systems is needed.

For more information visit www.educationservices.co.nz Peter McBreen is CEO of Education Services and owner of a long professional history in banking, chartered accountancy, commercial accounting and building, shares his thoughts on juggling the school’s books in today’s changing world.

Need new technology or equipment in your school?

FlexiLine, a specialist division of FlexiGroup, has been working with New Zealand schools to help them get the equipment they need to stay ahead since 1997.

Many schools who choose FlexiLine find that leasing helps them to maximise their annual budgets. By spreading the cost of equipment across its usable life, schools can free up valuable working capital which can be spent elsewhere to support student learning.

Although we usually associate leasing solely with technology, at FlexiGroup schools can finance much more than just desktops and tablets. FlexiLine enables you to lease office equipment like furniture, air conditioning and phone systems, right through to playgrounds and kitchenware.

FlexiLine says schools are automatically pre-approved for a $100,000 FlexiLine credit facility and you can bundle software, networking costs and installation into the one agreement.

“We can even protect you in the event your equipment is lost stolen or damaged; just ask us about equipment protection,” the company says.

When you choose FlexiLine, your school will have a dedicated account manager who will be available to answer any questions throughout the duration of the lease term. Applications are easy to complete and need only be signed by one person, usually the principal or finance manager.

FlexiLine also offers a range of flexible end of term options which allow you to upgrade when you’re ready. There’s even an early upgrade option should your equipment become out of date before the end of the lease term.

For more information visit: www.flexirent.co.nz

?

DOES YOUR SCHOOL’S EQUIPMENT

NEED UPDATING

?

Arts

Property

Taking the hassle out of

art exhibitions Artiteq is a low cost, high profile, high quality, flexible picture hanging system.

It provides a professional way to display art and other decorative items in a home or public area. Using Artiteq will give you total freedom and flexibility to move your hangings around without having to worry about holes in the wall or damaging your pieces of art.

Whether it concerns hanging a valuable work of art in a gallery, a child’s drawing, art for the annual school art exhibition, advertising

material for your office or showroom or a precious photograph, Artiteq has a hanging solution for you.

The picture hanging system consists of a rail with applicable hanging wires and picture hooks, allowing for many ways to decorate your walls to display pictures and art.

Artiteq also offers a large selection of high quality picture hanging rails and presentation systems. “As a product specialist we aim to deliver flexible and safe solutions for hanging art and other decorations on walls and ceilings,” the company says.

Mardeco International is the distributor of Artiteq picture hanging systems.

To see more visit: www.artiteq.co.nz

Why choose the Burgess Wetpour system?

The reasons purpose and benefits of a Burgess Wetpour system are varied!

This great playground surface enables your matting to be installed as a continuous installation, flowing around equipment and poles, leaving no gaps, rolling over mounds and following contoured surfaces.

“

Burgess

Matting offers a free, no obligation

and quote.

“

measure

Some of the key features for using this system are: • Continuous installation, flowing around equipment and poles, leaving no gaps, rolling over mounds and following contoured surfaces • Fabulous coloured options and you can join these with a pattern or design of your choice and you have your own unique playground • 100 percent recycled rubber • Impact Pads for areas where a softer landing is needed, scuff pads, DIY modular long run and tiles, deck and ramp matting are also BMS specialties • Make it non slip and safe • Avoid tile joins • Wetpour requires minimal maintenance – forget the days of topping up bark • Will last for many years as it’s very durable • Base preparation prior to the matting installation is of the utmost importance and can add years to your playground surface • NZS5828:2004 compliant and comes with a five year warranty.

Burgess Matting offers a free, no obligation measure and quote.

A sales representative can meet with you to discuss the matting systems which are suitable for your requirements.

Invest in BMS Wetpour Playground Matting, provide your children with a safe and enjoyable environment and give yourself the benefit of reduced maintenance.

Burgess Matting T 0800 80 85 70 E admin@burgessmatting.co.nz www.burgessmatting.co.nz — Advertising Feature

Safety Matting for Playgrounds, Decks, Steps & Ramps, Impact Pads below Slides & Swings, Ramps & Mats for Wheelchair Access, Flooring & Gym Tiles. Cricket Wicket Matting.

30 | Term 3, 2013 www.principalstoday.co.nz

Property

Inspired school design

The stunning architecture of the Remarkables Primary School in Queenstown illustrates unsurpassed design from vision to implementation and serves its purpose as a fully functional school catering for a capacity of 460 pupils.

Frank Cleary, principal architect of Babbage Consultants, was at the forefront of the design project which began in 2008 and was completed in 2010. The project faced several challenges, but the result reveals a modern school which triumphs and trumpets its own magnificence in a unique setting.

In order for the design to be fully incorporated to suit its setting, Frank Cleary and his team had to take several factors into account; the bitter winds coming off the Frankton Arm, limited site space and the closeness to the flight path of its neighbour, Queenstown Airport.

“The Ministry of Education, builders Naylor Love and Babbage all worked

closely together to optimise the tricky site and create an effective learning facility.

mechanical ventilation. The outdoor area is protected, leaving safe space for the children to learn and play.

“Nestled within the contours of the land, the school also blends in with its environment in terms of finishes. The green roofs give eco-friendly weather protection, cope with excess rain runoff and help merge the structures with the wider surroundings. Warm cedar cladding used in conjunction with fibre cement contributes to the natural aesthetic,” Frank Cleary told Trends.

With such a grand design on the outside, the inside too is quite impressive and showcases classrooms which are fully equipped with the latest technology including data projectors, smart boards and full surround sound and voice amplification.

The building takes on earthy tones with its natural cedar cladding and complementary shades of grey and black which allows the structure to blend into the background.

The windows are double glazed and noise is reduced by sound attenuated

Did you know?

The Remarkables Primary School featured in the NZIA 2012 annual awards programme.

It was one of the top four finalists in the New Zealand Architecture Medal - National Award in the category of Public Architecture.

It also won the 2011 Regional Award – Southern Architecture.

The school is an extraordinary piece of architecture combining modern form with landscape and providing a functional, safe and child friendly domain within the community.

Convenor of the New Zealand Institute of Architects awards jury Hugh Tennent says Babbage Consultants’ work on the Remarkables Primary School lives up to the promise of its name. Located on the shores of Lake Wakatipu, the state school “not only brilliantly serves its pedagogical purpose, but also provides a clearly identifiable community place in an area not well supplied with high-quality public architecture”.

Babbage Consultants Limited PO Box 2027 Shortland Street Auckland T (09) 379 9980 E admin@babbage.co.nz www.babbage.co.nz

— Advertising Feature

www.principalstoday.co.nz Term 3, 2013 | 31

Swimming

BEFORE AND AFTER

We all understand the importance of teaching young children how to swim, but there’s something missing out of the survival skill set. There are many factors that contribute to dangerous swimming, but not many people consider what affects a child before dipping toes in to the water. So here are some things to consider before and after open water swimming.

Children should always try to have a good sleep the night before and a healthy meal before stepping into the water, because even Bear Grylls needs a good nap and a burst of energy from food when the time calls for it.

Prepare a bag with plenty of warm clothing, an extra towel, warm drink, food or snack, a hot water bottle, and warm hat and gloves if necessary.

- What to remember in open water swimming

Having a good breakfast in the morning is always important, but vital when heading towards water. It might mean you won’t risk having a tired and weak child left in the water, as the deep blue sea can surprise you with a whirlwind of problems at any given time. So it’s important to make sure they have high energy levels if anything were to happen.

Easy to digest foods are ideal such as cereal, toast, crackers and fruit – bananas are great for potassium. But avoid sugar and fatty foods. If they’re still a bit peckish afterwards, allow them to eat a snack an hour beforehand.

remember to pack insect repellent in case you find yourself in a place swarming with mosquitoes.

After a period of activity it’s natural for the body temperature to drop. Getting the children into warm, dry clothing will avoid hypothermia. Use an extra towel for them to stand on to dry their feet and put warm socks on.

If the weather is extra cold and crisp it might be an idea for them to put on a warm hat and gloves. Allowing children to run around freely once they are dry will help them to maintain good blood circulation.

And don’t forget to supply them with some food and water; all that energy will be lost out at sea. Let children enjoy the outdoors and come inside with a smile on their faces.

Follow these tips for open water swimming.

Always consider the weather, water temperature and the tides of the sea. If it’s cold and windy be prepared – a bag containing vital items such as warm clothing, extra towel, a warm drink or water, and some food will come in handy for the times when you can’t feel your fingertips.

Before swimming:

If the sun is shining be sure to bring sunscreen to provide added protection – harmful rays can easily damage children’s skin. Avoid nasty bites – depending where you’re going, so

Protect young skin with sunscreen, and don’t forget to reapply.

Bring insect repellent – you never know when you’ll get bitten.

After swimming: Have dry and comfortable clothing ready when the children get out of the water.

Make sure a warm drink is at hand and that they eat something as soon as they can, children can’t concentrate on empty stomachs.

If they need to take a shower afterwards make sure the water is kept at a warm temperature to avoid burning the child’s skin if they are still cold. Add hot water slowly when necessary.

Ensure children have a good sleep and meal the night before.

New device will help keep track

Insulate from the inside out – a good breakfast will keep children warm and energy levels up. Make sure they drink plenty of water to keep them hydrated

A miniaturised data logger that can record speed and movement in the water will soon be available to help swimmers analyse their performance.

It’s better for children to put on their swimming costume before they leave a warm environment. It might be too cold outside if they leave it until the minute

The development of these waterproof inertial sensors is being done at the Auckland Bioengineering Institute (ABI) with funding from the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS).

32 | Term 3, 2013 www.principalstoday.co.nz

A new start-up company called ‘IMeasureU’ has been spun out from the ABI to commercialise the tiny inertial measurement units, says lead researcher, Dr Thor Besier from the ABI. The IMUs can provide data on the acceleration, orientation and power of the swimmer in the water and this is stored on its micro SD card and later downloaded to give the swimmer data that will enable them to improve their performance.

“Encapsulating the printed circuit board of the IMU in waterproof materials opens it up to all sorts of new applications,” Dr Besier says.

“Up until now the pool environment with the swimmer moving through both air and water, and splashing and bubbles, has made it difficult to see what is going on to optimise a swimmer’s performance. These IMUs can be strapped to a swimmer’s body to measure the motion of the swimmer.”

The researchers will develop a software program that integrates both video and the IMU data.

The immediate use for this will be for the AIS to track a swimmer’s changes in speed as they go through the pool and afterwards, give both the athlete and coach the data that will enable them to improve performance, he says.

A swimming pool for most New Zealanders is something that brings images of “fun in the sun”, but for those of you who have owned or operated a pool, the daily management and maintenance is costly.

Most people have come to grips with the use of sanitation chemicals and how to balance the pH levels to maintain a sparkling pool. However, long-term maintenance of the asset is not so well understood and when it comes to repairing or repainting the surface it becomes difficult to obtain advice that is not conflicting.

The following is a brief outline of some key aspects associated with long-term maintenance.

Concrete and fibreglass pools need good surface protection to give a long-term, low-maintenance life.

Paint products available A complicated subject but the following is a very simplistic selection: •

PVAs, paving paints - bad

•

Chlorinated rubber, vinyls, polyurethane – OK

Why coat the pool?

•

Epoxy (two pack) - excellent

•

Safety – It’s a smooth lining not rough, that does not harbour algae or any other micro-organisms.

•

Aesthetics – Obviously means if the pool looks good it will invite people to use it and it feels so much better.

Chlorinated rubber, vinyls and polyurethane are readily available but are mainly used on small domestic pools, farm troughs or storage tanks. Epoxy (two pack) is the most widely accepted product that gives the least problems, maximum protection and value for money.

•

Corrosion – This is more subtle. The typical chlorinated water or, even worse, “salty pools”, are corrosive to some degree when contact is made with concrete reinforcing steel or fibreglass, which are the main materials used for commercial pools.

Pool Construction Three main types exist in NZ: •

Concrete – Either block walls or solid slab on both walls and floor. The surface is then either plastered with a cement/sand or cement/marble plaster.

•

Fibreglass – These are usually manufactured in-house and transported on site.

•

Vinyl liner – Usually smaller domestic pools.

Why Epoxy?

The choice of epoxy two-pack is simple. They are very high-molecular weight resin products that are cross linked by the hardener to form a highly chemical resistant three-dimensional structure. Adhesion of these types are also excellent on most surfaces provided they are prepared correctly.

Where are the problems?

It all sounds pretty simple, but rest assured it is not all a bed of roses. The thorns are large if the inexperienced operator “has a go”. Typical results could be complete failure with the coating flaking off, blistering or colour variability, all of which end up costing someone. Consult the experts who have a history of success with pools.

www.cotec.co.nz

School Camping Activities There is a huge range of activities for school groups to get involved with at the camp.

For a boost of confidence and for something a bit more challenging, have a go on the Mud Run and get covered head to toe in mud. The Mud Run course is also used for the Tough Guy and Girl Challenge which is held annually. The bush swing is also a lot of fun and will give an adrenaline buzz to your students. After that relax in the hot thermal pool or take a dive into the swimming pool. Kayaks are also available and great for checking out the sites.

lakesidERetreat For a fantastic summer holiday programme, or a mid-term school camp, Lakes Ranch in the lovely lakeside town of Rotorua is the place to be.

The camp is the perfect spot for school groups, outdoor education, tenting and church groups, as well as families looking to get away for a break. The camp also hosts horse camps and horse trekking for those who enjoy a bit of adventure on horse back.

Rotorua is like nowhere else; its spirit is expressed in the raw beauty of a stunning landscape that has enchanted visitors from around the world for more than 160 years. Lakes Ranch Christian Camp showcases the best of the region; tied neatly together in a package ideal for school groups, outdoor education, tenting, church groups and families looking to leap the rural/ urban divide and get away from it all.

Outdoor education has been flipped on its head with the range of options at Lakes Ranch. Get covered head to toe on our Mud Run course used for the annual Tough Guy and Girl challenge.

Relax in the hot pool or take a dip in the cold pool. Jump on one of the camp’s kayaks and check out the sights.

Kick a rugby ball around the sports field, get into a competitive game of volleyball, tennis or badminton with the available sports gear. Try your hand at archery or grab a slug gun for something a little different at our fully supervised facility.

Lakes Ranch also offers horse riding, abseiling, orienteering, swoop and rock climbing . You can even watch a movie while soaking in the hot pool. Head out on a day hike or check out the glow worms sparkling in the dark bush at night.

Don’t forget the camp is a hop, skip and jump to the local attractions Rotorua has to offer. From zorbing to luging, the options are endless. Maybe try a spot of fishing on one of the local lakes, or check out the cultural sights around the region.

School holiday Horse Camp programmes are on offer for those 7 years and above who love to get out into the great outdoors on horseback. From trekking to trotting, the camp offers amazing opportunities to harness your skills . You don’t even have to know how to ride, our talented team can teach you.

We also have Kids Camps for 8-12 year olds which run every school holidays.

Accommodation includes lodge rooms holding between three and twelve people, bunk rooms bordering the riding arena which sleep 11 in each, studio units with ensuites (perfect for parents and teachers), a Retreat Centre with five bedrooms and tenting and motor home sites are also available. Lakes Ranch includes a kitchen and dining area where our talented catering staff can whip up something delicious or we have self-catering options.

Run by a dedicated team, Lakes Ranch Christian Camp is an oasis of strong moral guidance in a fun and exciting holiday package.

34 | Term 3, 2013 www.principalstoday.co.nz

Sports facilities and fields are also available to kick a rugby ball on, or have a game of competitive volleyball.

Tennis and badminton are also great games for kids to get involved with and sports gear is available at the camp.

Archery and air rifles are also available for the students to try something different and of course all these activities are supervised.

For getting out and enjoying the great outdoors head on a day hike or check out the glow worms at night, your students will love the way the glow worms sparkle in the dark bush. The camp also offers abseiling, orienteering, swoop, rock climbing, a water slide and watching movies in the pool – something to keep everyone entertained.

And don’t forget the camp is a hop, skip and jump to the local attractions

Rotorua has to offer. From zorbing to luging, the options are endless. Maybe try a spot of fishing on one of the lakes, or check out the cultural sites around the region.

School holiday programmes Lakes Ranch offers extensive holiday programmes. For those who love to get out into the great outdoors on horse back. From trekking to trotting, the camp offers amazing opportunities to harness your skills on horse back.

And you don’t even have to know how to ride a horse. The talented team at the camp can teach you. This camp is designed for 12 year olds and above.

Kids Camp is also a holiday programme offered by Lakes Ranch. If you don’t know what to do with your children during the school holidays, and they are getting bored, then send them off to Kids Camp to experience the great outdoors, learn new skills, make new friends and have fun.

This is the perfect holiday escape for children aged nine to 12 and there is also a leadership training programme for secondary school aged students.

Why choose Lakes Ranch?

Lakes Ranch aims to equip children with tools for the future and create lasting memories. Camp provides a challenging but safe environment for this to take place.

Phone Fax Email Web

07 350 3010 07 350 3080 office@lakesranch.org.nz www.lakesranch.org.nz

School Camping

camp raglan

Where memories are made...

The beautiful six hectare campsite is pleasantly situated on the slopes of Mt Karioi overlooking the panoramic view of Raglan and the Tasman Sea. Camp Raglan offers a fully catered camp for a total of 150 children and adults in dormitory style accommodation which is particularly suited to primary and intermediate school children. All the main facilities are under one roof.

SCHOOL & SPORTS GROUPS WELCOME

Camp Raglan provides the following facilities and activities: • Flying fox • BMX track • Gymnasium • Playground • Huge beach • Volleyball • Swimming pool • Sports field • Archery • Air rifles • Confidence course

432 Maunganui Rd, Bay of Plenty 0800 66 66 22, (07) 574 9601 E: info@pacificcoastlodge.co.nz www.pacificcoastlodge.co.nz

• Low ropes course • Orienteering course • Team building challenges.

36 | Term 3, 2013 www.principalstoday.co.nz

The resident chef cooks excellent meals and special dietary needs can be catered for. Camp Raglan is known for its good food and excellent hospitality.

Your host Roger Humphris will offer you a very warm welcome and is also happy to discuss your individual needs.

Bethel House is an independent building available for hire separately from the main camp buildings. It has five twin share rooms and one double room as well as a kitchen, lounge room and two separate showers and toilets. It overlooks the breathtaking view of the Tasman Sea. An information pack to help you with your planning is available from the camp and gives full details of facilities, accommodation and what you need to know to make your booking.

The gymnasium has equipment for basketball, volleyball, badminton, and hockey and is a great space to use for many activities if the weather is not at its best. The main hall has a stage area with a large screen at the back which is excellent for showing movies etc. in an evening.

Camp Raglan is also ideal for studies on native bush, beach and stream as well as small town studies.

Camp Raglan 578 Wainui Road Raglan T (07) 825 8068 E campraglan@cbm.org.nz www.campraglan.org.nz

Competitions

WIN

EDIBLE BLOOMS Be in to win one of two ‘Happy Blooms’ valued at $75 each. One

Saving the king of beasts to save ourselves

will go to a North Island school and the other to a South Island school.

To enter your staffroom in the draw, email Verne at Academy Publishing verne@academy. net.nz and write “Edible Blooms Promotion’ in the subject line.

Edible Blooms provides a unique gift delivery service across New Zealand. A fresh alternative to traditional flowers and gift baskets, the product range contains great gift ideas for men and women includes gourmet chocolate bouquets, chocolate flowers, edible fruit arrangements, cake pop

bouquets, gift hampers, corporate gifts and much more.

Reader offer Order with Edible Blooms at www.edibleblooms.co.nz and enter “SCHOOL” in promotion code area for a $10 discount.

And the winner is… Congratulations to Jo Duston, principal of Westport South School – winner of the Water Buddies pack Term 2 competition.

World Lion Day represents an opportunity tocreate lion conservation awareness and to celebrate the importance of the king of beasts.

would be a very lonely place without lions?

Take a moment to look around as you go about your day. How many lions do you see? Guarding our temples, adorning our flags, decorating our coins and buildings, and capturing our hearts, the lion is beyond doubt the world’s most iconic species.

We would like you to create a poster, anything between A2 and A4 size, which tells the world about the plight of lions today and what we can all do about it – before it’s too late!

What if there were no lions left in our world? What if the lion vanished from the wild leaving us only pictures and statues? Don’t you think our world

Zion Tours For Schools – Special rates for school groups from $16 per pupil with supervisors free www.kingdomofzion.co.nz

In 1975 there were an estimated 250,000 lions in Africa. In less than 50 years almost 90 percent of that population has been lost – the current population stands at around 25,000.

Their main threats are loss of habitat, poaching and disease.

Lions could become extinct in our lifetime if we don’t act now!

You can read more about it here www.worldlionday.com

WIN First prize A trip for your class on a guided tour at Kingdom of Zion.

Second prize A Family pass for a feed or enrichment tour.

Third prize A Family pass for a guided tour.

WIN A TRIP FOR YOUR CLASS TO COME AND VISIT OUR LIONS AT KINGDOM OF ZION CONTACT US FOR OUR VERY SPECIAL RATES FOR SCHOOLS

www.kingdomofzion.co.nz E: office@kingdomofzion.co.nz P: 09 435 0110 Gray Road, RD1 Kamo 0185, New Zealand

All entries to be received by October 31, 2013. These should be posted or delivered to Kingdom of Zion, Gray Road, Kamo RD1, Whangarei 0185.

The finalists will be chosen by Management of Kingdom of Zion and the winners chosen by vote on our Facebook page. The finalists’ entries will be displayed in the at Whangarei Library in Whangarei .The competition prize is for entry to the park only. Transport to and from the park not included.

www.principalstoday.co.nz Term 3, 2013 | 37

Caretakers’ Corner

Products designed to

keep it clean

Waiwhetu Distributors Ltd has been providing quality service, cleaning supplies, equipment and solutions to some of the largest companies in New Zealand since 1978.

school to the largest company in New Zealand. No customer is too small or too large at WDL.”

Established in Wellington, Waiwhetu Distributors (WDL) has grown into a nationwide organisation with branches in Wellington Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Hastings, Palmerston North, Masterton, Dunedin and Christchurch.

The vision

We are very proud of the offering we can bring to our customers. WDL is a 100 percent New Zealand owned and operated. “We specialise in the supply and distribution of professional cleaning and associated products,” the company says.

“We remain committed, as ever, to providing our customers with top quality service, supplies and advice.

“We offer our product lines to commercial, industrial and residential customers alike. Our customer base is wide and varied from the smallest

WDL also has a strong commitment to protect, preserve and minimise the impact its products have on the environment. “We have an extensive range of green certified chemicals, paper and plastics. We also have a range of automatic cleaning equipment which offers chemical free cleaning.”

“Our aim is to enhance loyal business partnerships with clients and suppliers by providing quality products and services that make your facilities as clean and safe as possible. We continue to strive to be the best supplier in New Zealand.”

The offering “Whether you are a small or large organisation, we can provide you with all the cleaning supplies, solutions and equipment you need. Additional to this, we also provide training and demonstrations.”

Training can be provided on request for all customers. “We have trained staff in all facets of the cleaning industry, including machinery and floor care (carpet and hard floors).”

Waiwhetu Distributors Ltd provides free demonstrations for all of the machinery it supplies. Trusted brands include Tennant, Rotowash, Numatic and Taski.

For more information visit: www.waiwhetu.co.nz

Pleased to support Caretakers Corner DISTRIBUTORS OF CHEMICALS, CONSUMABLES, HARDWARE, MACHINERY, PAPER, PLASTIC BAGS, HOTEL AMENITIES AND BRUSHWARE

Phone: 0800 443 679 Email. wgtnsales@waiwhetu.co.nz www.waiwhetu.co.nz

1/15 Olive Road, Penrose Ph: 09 579 0312

AUCKLAND

421 Queen Street West, Hastings Ph: 06 878 7948

HASTINGS

WELLINGTON

HAMILTON

PALMERSTON NORTH

CHRISTCHURCH

TAURANGA

5 Edwin Feist Place, Masterton Ph: 06 370 4150

19 Somerset Street, Frankton Ph: 07 848 1609

59 St John Street, Tauranga Ph: 07 578 4079

38 | Term 3, 2013 www.principalstoday.co.nz

Ph: 06 929 6677

MASTERTON

6 Gear Street, Petone Ph: 04 568 8262

23 Iversen Tce, Phillipstown Ph: 03 379 3580

DUNEDIN

Ph: 03 453 5913

PhotoWonder New Zealand

A MODERN APPROACH TO SCHOOL AND SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY Group photography hasn’t changed much in over 50 years, but the world has. Our modern approach to class/ group/team photography means you now have a choice between traditional and contemporary photography - and we can deliver you either.

We have created a unique and efficient system photographing subjects individually to create modern looking group photos, allowing for a fresh, attractive photo design, a flexible photo shoot schedule, fewer absentees and a range of individual and personalised photo options - plus many other benefits.

FOR YOUR SCHOOL: • ID, portrait and class photos in one sitting, for all students and staff • Quality product with custom design/theme(s) to portray the professional image of the school

FOR PARENTS: • Comprehensive online webshop for orders – payment via credit card or bank transfer

• Efficiency: less admin, time and stress required from the school

• Package orders and/or a la carte menu

• Abilty to “build” custom photographs • Online webshop – no more envelopes

• Multiple portrait shots and templates to select from

• % of sales go back to the school (conditions apply)

• Delivery options – school or home

• Additional fundraising options (refer back cover of this magazine)

• Great customer support / service!

• Great customer service and friendly photographers!

Currently only servicing the Auckland region, however we welcome enquiries from the rest of NZ. For more information, please contact: Jon Doherty, General Manager P. (09) 489 8016 E. jon.doherty@photo-wonder.com

SEE BACK PAGE OF THIS MAGAZINE FOR A NO-OBLIGATION FREE TRIAL

Te l : ( 0 9 ) 4 8 9 8 0 1 6

E m a i l : s u p p o r t @ p h o t o w o n d e r. c o . n z

We b : w w w. p h o t o w o n d e r. c o . n z

PhotoWonder New Zealand A modern approach to school and sports photography

ATTENTION

New fundraising opportunity!

INTRODUCING PHOTO FUNDRAISERS QUICK – EASY – GREAT COMMISSIONS – AVAILABLE NATIONWIDE As well as offering class/portrait and sports photos (see inside back cover), PhotoWonder is a leading supplier of photo restoration and “photo-to-art” services, servicing large retail chains such as Walmart and Walgreens in the US, and Tescos in the UK. We will soon launch a fundraising model for schools, clubs and other charities – a VERY EASY fundraising initiative with GREAT fundraising returns!

How easy? As easy as: 1. Sending a fundraising link (URL) to parents 2. Parents upload photo/s and purchase online 3. The completed restoration and/or art work is delivered direct to customer in quality high resolution digital format 4. School receives commission payment at the end of the campaign period How to get started?

Simply go to below URL to register your interest by filling in a simple online form. We will be in touch as soon as we have launched this service (during term 3).

Please register your interest here - www.photowonder.co.nz/register BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

PRINCIPALS TODAY SPECIAL OFFER: PHOTOWONDER LEAVERS’ TEASER Contemplating a change in your school photography supplier?

Not sure whether to take the plunge or not?

Give PhotoWonder New Zealand a shot – no obligations to your school, or parents to purchase!

In term 4, we‘d like to come and take your leavers’ photos – to let you experience first-hand how PhotoWonder New Zealand operates, and the many benefits we can deliver to you (see inside back cover of this magazine).

We will produce: - a Group Leavers photo on a custom designed school template -

up to 4 individual leavers’ portrait options

The school will receive a laminated copy of the group photo at no charge. The group photo and all portraits will be available online for leavers’ parents to view, and purchase ( with no obligation to do so ). Spaces are limited, so get in quick to book your date and time!

To book or to register your interest, please fill in and submit this online form: www.photowonder.co.nz/ register Note: As we are only currently servicing the Auckland region, this offer is only available to Auckland based schools.