2 minute read
Junior Neighbourhood Support
It is delightful to move into the summer months. Children are bouncing out into school life after our latest lockdown. Schools brighten up with flowering trees and happy birds are chirping.
I am visiting up to seven schools a week, an enjoyable but busy time, carefully observing covid level restrictions and being prepared to change to working online at any time. During the lockdown period, students were doing their school learning online, so I decided to send them a daily challenge that would get them off the computer and engage with their families. The first challenge was to calculate how much water their family would need for a three-day emergency.
A bit of thinking to remember all the times we use water in a day (including pets) and then a bit of easy maths. One student from a busy
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household came up with a total of 74 litres of water needed for three days - raising awareness of how important a stored water source is.
Further challenges focused on fire evacuation - a challenge to call out ‘fire’ suddenly and get all members of your household out to the mailbox in less than two minutes. There were tasks to clean up their street and gutter of rubbish, design maths games from bottle lids, write their name in a graffiti style, and learn how to report graffiti to the Christchurch City Council.
As the year comes to an end, I reflect on the wonderful students that I have had as leaders or met throughout the schools.
As they move on to further schooling, I will miss them all, but also feel very proud of what they have and will achieve as very connected citizens.
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3: Working on pool safety posters - Shirley Intermediate. 4: Recycling chip packets to make a thermal blanket - Beckenham School. 5: Learning the Police reporting numbers - Knights Stream School.
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6: Planting Strawberries - St Teresa’s School. 7: Fire safety posters- Waltham School. 8: Making a rat trap - Belfast School. 9: Taylar, a student from Addington Te Kura Taumatua receives an award for his safety awareness and care of the environment.
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I also will take the opportunity to thank those who support me, the schools and teachers foremost and those that have been generous to help things keep ticking along.
A particular shout out to Mike at Belfast Panel and Paint who got the Jimny windscreen good for the next warrant, Graeme from NZ Safety Blackwoods for high-vis vests and Resene Paints Hornby for a deal on test pots for a school mural.
Both the CNS vehicles are serviced by Midas Northwood and warrants from AA Auto Centre Hornby, free to us with excellent service.
Regards
