School News NZ - June/July 2009

THIS ISSUE: Sch School hool LLiability iability | Document Management Management Solutions | Science Assessments

schoolnews www.schoolnews.co.nz

Issue 06 | June/July 2009 | $9 Inc GST

The Essential Management Guide for Education Industry Professionals

Waitaki Girls High School A rich history and new development Essential Reading for Principals s Department Heads s Property Managers s Professionals

s s s s

NEWS EDUCATION ADMINISTRATION (%!,4( 3!&%49

s s s s

30/243 2%#2%!4)/. %84%2.!, ,%!2.).'

4%!#().' 2%3/52#%3 4(% #,!332//-

s s s s

&//$ "%6%2!'% 02/0%249 02/&),%3 %6%.43 !00/).4-%.43

THE PERFECT WORKING ENVIRONMENT

PLAY MATTA™ WORKS HARD PROTECTING CHILDREN – AS WELL AS OUR ENVIRONMENT – AGAINST DAMAGING IMPACTS. Compliant Play Matta™ safety surfacing has always provided the best impact protection available while also being an environmentally responsible choice.

Now Play Matta™ – proudly made in New Zealand from 100% recycled flexible plastic and rubber – has been recognised by Environmental Choice, a member of the Global Ecolabelling Network.

If you are thinking about a new playground surface, or are worried that your existing surface may not be compliant, call us on 0800 MATTAS (628 827) for a free assessment.

Recycled Rubber Products EC-18-01

info@playmatta.com www.playmatta.com

contents

sn inside

ISSN 1178-9964

PUBLISHER Darren Willis publisher@schoolnews.co.nz

EDITORIAL Kim Armstrong-Fray editorial@schoolnews.co.nz

PRODUCTION studio@schoolnews.co.nz

ADVERTISING Phone (03) 365 5575 advertising@schoolnews.co.nz

Issue 06 | June/July 2009 Cover: Waitaki Girls High School

Winter weather brings special challenges for schools and it’s a very good time to take a close look at your heating bills.

In this issue, we review the pros and cons of new heating options, find out how you can improve your library systems to keep librarians happy and students up to date, plus we bring you the latest expert advice on the hidden costs of photocopiers.

It’s all about finding the right equipment for your specific needs and tracking your long-term costs for toners, colour printing and maintenance.

We profile some outstanding schools and new building projects, find out how teaching staff can manage stress levels effectively, and

talk to principals throughout New Zealand, including Lynley Smith, principal of Waitaki Girls High School (WGHS).

The school looks back at 120 years of history, with very interesting plans for the near future.

“There’s a very strong sense of tradition, respect and values derived from such a long experience. WGHS has a history of producing women way beyond their time in thinking and personal education; women like Janet Frame, authors Pauline Cartwright and Fiona Farrell, and Annette Baier, Professor of Philosophy, recently rated one of the world’s top 100 living geniuses, ” says Lynley Smith.

Happy reading!

SUBSCRIPTION ENQUIRIES $78 for 12 Months $128 for 24 Months Phone (03) 365 5575 subscriptions@schoolnews.co.nz www.schoolnews.co.nz

12

CONTRIBUTORS Colin Dale, Alan Knowsley, Rose Blacket, Helene Rajsic, Ian de Stigter, Nolan Mackie, David Finn, Scot Dufton, Jacqui Taylor, Martin Neyland, Warwick Harvey, Steven Robertson, Michaela Phillips, Brian Rastrick, Debbie Stevens

09

12

16

School News is distributed bi-monthly to all primary, intermediate and secondary schools nationwide and selected tertiary education providers across New Zealand.

Views and opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher or Multimedia Publishing Limited. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information in School News, however the information contained in School News is intended to act as a guide only. The publisher, authors and editors expressly disclaim all liability for the results of action taken or not taken on the basis of information contained herein. We recommend professional advice is sought before making important business decisions. © 2009. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher.

School News is proudly published by

news 4.

4.

5.

6.

News in brief Research at Oxford Ministry news Principal speaks

education 7. Student safety and liability 8. Behaviour summit report 9. A group for gifted children

PUBLISHING LIMITED

Multimedia Publishing Ltd

Phone: (03) 365 5575 Fax: (03) 365 1655 Email: mail@schoolnews.co.nz Office address: Level One, 192 Madras Street, Christchurch, 8011, New Zealand Postal address: PO Box 130075, Armagh Street, Christchurch, 8141 www.multimediapublishing.co.nz

Member of Magazine Publishers Association

administration 10. Document management

12. All about photocopiers

profiles 14. Waitaki Girls High School 15. Goodwood School 16. Aranui High School

external learning 17. Explore the Bay of Plenty

teaching resources 18. Library software 20. New books on the block

the classroom 21. Cosy classroomsf 23. Heating & 25. Science assessments & b

food & beverage 27. Coeliac diseasefeverage

health & safety 28. Teacher stress

sports & recreation 29. Preparing for summer

property 30. Waikato Diocesan’s creative centre

SCHOOL NEWS WELCOMES EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTIONS AND IMAGES ON RELEVANT TOPICS FOR FEATURES, NEW PRODUCT PROFILES AND NEWS ITEMS. Please email copy to editorial@schoolnews.co.nz.

Images should be in high resolution (300dpi) JPEG or TIFF format.

Editorial queries should be directed to the editorial department on (03) 365 5575.

32. School safety fencing 34. Lawn equipment

june/july 09 school news

3

news in brief

news Twenty million books In April, the National Library of New Zealand celebrated the delivery of its 20 millionth book to a New Zealand school since 1992. The lucky recipients were the students at Mt Roskill Primary School.

“The 20 millionth book is just the tip of the iceberg, we have been providing resources to schools for over 70 years. The book delivery service is well loved and well used by almost all schools in New Zealand, says Geraldine Howell, Director of Services to Young New Zealanders at the National Library.

The Library issues over one million books to schools every year from a collection of 600,000 resources. This service to young New Zealanders provides unique opportunities for students to connect with their culture and heritage through the Library’s vast and rich collections.

More information can be found on www.natlib.govt.nz.

Toddlers need qualified teachers An ERO report critical of the quality of some education for infants and toddlers in early childhood centres adds ammunition to the call for 100 per cent qualified teachers for very young children, says NZEI Te Riu Roa. The NZEI says that the Government’s policy to remove

the plan for 100 per cent qualified teachers is a retrograde step.

NZEI is the union that represents early childhood teachers and support staff. National’s policy reduces the original target of qualified teachers by 2012 to 50 per cent.

The ERO report says there is a wide variation in the quality of education provided in early childhood centres, and that quality services focus on relationships with children and meeting their individual needs.

NZEI says the ERO report findings reinforce the need for qualified teachers for this age group, because research shows a strong correlation between qualified staff

and quality services.

New Zealand was also to have had improved ratios introduced from July 1 this year for two to two and a half year olds, but that planned improvement was axed by the National Government.

National Early Childhood Caucus convenor, Marion Dekker, says the current ratio of one teacher to five children under two is simply not adequate to allow enough high quality interactions to flourish.

Initiatives to increase teacher supply showing impact A recent survey of all schools shows that the staffing of traditionally hard to fill subjects is now considerably easier thanks to a

raft of initiatives from the Ministry of Education (MoE).

Mathematics and statistics and technology – two of the most difficult subjects to staff – have considerably lower vacancies than previous years.

The number of vacancies in technology dropped from 17.4 per cent to 14.4 per cent and from 16.8 per cent to 10.2 per cent for mathematics and statistics.

Lynne Whitney, Senior Manager Research at the MoE said, overall, most New Zealand schools started off the year with 99 per cent of their entitlement positions filled – a slightly higher number than last year. Entitlement positions are those that are funded by the Ministry of Education.

The good results in the survey were no coincidence. Over the past few years the MOE has been offering a range of TeachNZ Scholarships and initiatives to encourage teachers to return to the profession and train and work in hard to staff subjects and areas.

Specific initiatives include allowances for those training in hard to fill subjects, loan support for teachers of particular subjects and in hard to fill geographical areas, relocation grants for moving internationally and nationally, returning to teaching allowances and free retraining for former secondary teachers.

Sharing knowledge at Oxford

A

n Auckland International College (AIC) teacher joined academics at Oxford University at the end of March to reveal her research on third language learning.

Roma Kaur, teaches The International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma at AIC. She presented her research on how students studying a third language process their thoughts and ideas when confronted with a problem.

The study identifies that when a third language student is presented with a problem to solve in that language they engage in a kind of private speech in their mother tongue, to solve the problem.

However they switch to their second learnt language, for example English, when expressing emotions.

Research has identified that the students are more likely to use English, their second language, to express emotions if they feel part of the culture. The study claims that it is very important for the international student to be aware of the host

4

school news june/july 09

culture and form a positive bond, in which teachers can play a very important role.

The research has identified that it is not enough to teach just English vocabulary, grammar, comprehension or writing in the classroom, but also the history and wider culture of the English speaking country. They should be able to experience the food, lifestyle and other aspects of culture to be able to embrace the language.

“It was a golden opportunity to present my research and represent AIC at the University of Oxford,” says Kaur. “ I met renowned language researchers from some of the best universities in the world such as Cambridge, University of British Columbia and McGill University. The researchers studies involved a variety of languages such as English, French, Spanish, Mandarin, Turkish and Irish. The researchers also expressed concern about the fact that in some countries, as people are learning foreign languages, they seem to be

‘loosing’ their mother tongues.

Roma was pleased to see in her audience two well regarded authors in the field of linguistic research.

“It was an honour they chose to attend my presentation as I had read so much of their research.” Roma was happy to receive some feedback from the popular linguistic authors who were very impressed in the way the research was carried out and advised Roma to carry out the research on a larger scale.

The research is part of Kaur’s

masters degree, for which she has been awarded a research scholarship and is classed as ‘highly recommended’ by the University of Auckland.

“I would like to see AIC, not only as a top academic school, but also a place where a research culture is emerging. As AIC students belong to a variety of language backgrounds, the developments into these insights of their language learning experiences could be applied to the classroom.

news ministry news The new processes should allow schools to get projects under way, such as the new Albany Senior High School currently under construction.

Curriculum Support The PPTA is leading a series of Curriculum Support Days from May through to August of this year, to assist principals and teachers in bringing together the different parts of the New Zealand curriculum within each specialist subject area.

There are samples and resources on the PPTA website that demonstrate how the achievement objectives and the key competencies can be brought together, taking into account other aspects of the new curriculum such as the vision, principles, values and advice about effective pedagogy.

For further information about the support Days, contact Sarah Dalton: sdalton@ppta.org.nz

t

t

t

t

Learning success for boys Tumuaki, principals, and Boards of Trustees can contribute to raising the success of boys in schools by engaging with staff, students, and the kura or school community.

A Board of Trustees has a legal responsibility to govern a school and set its direction, including curriculum, staff, property, health and safety, finance, and administration. The board makes decisions that the principal and teachers then put in place.

Making changes to raise the success of boys in your school will require strategic direction from your school leadership, and support from your community to put it into action.

The following questions provide school leadership with a starting point to engage with its community about raising the success of boys in the school. t 8IBU LJOET PG MFBSOJOH EP ZPVS boys enjoy? What don’t they enjoy? t %P ZPVS CPZT SFDFJWF UIF formative assessment, on-going feedback, and feed-forward information they need? t 8IBU NPSF DBO UFBDIFST QBSFOUT

t

t

t

t

and whānau do to help boys engage in learning at school and motivate them in reading and writing?

"SF ZPVS TDIPPM TUSVDUVSFT supporting boys to take responsibility for their own learning, manage themselves, and relate positively to others?

"SF ZPVS CPZT XFMM SFQSFTFOUFE JO leadership, peer mentoring, and social service positions in your school?

"SF ZPVS CPZT FODPVSBHFE to participate in co-curricular (including cultural) activities, and do the current opportunities cater for the diversity of interests and needs among your boys? %PFT ZPVS TDIPPM QSPHSBNNF include experiential, hands-on, and activity-based learning and e-learning to engage boys in learning?

"SF UIFSF PQQPSUVOJUJFT GPS ZPVS boys to engage with positive male role models – senior boys, staff, and community or iwi leaders? %P ZPVS CPZT IBWF SFHVMBS opportunities for physical activity and challenging outdoor adventure programmes? )PX FõFDUJWFMZ EPFT ZPVS school help boys make realistic decisions about tertiary education and career directions?

8IBU RVBMJmDBUJPOT BOE TLJMMT BSF your boys leaving school with, and what are they doing after leaving school?

New Property Initiatives Education Minister, Anne Tolley, announced new initiatives in May to allow schools to get their property programmes underway more quickly.

“The changes will see a relaxation of some of the Ministry of Education’s property project requirements that schools must currently follow when planning and

designing classroom upgrades and other similar work,” says Mrs Tolley.

“These more streamlined processes should enable schools to get their building work underway more quickly, giving the economy a boost in the process.

“School property spending is critical to the government’s economic stimulus package announced in February, therefore I asked the Ministry of Education to review its project management requirements to ensure there were no unnecessary roadblocks hindering school building projects.”

The first set of initiatives is now in place, with more planned for July.

“I often receive valuable feedback from schools about how unnecessary bureaucracy can prevent them getting on with the job,” says Mrs Tolley.

“Some checks and balances do need to be in place, but sometimes it can be a case of overkill. The changes announced today are the first step in getting the balance right.”

The new initiatives are: The Ministry can advance planning funding for all projects over $100,000 (the previous limit was $500,000) once a budget is approved. The threshold for that

advance has increased from five to 10 per cent. This change should enable schools to make faster progress with projects, particularly those included in the School Property Guide Deficiencies and Replacement Buildings programmes.

Payment of planning fees is subject to a “project plan” being agreed to by the board, its project manager and the Ministry in accordance with its performance targets.

The procurement threshold for seeking prices on the Government Electronic Tenders Service (GETS) has increased from $50,000 to $100,000 and the threshold for obtaining a minimum of three quotations for easily specified items has increased from $50,000 to $100,000.

The threshold for the one step reimbursement process has increased from $50,000 to $100,000.

Existing project manager contracts are now able to be extended to include new project(s) if the subsequent project is less than $25,000 and is lower than the original project value.

Rural schools may seek a change of their 5-year agreement (5YA) re-sign date if they are part of a formal school cluster that has been established to collectively employ project managers.

creating play and park solutions Strong, sturdy, superior quality timber playgrounds Junior Playgrounds – Senior Challenge Courses NZSS 5828: 2004 Compliant Flexible design service to match your needs ‘No-obligation’ site visit, design & quote service

FREEPHONE 0508 474 379 Email: sherwoodrec@xtra.co.nz www.sherwoodrecreation.co.nz AD V E NT UR E P L AY G R O UND S P E C I AL I S T S

june/july 09 school news

5

principal speaks

news

Should learning be invitational?

T

HE MOST PRESSING challenge that most of us have in education is to effectively engage students in their learning.

The traditional ‘chalk face’ method is now, for most of us, a lingering memory. Now we need to free our students from routine group learning, often worksheet centred, to provide a more exciting, dynamic learning experience which many of us now refer to as personalized learning.

This type of ideology I now refer to as invitational learning.

Invitational learning is centred on the idea that school is so exciting students literally ‘run’ to school in anticipation. While many of us may well claim that we try to do this already I believe that we need to try harder.

At the school where I work we have done some deliberate ‘things’ to help entice young learners to be more engaged. We have removed some potential barriers that prevent students from fulfilling their potential to explore relevant concepts and ideas. So we have invited our students to use all resources – what originally was only for teachers is now for everyone; photocopiers are free and available to students without needing permission; colour technology; unrestricted access to the internet; the use of mobile phones to take pictures, to use as a calculator, to get online – all the valuable options that a phone affords; use of smart boards for students rather than domination by the teacher; and so the list goes on. We encourage students to be teachers – peer teachers – it is no longer necessary for the classroom to be dominated by the teacher. Edu-blogs help this process in writing, coaching by one child to another in various situations all reflects a dynamic learning environment that needs careful, skilful managing.

This, of course, follows the belief that students learn best when the context is authentic. A very good example of the power of an authentic context to a learner can be seen in the film Slumdog Millionaire.

This superb illustration, supporting the notion that if

6

school news june/july 09

“

It transforms the mundane into something that becomes meaningful, alive, responsive and pertinent

we allow students to relate their learning to their world in ways that provide meaning and relevance, confirms for me the powerful effect learning has on each and every one of us when it is relevant. The learner is more likely to take ownership, with passion and enthusiasm, of what it is that they are finding challenging, and new to their knowledge and skills. It transforms the mundane into something that becomes meaningful, alive, responsive and pertinent.

Invitational learning is about empowerment. The way we speak to each other, the way we value each other (as an individual not

a client), the way we accept each other and the way we respond to each other become important ingredients in the organizational culture. It is all about minimizing instructions, mandating becomes an anachronism, some systems become redundant. Instead of rules, we have expectations choice and responsibilities. Reasons why not become buried while reasons why we should take prominence; the teaching of discernment rather than censoring choices, programmes and experiences. Difference is celebrated, rather than discouraged, success is measured by a wider perspective of life than narrow tests

that delineate rather than promote creativeness.

There is no doubt discipline challenges that use to emanate from a child’s reaction, discontentment, or simple inability to ‘fit in’ seems to dissipate into a calm, happy exciting environment where anything is possible. And most of all: students are truly engaged in their learning!

Colin Dale has been principal of Murrays Bay Intermediate for nearly seven years. He is especially interested in globally focused learning using digital applications to enhance success.

education

Alan Knowsley

legal issues

Safety of students – could you be liable?

Chair, NZ Chapter of Australia New Zealand Education Law Association

T

care and must also show that: t UIFSF XBT IBSN EPOF BT B EJSFDU result of the action or inaction of the School Board or staff member t UIF SJTL PG IBSN PDDVSSJOH XBT reasonably foreseeable.

HE 2008 OUTDOOR Pursuits Centre tragedy, where six students and one teacher died participating in outdoor education represents one of a school’s worst nightmares. Every year, there are news reports of school parties delayed, trapped or lost while participating in outside the classroom education (EOTC) trips.

What are schools’ responsibilities in such situations? To what extent do they also apply within schools? What legal or professional guidelines exist to help avoid these situations and ensure safe and enjoyable school experiences in and outside of the classroom?

Legally, school boards and their staff have a general duty to take reasonable care to prevent harm to students because they have direct responsibility for students who are legally obliged to attend school.

The duty does not mean that every possible harm must be avoided, but it does mean that reasonable care must be taken to ensure the safety of students both at school and during education outside of the classroom. The penalties can be significant.

The Outdoor Pursuits Centre, for example, was fined $40,000 for breaching employer obligations and ordered to pay $440,000 in reparations to the survivors’ and victims’ families.

The ACC Scheme bars personal claims being brought against school boards or their staff for student injury, except in exceptional circumstances such as gross negligence or intentional harm.

In addition to that, government agencies such as OSH or the Ministry of Education can still hold the school board or their staff accountable for any harm done to students.

responsible at the time of the student injury.

School boards must act in accordance with the National Administration Guidelines (NAGs) and Health and Safety regulations.

Whether at school or on camp, The Board of Trustees must take all practicable steps to ensure that: t B TBGF QIZTJDBM BOE FNPUJPOBM environment is provided for students t OP FNQMPZFF IBSNT BOZ TUVEFOU by act or omission t OP IBSN JT DBVTFE UP TUBõ students or other visitors.

Board Liability

Staff Liability

School boards are the most likely target of prosecution when harm to students occurs under the responsibility of a teacher, or any other individual or organisation whom the school has engaged.

If the board can show it has acted in good faith and fulfilled its duty to take reasonable care, liability may then pass on to the teacher or other individual or organisation

Teachers or other supervising staff can be personally liable and for their own negligence, even face criminal charges. This may happen if the teacher is found to have both: t GBJMFE UP EJTDIBSHF UIFJS HFOFSBM duty to take reasonable care t LOPXJOH UIBU UIFJS BDUJPO PS inaction would endanger the life or safety of another person.

Courts may set prevention

Suggested Guidelines

standards high, especially for hazardous activities and young or novice students. Therefore, any EOTC organiser must use reasonable knowledge, skill and care in preparing and managing activities.

This standard applied in the related case about the organiser of the 2001 Le Race held in Christchurch. Although eventually acquitted on appeal, that organiser was originally convicted of criminal nuisance when a cyclist died during the race she had organised.

Criminal proceedings can be brought against a teacher or individual simultaneously with any proceedings brought against a school board that is charged with not having taken reasonable care.

The Outdoor Pursuits Centre was charged because the board had delegated responsibility to it as a specialist provider.

As for personal claims against school boards or their staff, these can only be made in exceptional circumstances. The claimant must go beyond the board’s accepted duty of

NAGs are available on the Ministry of Education website http://www.minedu.govt.nz/ educationSectors/Schools/ PolicyAndStrategy.aspx. The Safety and EOTC guidelines issued by the Ministry of Education are available at http://www.tki.org.nz/r/ eotc/resources/safety_e.php and supplement the MoE’s Health and Safety Code and Worksafe at School publications.

Those guidelines offer safety management systems to ensure that outdoor education is effectively supervised. Some important guidelines include: t 0CTFSWF BQQSPQSJBUF TVQFSWJTJPO with student and teacher ratios. t &TUBCMJTI FõFDUJWF TUVEFOU parent complaint procedures. t 6QEBUF TBGFUZ QPMJDJFT JO TDIPPMT to check that they are in line with legal obligations. t &TUBCMJTI SJTL BTTFTTNFOU protocols to identify and manage potential risks before the activity occurs. t 1SPWJEF TBGFUZ NBOBHFNFOU training for all staff, in conjunction with other relevant professional development. t %FWFMPQ TUSBUFHJFT GPS FõFDUJWFMZ handling untoward events that do occur, while also maintaining all legal and ethical obligations. t 1SPWJEF GPS QBSFOUBM DPOTFOU BOE disclaimers of liability.

Another useful site is http://www. mountainsafety.org.nz/resources/ outdoorsafety/resources/index. html. It provides guidelines and resources for training, documentation and legal cases.

EOTC is fundamental to New Zealand’s curriculum. Fears of harm and liability should not be used to justify dropping camps, trips and out of school activities. Instead they should be dealt with effectively by implementing policies and strategies for operating as safely as reasonably possible.

june/july 09 school news

7

behaviour sumit

education

Behaviour summit tackles the hard issues

A

RECENT SUMMIT, Taumata Whanonga, held in Wellington in March, was organised to enable interested parties to focus on behavioural issues in schools and early childhood centres.

It was organised by the New Zealand Principals Federation, Secondary Principals Association, New Zealand Education Institute, Post Primary Teachers Association, New Zealand School Trustees Association, Early Childhood Council, NZEI Principals Council, NZ Secondary Principals Council and the Ministry of Education.

The summit also involved principals, teachers, unions, government agencies, school boards, parents, police, early childhood services and community organisations.

The two-day meeting came out of concern from both the educational sector and the wider community about the issues of bullying, intolerance to difference and the increase in behavioural problems seen in New Zealand schools.

This has an impact not only on the happiness, wellbeing and successful learning outcomes of students, but also on the safety and job satisfaction of teachers and all those working at schools and early childhood centres.

Keynote speakers included Steve Aos, Dr John Langley, Dr Christine Richmond, Professor David Fergusson and Dr George Sugai.

According to Ministry of Education deputy secretary Nicholas Pole, a plan of action has been outlined after the summit.

“The summit was successful in terms of bringing together education leaders to address concerns about behaviour,” said Nicholas Pole.

“We acknowledged that there are no quick fixes and that these issues will require sustained commitment.”

The summit has identified priorities for action: t 0XOFSTIJQ PG UIF JTTVF BOE UIF need to improve collaboration between families, communities, government agencies and schools

8

school news june/july 09

“

If a whole-school approach is to be successful then a central aspect must be to encourage all students to accept and value diversity and difference

t &BSMZ JOUFSWFOUJPO o XPSLJOH with children in the early stages of life and in the first stages of things going wrong in their lives t *OJUJBM UFBDIFS FEVDBUJPO BOE sustained teacher professional development to provide the skills required to manage extreme behaviour t 4USPOHFS FNQIBTJT PO HFUUJOH JU right for Maori students t .PSF TVQQPSU GPS TVDDFTTGVM evidence based programmes such as Incredible Years t 4IBSF UIF FWJEFODF BCPVU XIBU works.

“The summit steering group will be meeting regularly with other sector representatives over the next few weeks to work through the details of a comprehensive action plan,” said Nicholas Pole.

The plan will be presented to the Minister of Education, Anne Tolley, by the end of May. There have been reports from some of those present and

commentators that more emphasis should have been placed on bullying and intolerance issues, using whole school approaches.

Some have said that the summit was dominated by what to do with students with behavioural disorders.

In a press release, the AIDS Foundation stated that the summit focussed on interventions aimed at the five per cent of students with severe behaviour problems. They say that a major international report released in December ranked New Zealand second worst among 37 countries for bullying in primary schools.

Nathan Brown, from the New Zealand AIDS Foundation and programme leader of OUT THERE!, a youth development project, was a participant at the Summit.

Brown says “the Summit’s organisers seemed to medicalise the causes of bullying by blurring behaviour disorders and bullying together.

If they had allowed young people on the receiving end of bullying,

such as students who are perceived to be gay or lesbian, to participate in the Summit, there might have been more discussion about how to actually make schools safer for them.”

A report from the office of the Children’s Commissioner that was presented at the Summit proposed that whole-school approaches be used which aim to support positive behaviour by changing the school culture. OUT THERE! promotes this as the best means of addressing homophobia and transphobia in schools.

“Support of a whole-school approach is excellent, but I was disappointed that there were no ideas about how schools could develop students’ understanding and appreciation of diversity as called for in the Curriculum. If a whole-school approach is to be successful then a central aspect must be to encourage all students to accept and value diversity and difference” , says Brown.

education gifted and talented

Fertile ground for tall poppies

T

HE NEW ZEALAND Association for Gifted Children (NZAGC) exists to promote the needs of gifted children at a national level. We also endeavour to support and foster initiatives at a local level through our branches. Schools are welcome to join as members and receive our widely read national publication, Tall Poppies.

Our Constitution states: the “NZAGC will champion the cause of gifted children at home, in their schooling and beyond. NZAGC will foster the educational and social development of gifted children through the achievement of a climate in which giftedness is recognised, understood and accepted as a valuable human attribute and in which the special needs of gifted children are met fully, effectively and with generosity.”

The NZAGC provides an environment where gifted children, their parents, teachers and other professionals can meet, learn from each other and work in partnership to best serve our gifted children.

It is through strong partnerships and open communication, that we can collectively support each other and nurture our gifted children. We work openly with various organisations such as: The Gifted Education Centre (One Day School); REACH Education; Gifted Kids Programme (GKP); Canterbury Association for Gifted Educators (CAGE); and the newly formed giftEDnz. Membership of the NZAGC is for individuals, associations and schools who support the goals of the association and wish to access our resources, professional knowledge and contacts. We have sponsored a number of educational professionals and parents to attend conferences and courses over many years. Our National Council is made up of parents, professionals and gifted education advisors.

The current president, Rose Blackett, is an educational psychologist in private practice, based in Christchurch. She is presenting at the 18th biennial world conference of the world council for gifted and talented children in Vancouver later this year. Her topic is the Social-Emotional Development of Gifted Children: “Maximising

the development of black sheep Social-emotional support for gifted children”. Her presentation will be available online at the NZAGC website from October.

The autonomous regional branches organise activities such as club-days, speakers, parent evenings, children’s camps and professional development opportunities for educators. Examples of recent club-days include: Electronics; How to get a book published; Robotics; Medical Misadventure (a tour of the medical museum); Dance and Drama; Chemistry Unwrapped; and a Fossil Dig. In 2008 the NZAGC sponsored our advisor, Marilyn Stafford, to travel throughout New Zealand on a Philosophy Over Pizza (POP) tour.

Her POP sessions were well attended and proved so popular that multiple sessions had to be run in many regions.

Our branches allow gifted children, their parents and educators to come together regularly to gain support, build friendships and share resources, and ideas, on how best to meet the needs of gifted our children. Each branch has a representative on the National Council. Schools and other educational professionals are welcome to nominate children for membership. If one child is nominated then the whole family join and are welcome to attend all events. We are an association who is open to diversity and endeavour to keep our membership cost as low as possible. This means families on a low income can still access our services. We are a registered charitable organisation. An online forum is also available. This allows an open and frank discussion on any issues regarding giftedness. A new initiative the NZAGC are exploring

is the role and use of online options for supporting gifted children and their families. This may be of particular relevance to smaller rural communities.

Of interest to many professionals completing research in gifted education, or grappling with the challenges of catering for a cluster group of gifted children in their classroom, is our extensive library.

A catalogue of books is sent to all new members, and new books are advertised in our national magazine, Tall Poppies. If we do not have a book in stock you are interested in, we are open to purchasing it if it has a wide appeal to our membership base. Vicki Cooper is an experienced librarian who oversees the borrowing of our books, magazines, audio and video tapes, games and pamphlets.

She is helpful in recommending books or resources on a range of topics. There is no charge to borrow resources. They are available to all those with current financial membership in New Zealand: you pay for return postage only.

NZAGC publishes Tall Poppies, a magazine for families of the gifted child and professionals involved within gifted education. We also publish Apex®, the New Zealand Journal of Gifted Education, a peer-reviewed annual publication for professionals with an interest in the education of gifted students.

Our latest issue of Apex®is available online from our website. We are fortunate to have educational experts in the field, Tracey Riley and Roger Moltzen as our editors. We also have an editorial board that have expertise and professional knowledge in gifted education.

Our April 2009 issue has a wide range of articles, drawing on both national and international data.

For membership details please visit our website, www.giftedchildren.org.nz

Rose Blackett is a registered psychologist.She has presented papers and workshops to schools, universities, parent groups and national conferences. Rose is the President of the New Zealand Association for Gifted Children (NZAGC).

june/july 09 school news

9

document management

admin & management

Managing electronic records – laying the foundations

U

NDER THE PUBLIC Records Act 2005 schools will begin to be audited from 2010 for good record keeping procedures and policies. The public Records Act came into force in April 2005 replacing the Archives Act 1957.

The objective of the Public Records Act is to promote the accountability of government organisations to the Crown, and of the Crown to the public through good recordkeeping.

The core recordkeeping requirement for schools requires records are created and maintained appropriately. So what is a record?

The Public Records Act deďŹ nes ‘records’ as any information that is compiled, recorded or stored in any format. Electronic records (email, etc.) should be treated according to content not format, and should be managed in a recordkeeping system.

Schools need to keep records for

certain periods of time to comply with legal requirements such as tax and education legislation. State and state integrated schools also have broader responsibilities to retain some school records for archival purposes.

These schools cannot destroy or dispose of any school records without Archives New Zealand’s authorisation. The School Records Retention/Disposal Schedule identiďŹ es the school records that can be discharged, destroyed or disposed of, and those which must eventually be sent to Archives New Zealand.

The challenges that schools currently face is the management of information.

Information is everywhere, embedded in email documents, network drives, student management databases, ďŹ nancial management systems, hardcopy records created and received. The

volume of information is escalating exponentially. Therefore records management practices need to ensure records: t $BO CF SFBEJMZ SFUSJFWFE XIFO needed t $BO CF SFBEJMZ EJTTFNJOBUFE UP those who need the information t .FFU TFDVSJUZ SFRVJSFNFOUT t "SF SFUBJOFE GPS UIF BQQSPQSJBUF period of time.

Principles of good recordkeeping are about accountability, evidence and smooth running of the business. Good recordkeeping provides organisations with information about past decisions, actions and events.

As a consultant, one of my most recent projects was assisting a school to develop a records management framework for the implementation of a document management solution. The document management solution

in concept is an electronic ďŹ ling cabinet.

The solution is simple but it is important to understand that technology is only an enabler.

The basic principles still apply: creation and capture, appropriate storage and access, archiving.

This control and management of information should be a normal part of business activity and as well as meeting legal, professional and ethical responsibilities requires commitment at all levels throughout the organisation.

A records management framework requires a ďŹ le classiďŹ cation structure. The purpose of a ďŹ ling structure is to provide control and consistency over the vocabulary used in the naming conventions of records that are created, received and maintained.

In essence this becomes the organisations universal ďŹ ling language. When records and

Make the Right Choice (if you care about the environment) Pritt is the environmentally friendly alternative in Glue Sticks.

- %#! % " * % &#(% & - + $ " - # ) "' ! % (no PVA, PVC, PVP) - &' % %+ " &'%#" % #" - &

FREE TRIAL

Email prittworld.sales@nz.henkel.com today for your own FREE sample Pritt 10gm glue stick. Please include your name, school and postal address.

Visit www.prittworld.com/nz Disclaimer: This special offer will close on 31st July 2009 or while stocks last.

Henkel Sellotape reserves the right to limit number of samples supplied to each school.

10

school news june/july 09

HNZ5600SN

IF

IC

I AT

NT

Implement

ON

AD

PR O P E RT

YA

P OLICIES

ND

C

AS S

PR

O

common mistakes: t *OTUBMMJOH %PDVNFOU Management software with incorrect expectation t 'BJMVSF UP JODPSQPSBUF CBTJD records management in planning and implementing Document Management software t *OFĂľFDUJWFMZ BEESFTTJOH

H

L ICA OR

ATION ST UD E

L FILE C L

TR NIS MI

OSA

G O V E R NA N CE

Design

T IS

N

SP

EL

ED

PE R

Assess

Recommend

EDUCA TI O S

A

NN

E UR

N

DI

FINANCE DS

OR

TI O

classiďŹ cation and indexing t /PU QMBOOJOH UP JEFOUJGZ SFDPSET eligible for destruction – avoid the scenario of electronic data and digital landďŹ ll t 3FQMBDJOH IBSE DPQZ records without planning for preservation of an electronic “recordâ€? over time

t /PU BEESFTTJOH NJHSBUJPO DPTUT t "TTVNJOH CBDLVQ o JT UIF solution to records retention.

A systematic approach to records management is essential.

Taking the time to plan and establish a foundation in the management of electronic records will assist schools to move towards less paper. Planning, education, communication and management support is essential in the implementation of electronic technologies.

Implementation of the records management framework is not just about compliance but improving business eďŹƒciencies in how we access and share information.

As accountability becomes a more important issue in our society, organisations are becoming more aware of the need to be able to produce the right information in records at the right time as evidence of their policies and activities.

document management

RETEN

D

C RE

G

N

D

T

RA

N IN I

SO

information are properly classiďŹ ed an information system operates more eďŹƒciently.

Implementation of a records management policy is essential to communicate sta recordkeeping responsibilities and should clearly articulate the rationale and implications of not managing information eectively. It needs to link to the school records retention and disposal outlining the responsibilities for retaining and disposing of records.

With the implementation of a records management programme continuous education and training is necessary for maintaining recordkeeping systems. Simple procedures and ďŹ le guidelines need to be developed and communicated to all sta.

As organisations are continuously looking to save costs, the correct implementation of a records management solution will reduce the time and money spent on managing hardcopy ďŹ ling systems and the cost of printing and distributing information.

Getting in right the ďŹ rst time is essential. Avoid the following

AN

admin & management

Helene Rajsic, Certified Records and Information Manager, is the principle consultant smart records management solutions Auckland Ltd

june/july 09 school news

11

photocopier solutions

admin & management

The ABC’s of school photocopiers

Nolan Mackie Account director, Fuji Xerox New Zealand

T

ODAY’S MODERN TECHNOLOGY takes photocopying to a level far beyond what many of us went to school with; the innards of modern machines more closely resemble an enterprise computer than anything else.

When schools look for answers around photocopiers, they really need to think about multifunction devices – the kind that can copy but also perform multiple functions in one unit, like faxing, scanning, printing and emailing.

But added capabilities can also add complexity. Let’s take a look at some of the key considerations for schools upgrading their photocopying technology.

Cost Recovery It’s imperative to measure print volumes for several reasons.

First, it provides a baseline to see how often devices are utilised.

Second, consumables such as toner or paper need to be ordered in advance, and trending data will help accurately predict how often and how much of these supplies are needed. But newer devices also have capabilities that can aid in cost recovery.

For example, in some situations printing costs are charged back to specific departments. Your devices may need to have embedded technology that allows these costs to be tracked to individual users or departments by entering codes. Use of colour printing is also on the rise, particularly with students. Often colour comes at a cost premium compared to traditional black and white. Since some schools include printing costs as a part of their student fees, it’s necessary to track these costs accurately to ensure they are recovered.

Management Behind the scenes, a complex network links school information systems together. On the back end, student management systems are the heart of modern school IT, with information on enrolment, exams, attendance and more. Why not find a way to tie your multifunction

device into this system?

New multifunction devices are really document portals into your information system. Instead of using them solely for copying, instead you can scan documents directly into the student management system, select the proper location for it to be stored, set security protocols and permissions, and integrate it directly with your system. New optical character recognition technology in some machines can convert your scanned text into fully editable files that can be modified or updated with simple word processing programmess.

Purchasing Schools should not purchase equipment outright as it ties up capital that could be better used elsewhere. Leasing offers flexibility in a way that can adapt to the needs of your school on the fly.

Vendors can add, change, or

What if we could partner with schools rather than just supply them with technology?

At Fuji Xerox we are proud to be the document technology partner that’s helped a large number of schools stay at the forefront of education in New Zealand. Needless to say, we’ll continue to put our brightest thinking into finding ways to keep them there.

It’s what we call leadership through innovation. To discuss how a partnership with Fuji Xerox can help your business work smarter, both now and into the future, call today on 0800 493 769 or visit www.fujixerox.co.nz

Brighter Thinking.

12

school news june/july 09

admin & management

David Finn ANZ managing director, Kyocera Mita

I

N THE CURRENT economic climate, organisations are increasingly being forced to achieve more with less. In response to this, savvy educational institutions have changed the way they think when it comes to purchasing printers and multifunction products (MFPs).

Looking beyond the initial purchase price of a printer or MFP is something IT purchasers have traditionally failed to do, however, the key to a successful purchase is to look at the whole-of-life and whole-of-organisation costs. This is because in reality, the total cost of a printer or MFP is more than the purchase price. Running costs, environmental impact, staff ergonomics and service and support contracts are increasingly important in respect to laser printer and MFP fleets.

The total cost of ownership, remove equipment as needed depending on usage with simple contract amendments. Often, they can package deals on equipment so that you end up only paying for the device usage instead of for the entire device itself.

Also, watch out for third-party financing offers. If you finance through a third party or financial institution, they will primarily care about the recovery of their loan.

Keep your money in the smart place by financing directly through the vendors; they have a vested interest in keeping you happy and demonstrating the value for your money.

Servicing When it comes to equipment servicing, you want response time, not downtime. Find a vendor with a proven track record of fast, reliable service. And look for one that will have the same technician respond to your site each time.

They’ll develop a relationship with you and learn the nuances of your print environment. Also, look for specialist technicians rather than general ones; some service scenarios will require expertise in networking, or in analysis for cost reporting.

(TCO) of a printer or MFP is a combination of its purchase price, consumables, space used, service and maintenance costs and human factors (training time, management and even the amount of time spent waiting for prints to finish).

It’s not uncommon for the cost of consumables over the life of a laser printer or MFP to be four or more times greater than the initial purchase cost, especially as more companies move to colour and graphics-heavy printing.

When it comes to servicing and maintenance, toner and drum replacement is typically the largest component of the TCO of the printer or MFP. Failing to take these costs into account at the time of purchase can have a negative impact on an organisation as a whole. If purchase decisions are just made on the initial purchase price and

photocopier solutions

Understanding the true cost

specifications (for a printer or MFP’s suitability to task), the business may have to live with high running costs and machine downtime, as well as producing a lot of office waste that’s harmful to the environment.

The service and support offered by the manufacturers should be one of the leading factors in the purchasing decision.

When a machine breaks down, you need to know whether you can get someone there to fix the problem before downtime becomes a major problem for the organisation.

There are also cartridge free printers that reduce both the cost of consumables and waste. Industry and product surveys consistently show that these are up to 40 per cent cheaper to operate than comparative models.

Lastly, it pays to go with a vendor-trained technician backed by one of the larger global companies. Some print service contracts will include service from local “computer experts.” The fact is that these technicians do not have the same level of expertise as those directly from the company.

Suppliers So what’s the best way to find one of the vendors that meets the above descriptions? I would always recommend word of mouth. Schools are fortunate to have close networks; ask for testimonials and enquire at neighbouring institutions. Look also for companies that are involved in the school and community, either through scholarship programmes, internships, sponsorships or sports teams.

At the end of the day, buying a new photocopier is really an information technology investment.

This is no longer the sole realm of the business manager; you don’t buy copiers like you buy desks or furniture. Get the headmasters and senior management involved. This is a technology investment decision, and requires the input of many parties in the school community.

june/july 09 school news

13

waitaki girls high school

profiles

Learning the Waitaki way

A

FTER CELEBRATING A recent 120th anniversary, it would be relatively easy for any school to rest on its laurels. But Lynlee Smith, principal of Waitaki Girls’ High School (WGHS), says the school has always focused on progressing to the next goal.

That sense of progression is reflected in a $1.9 million development currently underway at WGHS, which combines a ten year property plan with Special Needs funding from the Ministry of Education. The first stage, begun early in 2009 and recently completed, has resulted in a purpose-built Special Needs Unit, incorporating two large classroom areas, a kitchen, showers and office space.

“This initiative will primarily benefit our small number of students with significant special needs, and illustrates the importance we place on ensuring each student feels truly valued and receives every opportunity to fulfil their potential,” says Lynlee Smith. “At the same time, the inclusion of a landscaped outdoor area with covered seating adjacent to it, accessible to all the girls, will benefit our entire school community.”

The second stage of the project, due to be finished in late 2009, will see a dramatic redevelopment of the existing science labs and ICT department.

The modernised layout will totally revamp how ICT is structured, and make for a more open classroom experience with an emphasis on participatory and self-directed learning.

“The new curriculum illustrates the differences between teaching and learning in the 21st century compared to the previous one,” says Lynlee Smith. “We’re aiming to make our girls knowledgeable, adaptable and technically adept, ideally prepared for the changing world in which they’ll find themselves when they graduate.

We want the girls to treat knowledge as a verb rather than a noun, something they understand to be an active and lifelong process, under their control.”

In close proximity to the University of Otago, North Otago has always enjoyed a strong sense of education.

Set within nearly eight hectares of stunning grounds, WGHS is home to 460 girls. Smith says the girls thrive on the atmosphere generated by the school’s history.

“There’s a very strong sense of tradition, respect and values derived from such a long experience. WGHS has a history of producing women

way beyond their time in thinking and personal education; women like Janet Frame, authors Pauline Cartwright and Fiona Farrell, and Annette Baier, Professor of Philosophy, recently rated one of the world’s top 100 living geniuses.”

The school’s underlying values stem from this rich perspective.

Respect - for self, others and the environment – integrity, hard work, honesty, loyalty and perseverance provide the quiet force behind the school, summed up in what’s become known as the ‘Waitaki way’. As well as being imbibed throughout the girls’ time at WGHS, it’s also formally imparted at assemblies, by senior girls as well as staff, and actively promoted in a carefully crafted Social Studies unit for Year 9 girls.

The twin threads of self-discipline and respect for others are reflected both in the school’s motto - ‘Dulcius ex arduis’ – satisfaction from working hard - and its whakatauki, ‘he tangata, he tangata, he tangata’, meaning ‘it is the people’.

Girls identify with the school’s strong sense of roots from very early in their time at WGHS, and receive enormous support from past students.

The National Association of Old Girls has branches in many New Zealand cities and provincial towns, and maintains enthusiastic support for the school. Over 900 old girls returned

to celebrate the school’s 120th anniversary in 2007.

While WGHS is primarily a local school for Oamaru girls, it’s also home to a small but vibrant boarding community with 52 girls from throughout the country and a small number of international students who live in both the hostel and in homestays.

The hostel is comfortable and modern, and hosts essential accoutrements such as internet access.

There are separate junior and senior dorms, with girls having individual cubicle areas, while Year 13 girls enjoy their own space. A plethora of activities takes place through the week and at weekends.

Smith says the school has worked incredibly hard to create a family-based environment. “The girls have a stunning hostel manager in Margie Baird who ensures it’s a safe place to be. There’s a strong sense of camaraderie, which fosters deep loyalty among the girls, and new students arrive with a sense of already belonging. And while only ten per cent of our girls board, they’re so well integrated that they provide a cohesion within the school that’s far in excess of their numbers.”

While some development work is taking place around the foyer, office and parents’ meeting space, boarding numbers are not expanding.

“We’re intent on promoting a small and caring boarding community,” says Smith “that perfectly reflects the values we attach to our school as a whole.”

By Scot Dufton

profiles goodwood school

Journey towards sustainability

G

OODWOOD SCHOOL IS a country school just out of Cambridge. There are 12 classrooms from Year 0 to 6 with around 260 children. We have been an Enviro School since 2006 and have since achieved the Bronze and Silver Enviro Awards. None of which would have been possible without the complete support and dedication of the staff, community and children.

I remember when we began.

My skills in leadership were few and far between, but my interest and passion to create an environment and ethos where people really cared about the future of their place was my driving force.

“

The children are learning to care more about their education as they are being heard and through that they are developing a deeper understanding of how they are the caretakers for their environment Some teachers were concerned that another responsibility placed upon them was adding to their workload and making it more difficult to teach the already very full curriculum.

It wasn’t long before the whole staff became the support I needed to make such a successful and rewarding Enviro School.

Environmental education has become part of the children’s lives at school and out of school. Although we are a school in the country, many of the children who go to the school come from the outskirts of town.

The Enviro Group, made up of Enviro Warriors, is formed by a selection from each class. The senior and middle children are asked to persuade their classmates and teacher as to why they should be chosen, while the juniors are chosen by their teachers. The caretaker, members of the Board of Trustees and the PTA are also part of the group and attend some of the meetings.

Our goal is to become sustainable within our own school and to spread the message to the community. The group have a vision for the school we started in 2006 and which gets revised each year. Things

are crossed off and new things added as the needs and desires of the school changes. The group members are vehicles for carrying the messages back and forth between their classes, the Board of Trustees and the principal, Jack Reid.

The children at Goodwood are used to having their ideas heard as the staff are involved in a professional development contract over four years called EHSAS (Extending High Standards Across Schools), “Giving Children a Voice”. Through this, schools have been developing competencies they deem important, hearing from the children what they think they are, and how best to explain them. Environmental education for sustainability has become an important part of the process. The children are learning to care more about their education as they are being heard and through that they are developing a deeper understanding of how they are the caretakers for their environment.

They have developed a pride in their school through the undertaking of projects that they have thought of, that beautify, manage and make life more fun.

Recently Environment Waikato ran a photographic competition where the children took a photo that would show a snapshot of the kind of sustainable ideas their school believed in.

As World Environment Day approaches, the school is getting ready for its annual Mucking In Day. On this day, the whole school and community members are involved in the big clean up after the autumn.

It is also a time where we plant more trees and gardens to coincide with Arbor Day. Being an Enviro School is as important to the children as it is to the adults in the school community now. When the children who represent our school in the EHSAS cluster were asked, “What are some of the best things about Goodwood?” Their answer was: “Being an Enviro School”.

Our journey continues as we strive to achieve the goals for the Green Gold Award.

By Michaela Phillips june/july 09 school news

15

aranui high school

profiles

Aranui’s winning attitude

“

KIA ORA, TALOFA lava and welcome to Aranui High School.”

That’s the message that greets callers phoning this school in Christchurch’s eastern suburbs, reflecting its mix of Maori, Pasifika and pakeha students.

In 2010, Aranui High will celebrate its 50th Jubilee in the midst of a complete rebuild of the school which began in February this year. John Rohs, principal at Aranui for the last three years, says that while this is hugely exciting, the real achievement is the rewards students are enjoying as a result of the innovative and highly successful Aranui Academies programme.

“Aranui means ‘broad pathway’ and that’s really the philosophy that underpins our entire thinking and from which the Academies arose,” says Rohs.

“To properly serve our community we have to cater for the widest range of needs and provide pathways that suit a whole range of students.

By complementing the standard academic route, our Academies do just that.”

The programme began back in the early 1990s under then principal Graeme Plummer. It was a time of high unemployment that saw the school, like much of the country, languishing in the doldrums. Plummer’s vision began with the establishment of a Rugby Academy, a ground-breaking initiative in New Zealand education.

“It was hugely successful,” says Rohs. “It took a lot of disengaged young kids off the street and received national publicity. It’s since been adopted by a number of schools, where it’s often referred to as the ‘Aranui model’.”

Since then, the programme has grown in scope and confidence.

This year there are no fewer than 13 programs, ranging from Carving, through Music to Photography and Trades. Of Aranui High’s role of 620 students, almost 220 are involved in the Academy programme. Ten per cent of these come from other schools to enrol within a specific programme, such as the highly specialised Basketball and Performing Arts Academies, while the Computing Academy, which operates the CISCO networking programme, will this year host a group from Unlimited, a large city-based alternative college.

Sport has figured highly since

16

school news june/july 09

Amanda Taueki King- Hazel and Rawiri Maniapoto starring as Titania and Oberon in an excerpt of “A Midsummer’s Night Dream” in the District Festival of the New Zealand Theatre Federation.

League academy boys with the Rugby League World Cup trophy

Alan Kettle and Payal Venakr, Hospitality Academy Gold medallists in National Secondary Schools Salon Culinaire 2008

the Academies began. Basketball, run by former NZ representative and Canterbury Rams player Bert Knops, is hugely popular, as is Sports Development under Tania Hoffman, while an exciting addition to this year’s programme is the new Rugby League Academy, directed by Canterbury Bulls rep Andrew Auimatagi. The performing arts have also enjoyed outstanding success with Theatre Academy students taking home top awards at international festivals.

While each academy has a distinctive flavour and operates individually, all share a strong vocational emphasis. The result is a highly motivating programme replete with purpose and relevance. Rohs says that students join for a number of reasons; some are not quite ready for tertiary study, others want a taste of something else before joining the workforce, while a number have completed Year 13 studies and return to consolidate skills before going on to further training.

Most academies are part-time, occupying around 12 hours per week, with the remainder taken up in conventional schooling. Many offer the opportunity to gain NCEA credits and certification towards further study. Others, like the Early Childhood Academy, are full-time, with all participants going on to further study, reflecting the drive of their tutor, Brenda Withell.

Aranui High uses Gateway funding to enable students to access work placements while still at school, allowing them to gain valuable credits towards tertiary study. Another very real incentive for students is that from 2010, those qualifying for Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology courses will pay zero fees.

Aranui’s ability to attract and retain high calibre staff is integral to the programme’s success. As well as directing the Hospitality and Tourism Academy, Gary Porteous heads up the entire Academy Programme. He oversees a group of teachers highly skilled at getting the best out of kids, and strongly committed to working in a school that has particular challenges.

“At Aranui we hold an attitude that anything’s possible, an ethos that’s been borne out by the success of our academies and is more and more coming to be shared by our students,” says Rohs. “Whatever their background, the kids here rise to the top in academy disciplines and know they can compete against anyone, whether from the public system or from independent schools.”

Rohs says the school is coming to be regarded as more of a community college than a typical high school. It’s an emphasis he’s keen to cultivate.

“A flourishing community education programme runs alongside the Academy. We’re rebuilding the school over three years, guided throughout by the principle of being open to the community. We’re always thinking about where the Academies will go next, what other areas need to be incorporated. To remain viable, it’s essential we can adapt to meet the community’s developing requirements and aspirations.”

By Scot Dufton

external learning exploring bay of plenty White Island

Plenty of learning

T

HE BAY OF Plenty is a region of the North Island that stretches from beautiful coastlines, through farmlands and rich horticultural regions to thermal wonderlands, dotted with larger cities and towns and small rural communities.

It is also a great resource for learning, and offers a wealth of experiences, curriculum opportunities as well as memorable fun for school children both within the region and those who wish to

visit it from further afield.

The region is steeped in cultural and historic significance. Maori culture is evident with sacred spots such as Mauao (Mt. Maunganui), the Papamoa Hills and Maketu.

Three of the seven waka that formed the original migration of Maori to Aotearoa made their first landing in the Bay of Plenty.

Maketu was the landing place of the Te Arawa canoe following the migration of early Maori from Hawaiki. Polynesians settled in the Bay of Plenty about 1,000 years ago.

More than 400 years later the Bay of Plenty was given its name by Captain James Cook in 1769.

The Battle of Gate Pa was one of the most notable battles during the land wars of the 1860s and is well documented at the Elms Mission House in Tauranga.

The coastal city of Tauranga also offers a range of activities from the Mount Maunganui Hot Salt Water Pools to Mount Tutu Eco-Sanctuary just 18 kilometres from the city, where you can learn about bush craft and native flora, visit the bird sanctuary or take a night time bush walk to spot glow worms.

The Department of Conservation has six environmental education resources that focus on sites administered by the Department of Conservation in the Bay of Plenty.

These ‘Super Sites’ are ideal for learning about forests, endangered species, lakes and geothermal environments. They include Whirinaki Forest Park, Sulphur Bay, Lake Okataina and the Karangahake Gorge Historic Walkway.

The sites also include a programme designed for Year 7 and 8 students discovering the history of the gold mines in the Waiorongomai

Valley, four kilometres south of Te Aroha. Here students can learn about the struggles of gold diggers in the 1880s and 90s. The resource includes nine lesson plans, student’s worksheets, maps of the area and risk management guidelines.

The Rotorua Museum of Art and History has held a contract with the Ministry of Education since 1998 to offer education outside the classroom to students of all ages.

Their services are very popular and offer many fun, interactive, curriculum-linked programmes based upon the museum’s permanent and changing exhibitions and the surrounding environment.

The programmes cover science, social studies, art, history, geography and tourism. The Education service can be tailored to suit your student’s specific learning outcomes and are available to all schools throughout the year. They have a team of competent and experienced educators delivering a comprehensive programme, together with modern learning resources, equipment and materials. They

can also provide pre and post visit resources to teachers.

From Whakatane, you can explore White Island, an amazing volcanic experience in a region of volcanoes that because of its very nature and practical reasons, is best suited to students over eight. The smell of the sulphur, the feel of the volcanic rock, tasting the acidic streams, seeing the extraordinary sight of the mighty main crater of an active volcano can be a once in a lifetime opportunity for students.

To the west of the Bay area lies Katikati, a small rural community but one with a fascinating interest in the arts. Their 23 public murals and art works combined with their 24 Haiku rocks on their Haiku Trail make it a great place to look at art in a community context and the use of art to bring a community together with pride.

The Bay of Plenty offers a wealth of activities and learning experiences that have only been touched on, it’s climate, variety of geography and activities come together to create a great out-of-school opportunity.

“Home of the Tough Guy & Girl Challenge” Lakes Ranch’s 127 acres Nature Park is the ideal venue for school groups, with great facilities and equipment.

79 Lake Rotokawau Road, Rotorua Ph. 07 350 3010 www.lakesranch.org.nz nz

june/july 09 school news

17

library resources

teaching resources

Latest trends in library software

I

HAVE RECENTLY had the chance to visit many libraries around the world, including the UK, Middle East, South America and of course New Zealand. In the course of these visits I saw a wide range of approaches and developments – some schools struggling with changes, others embracing the challenges and leading the way forward. The latter is seldom possible without strong leadership and support from school managers.

Teaching has moved from where content is all important to where content and process share equal importance. Schools are now challenged to promote information literacy, where students are encouraged to learn in complex and diverse information environments. Schools need to create a rich information-toknowledge experience for learners where students actively construct knowledge rather than passively receive it.

18

school news june/july 09

School librarians have responded. No longer the keeper of books, the librarian is seen as the person who is able to create a stimulating, questioning environment – an environment that exposes students to a wide range of books and other resources, and challenges students to think.

Within this framework, good library software is pivotal.

So what are the software trends – and how can we foster the evolution of the modern library to better serve students, teachers and our school community?

One thing is clear – to run a modern library professionally, schools need professional library software. New Zealand is one of the few countries where we still see some companies trying to supply bundled packages that include student management; timetabling; accounting; and also library software. It just doesn’t happen in most countries.

teaching resources

“

No longer the keeper of books, the librarian is seen as the person who is able to create a stimulating, questioning environment – an environment that exposes students to a wide range of books and other resources, and challenges students to think

that have just come into the library. It may also allow the individual to carry out a quick search of the library – all from within the learning management system. This is only possible with sophisticated library software.

The learning management system of course does not cater for the complexities of library management – and it does not need to. With seamless integration, these solutions can fit together to provide a very effective platform to assist teaching and learning within the school.

The realm of interoperability also means that many of our clients require single sign-on; integration with contactless smartcards; centralised fingerprint and biometric identification; and RFID for circulation, self-issue machines and security gates.

Thirdly, many librarians see

Library

their roles as whole school resource managers. I believe NZ schools have taken the lead here, seeing real benefits in combining library, teacher and document management resources all within the same resource management software solution.

To make this possible, such library software needs to be powerful, sophisticated, and still easy to use.

Fourthly, enabling web-based access to the library from anywhere in the school, as well as from home is increasingly seen as a vital feature for any library system.

Fifthly, librarians are wanting a solution that students themselves want to use. Students need to see a system that is relevant, that matches the technologies they themselves have access to, and that can deliver a wide range of resources in the most

library resources

The reason is that library software has moved to a complex place.

Firstly, to operate in a modern library, software must also cater for such things as e-books; podcasts; electronic documents; PDFs; video clips and sound files. This is the space that our students operate within, and these resources have become an integral part of teaching and learning.

The management of all these resources calls for sophisticated library software that can be accessed from anywhere around the school and from home.

Secondly, schools are demanding interoperability – not having one solution trying to do everything – but by ensuring that specialist software can share data seamlessly between different applications. A modern library system must have interoperability built in – thereby enabling schools to purchase the best solutions in each of their required areas.

Globally, this is also evident with library management and learning management integration.

This integration means that when a particular student logs into their learning management system it can also identify that a reserved book is waiting for them; perhaps alerting them that they have two books overdue; or identifying the new books

effective time-saving manner.

Sixthly, schools want library software to actively enhance literacy, allowing students to publish their own work and ideas within the library solution – drawing the ‘library’ into the classroom.

There is also an almost universal, global demand for any library system to be an SQL solution.

The positive impact that a quality library can have on the learning and literacy levels is well documented.

But having the right software tools is pivotal. This is why librarians, students and staff deserve sophisticated, specialist and professional software.

Martin Neyland has been a teacher; education adviser to NZ schools; he is currently the Managing Director of Access-It Software Ltd

Library

june/july 09 school news

19

book reviews

teaching resources

New books on the block In the second book in the Archie series by Lyttelton author Leonie Thorpe, we follow the often hilarious antics of a boy whose adventures are crazier than the average 12 yearold should have to tackle, but Archie is just the boy the take on the challenge.

adventure ever. Following on from the first of George’s books, George’s Secret Key to the Universe, it’s a rollicking journey through, time, space and our beautiful universe.

Stephen Hawking, one of the world’s most brilliant physicists, and his daughter Lucy, herself a successful author, have put together not only a wonderful story, but a stunning selection of photographs and drawings that help both explain our universe and excite a student’s interest in science.

The Chicken Thief

By Beatrice Rodriguez Published by Gecko Press RRP $24.99 Age: 5+ Another great book brought to us by Gecko Press, publishers dedicated to bringing great books from around the world to English speakers.

This charming, wordless book tells the story of Fox, who steals a chicken and then is chased throughout the countryside and across the sea by her friends who desperately wish to rescue her. When she is found, they discover this unlikely duo have formed a bond and love each other.

The illustrations are detailed with the expressions of the animals and the colours used telling a story for both young and old alike.

Know Your New Zealand Native Plants

By Lawrie Metcalf Published by New Holland RRP $34.99 Age: 12+ This new book from award-winning horticulturist Lawrie Metcalf, is an indispensable reference book for any library. It documents a selection of our native plants, with clear photographs and details on where they grow, their natural history and distinguishing features.

It is an easy read, and would be a great introduction for intermediate to high school students to the biology and ecology of our own unique flora.

Archie Saves the Day

By Leonie Thorpe Published by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. RRP$ 16.99 Age: 9-12 Archie has it tough. His Mum makes his life difficult, he thinks he is no good at anything and his local town has been overrun by the work of a crazy tagger, who the local constable has sent to Archie’s sea scout troup for one last chance.

20

school news june/july 09

Nina of the Dark

By Ken Catran Published by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. RRP $24.99 Age: Young Adult This is the latest novel from New Zealand writer Ken Catran, winner of seven awards, including the Margaret Mahy Award for services to children’s literature. It is a compelling story of a young woman, born into slavery, who must face both inner and outer demons and mysteries to both find her own place in the world and at the same time save it. Nina of the Dark has been thrust unwillingly into a legacy of nightmare and violence. In a world balanced perilously on the edge of an abyss, she is the last hope – and she is afraid.

CONGRATULATIONS to the winners....

George’s Cosmic Treasure Hunt

By Lucy and Stephen Hawking Published by Random House RRP$ 34.99 Age: 9+ George is back and together with his friend Annie, is about to embark on his biggest

Waipu Primary School and Marion School, Hamilton have won copies of Let’s Get Art in a recent School News book draw

the classroom heating

Keeping it cosy

C

LASSROOMS NEED TO be comfortable places to learn, no matter what the weather is outside.

When it comes to the colder terms of the year, schools have a large choice when it comes to school heating.

The heat within a classroom is affected by several factors, such as the amount of solar heat gain through windows and roof spaces, the amount of heat given off by the people in the classroom and the heat from lights, computers and heating sources themselves.

Heating a classroom as opposed to a home is a whole different proposition. They are only occupied during daylight hours, usually from 9am-3pm and not during weekends, with large numbers of people in one room for short periods.

Storing passive heat to use in the evenings is not applicable in classroom settings for obvious reasons.

“

It is important that the people in each classroom are able to regulate the temperature, so that they have control over the comfort of their own learning space

It is important that the people in each classroom are able to regulate the temperature, so that they have control over the comfort of their own learning space.

In an average New Zealand classroom with 30 students and adequate thermal insulation, the heat generated by the people can be the equivalent of a three kW heater. Electric lighting can add another one or two kW. If the required temperature inside is 20°C, and the outside temperature is 0°C, a four kW heater would be able to cope with normal heat loss

and keep the room at a comfortable temperature.

In most of New Zealand, 0°C is rare, so a smaller amount of extra heat would be needed.

A bigger heater can be turned down when the room is warm and will heat the room faster, whereas a smaller heater would take too long to heat the room.

The classroom should be warm enough when the students arrive.

Once they are in the room the heat they generate, and that generated by lights, may be sufficient to keep an insulated building warm with only a small

amount of extra heating.

In schools with central heating which cannot be controlled by the teacher, it is not unusual for windows to be wide open at 9.30 am on a cold morning. This is the only way that the room can be cooled once the heat generated by students, lights and the heating system combine.

Classroom should be maintained at a temperature range of 18-20°C, so what are the options in school heating?

Central heating is one of the most common options, and can be 22

&)78 )J½GMIRG] Introducing the MOST EFFICIENT Heat Pump Air Conditioner – NUMBER 1 in its class * SRK-ZHX Series (5.0 & 6.0 kW) > Heat and Cool > Inverter Technology > Allergen Clear System > Super Efficient > Six Star Cooling Efficiency > Super Quiet

Ideal Fundraiser - TWO FREE SYSTEMS with every 10 purchased. Conditions apply.

Visit www.temperzone.biz/specialoffer for details.

Ask your local air conditioning dealer about the SRK-ZHX range or for more information visit www.temperzone.co.nz

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd is a world wide leader in manufacturing heat pump air *conditioners.

Its wall mounted (hi-wall) split range is available from 2.5 kW through to 8 kW. The SRK 50ZHX (5.0 kW Cool / 6.0 kW Heat) Inverter is the industry leader Ranked No 1 in it’s class. To compare visit www.energyrating.gov.au.

june/july 09 school news

21

heating

the classroom

21 ďŹ red with coal, wood chip or wood pellets, gas, electricity, oil or even geothermal heat in some regions. Coal is becoming less popular, with the Government encouraging schools to ďŹ nd options that are more environmentally healthy.

Hot water systems are used also and these heat low pressure water which is then circulated through pipes to hot water radiators, hot water pipes embedded into the oor or fan or air handling units.

HVAC (Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) systems supply warm air ducted from a central plant and can control its temperature, humidity and cleanliness. Air is returned to the plant and heat is recovered from the exhaust air.

Local heating, where heating is stand alone in each classroom can include regular heaters, such as

radiant and convection heaters, but these do have safety issues. There are also heat pumps and night store heaters.

The heating requirements of a

school are inuenced by the: t DMJNBUF PG UIF SFHJPO t DPOTUSVDUJPO BOE EFTJHO PG UIF rooms to be heated t MFWFM PG UIFSNBM JOTVMBUJPO PG UIF

building t TJ[F PG UIF CVJMEJOH FOWFMPQF t BNPVOU PG PVUEPPS BJS TVQQMZ The choice of fuel will be based on: t BWBJMBCJMJUZ JO UIF SFHJPO t DPNQBSBUJWF BOOVBM DPTU t TVJUBCJMJUZ BOE DPOWFOJFODF t FOWJSPONFOUBM JNQBDU The selection of heaters will depend on their: t DBQBDJUZ UP TBUJTGZ UIF IFBUJOH t SFRVJSFNFOUT PG UIF SPPN t UIFSNBM FĂśDJFODZ t BEFRVBDZ PG UIF DPOUSPMT t TBGFUZ t SPCVTUOFTT BOE TVJUBCJMJUZ GPS school conditions t DBQJUBM DPTU t MJGF FYQFDUBODZ Advice should be sought from an experienced heating expert who is familiar with local conditions.

Some information sourced from the Ministry of Education www.minedu.govt.nz.

School Sellout Specials BURO STORM CHAIR

BURO ENSO CHAIR

Administration, reception and teachers ‡ +eight adMustable back and lumbar ‡ Independently adMustable tilting seat and back

BURO MARCO CHAIR

Computer and science laboratories ‡ +eight adMustable back ‡ AdMustable tilting seat and back ‡ Non slip, moulded polyurethane seat and back

‡ Strong steel tubular frame ‡ Polypropylene seat and back ‡ Stackable ‡ /inkable

RRP $185

Community areas and cafeteria

RRP $87

RRP $279

RRP $386

Auckland 8 Couldry St, Eden Tce P 09 523 4092 F 09 523 4093

Central Region 88 Taradale Rd, Napier P 0800 888 431 F 0508 431 431

Pricing excludes GST and freight and is valid only until July 31, 2009.

Promotional pricing available only from the advertised Buro resellers.

22

school news

june/july 09

Wellington 89 Thorndon Quay P 04 472 5414 www.nuimage.co.nz

South Island 165 Spey St, Invercargill P 03 214 6307 F 03 214 6308 www.buroseating.com

the classroom

O

NE OF THE biggest costs of running school property is heating, and many schools have old coal burners, but are now finding a great alternative in wood chip burners.

Rob Mallinson, is owner and director of Living Energy, a company that is working with schools throughout both the North and South Island. He says that wood chip is a cost-effective and sustainable solution for schools looking for heating options.

Wood chip is an excellent choice for schools. It is cheap and widely available throughout the country.

It’s a sustainable by-product of the logging and sawmilling industries, providing a great resource for wood chip burners all over the country.

A modern wood-chip boiler is fully automated and extremely clean-burning.

Dunstan High School was told its coal boilers would no longer be permitted due to particulate emissions – so they were facing an expensive switch to diesel. They installed two Binder wood-chip boilers. One to heat the hostel, which solved the air quality issue and enabled them to keep their fuel bills low.

Wood chip boilers offer much lower running costs than the other non-coal heating sources. Golden Bay High School was planning to install a diesel or LPG boiler to replace its old coal boiler. However a wood-chip solution has resulted in heating costs of a fraction of what they would have been.

Energy from wood chip

“

Schools should look at all the possibilities when it comes to new burners. The emphasis for the Government is as much for cost effective solutions as for clean burning ones

converting coal to wood boilers

Turning up the heat

250kW Reciprocating grate boiler at Dunstan High School hostel

creates more jobs than any other form of energy as it requires an ongoing supply chain right back to the forest. As Chairman of the Bioenergy Association of New

Zealand, this is a message that Rob is trying to get across to central Government “We believe that any fiscal stimulus should include assisting heat users to

make the switch to wood fuel. This results in ongoing jobs as well as increasing the cost and carbon competitiveness of NZ Inc.” 24

june/july 09 school news

23

converting coal to wood boilers

the classroom

NZ’s leading provider of... t BJS DPOEJUJPOJOH t SFGSJHFSBUFE EJTQMBZ FRVJQNFOU t IFBUJOH WFOUJMBUJPO QSPEVDUT

QI GBY

XXX DMJNBUFDI DP O[

JCD Engineering JCD Engineering is proud to be associated with all aspects of installation and pipe work at Henderson Valley Primary and Thames High School.

For all your certified welding and engineering requirements.

Contact Matt on 027 515 1777 or e:mail matt.jcd@xtra.co.nz

23 Living Energy emerged out of the forest industry and has an extensive knowledge of the forestry and timber processing sectors, which enables them to manage the supply of wood chip to schools.

The school does not need to get involved in managing fuel supply because we enter Heat Supply Agreements with them. A heat ow meter is installed and used to raise a monthly invoice based on the units of energy supplied. This is a at all-inclusive rate per unit of energy, including fuel costs and supply management, maintenance, servicing and technical support. All they do is buy heat.

Another example is Westland High School who went to the market for a pellet boiler. Neil Harrison, Living Energy’s Solution Development Manager said “Instead we put together a solution involving wood chip – and now the school gets fuel, site support, and all servicing for an all-up cost that is much less than what the pellets would have cost.

Mallinson says there are a lot of schools in need of new heaters and there are several fuel choices. “We have just recently put in six brand new wood chip boilers at schools, and while you can convert old coal boilers, it is important to remember there will be ongoing costs in maintaining them, and nearly always putting in a new wood chip burner is the best, most cost eective option long term. “We are encouraged by the Ministry of Educations new attitude that the long term operating cost of heating the school now has increased importance – especially as this may mean increased funding to assist the schools with the initial purchase cost. Schools should look at all the possibilities when it comes to new burners. “The emphasis for the Government is as much for cost eective solutions as for clean burning ones, and wood chip is such a great option in both respects.

Supplier ProďŹ le | Taymac Engineering

Taymac boilers offer efďŹ ciency and versatility HUNDREDS OF SCHOOLS count on Taymac Heatpak boilers to provide a comfortable environment for our country’s children.

The versatility of the Taymac Heatpak boiler is allowing costeffective conversion from traditional coal fuels to wood pellets and wood chip. BeneďŹ ts include substitution of a renewable, carbon-neutral fuel and reduced ash production while maintaining security of supply through multi-fuel capability - wood pellets, wood chip and coal.

In most cases, an upgrade of an existing boiler is all that is required, and government grants can be available. Where replacement of an older unit is necessary, a new Taymac Heatpak boiler can be supplied fully equipped, to run on coal, wood pellets or wood chip.

With the Taymac Heatpaks’ efďŹ cient 3-pass design, variable speeds for boiler control and automatic ignition, it achieves efďŹ ciencies of up to 85 percent.

24

school news june/july 09

Taymac Heatpak boiler

The boiler shuts down overnight and at weekends, automatically relighting in the morning.

Whether upgrading an existing boiler or installing a new Taymac Heatpak, schools beneďŹ t from the proven longevity of the Taymac Heatpak boiler’s multi-fuel capability for energy security, local supply of spare parts and expertise.

19 Taurus Place, Bromley, Christchurch P | 03 389 7149 F | 03 389 7078

the classroom science

Do chemistry practical assessments measure up?

C

hemistry practical assessments should be objective assessments of student ability to carry out practical work. Unfortunately, the equipment and the way it is used may lead to outcomes which are less than fair.

In 2006, Mt Albert Grammar School bought a set of Brand X burettes, reputedly A grade, from a major supplier of scientific equipment to schools. One was broken in transit, and replaced.

During a subsequent Year 12 Chemistry titration assessment, it was noted that the (excellent) student using burette 16 reported markedly different results (though well-grouped) to those reported by other students.

A calibration check of our stock of the Brand X burettes showed they did not meet acceptable tolerances.

The Brand X burettes had errors at 25mL of up to 0.39mL, compared with the A grade tolerance of +0.05mL. The excellent student had a burette with a negative error, while the others were all positive.

This burette may have been the one supplied later as a replacement, and

EXCELLENCE

Chemistry 2.2

Chemistry 3.2

3 values within, mL Average within, mL

0.2 0.2

0.2 0.2

0.4 0.5

0.4 0.4

0.4 0.8

0.6 0.6

Ian de Stigter Executive Member Science Technicians Association of New Zealand

have come from a different batch.

The burettes were returned to the supplier for credit. The supplier stated that large numbers of this brand had been sold to NZ schools, and found difficulty in accepting that the complaint was justified, since no other school had complained.

The difficulty that errors of this size pose in practical assessments can be seen from the error tolerances for the Chemistry 2.2 (AS90306) and 3.2 (AS90695) assessment standards (see table below).

It can be seen from these limits that undetermined glassware errors can affect how a student’s practical work is assessed, and thus give unfair outcomes. As a reminder of this, I have above my desk a 10mL pipette delivering 8.93mL. Our practice now is to check the delivery volumes of all volumetric pipettes, and the error at 25mL for all our burettes. The determined calibration corrections are used when

producing the “expected” values for practical assessments, and in deciding whether student titrations qualify them for excellence, merit, achievement, or not achieved. We believe this is necessary to fairly assess student practical ability.

I worry about schools where no glassware calibration checks are carried out. I accept that not every school has the expertise to do these checks adequately. Some may have bought Brand X burettes or have pipettes like our 8.93mL one. Even if they have not, their glassware still has delivery errors.

In our experience, even reputable glassware brands do not consistently meet the grade tolerances, so the actual errors must be determined and allowed for in marking student achievement. If NZQA contracted a measurement scientist to look at senior chemistry assessment practices, I wonder how many schools would find approval.

MERIT 3 values within, mL Average within, mL

ACHIEVED 2 values within, mL Average within, mL

Ductless filtering fume hoods midcap® filtair® and toxicap® models; For the handling of liquid chemicals, totally eliminated by filtration. A range of 26 models, all in compliance with BS7258 and NFX15-211.

Mobile, energy saving and environmental friendly! powdercap™ models; For the handling and weighing of powders, a range of 4 models!

145 Hepburn Rd, Glendene, Auckland Ph: 0800 422 542 Email: solutions@calibre.co.nz

june/july 09 school news

25

See.

No smudgy wfingers, no No smudgy ngers, no awkward interaction,just just awkward interaction, grab pen and and go—draw, go—draw, grab aa pen add, write, slide slide and andhide hide add, write, shapes, pictures and andmore. more. shapes, pictures

Communicate.

Big color, big movement, movement, big interactive experience. interactive experience.

Bring collaboration to the the classroom—and classroom—and the the class class to to their their feet. feet.

Inspire.

Engage.

The ActivClassroom is a unique educational experience—a special place where curious minds take spectacular journeys, where senses are engaged and where eager learners are inspired to connect and discover new worlds across the desk, across the classroom and across the globe.

The eanswer answeris isnonolonger longera aquestion questionmark. mark.Everyone Everyone participates forforinstant assessment atat the touch ofof a button. participates instant assessment the touch a button.

Hear.

Catch the conversation and every every comment comment clearly, clearly, and anywhere in in the the classroom. classroom. anywhere

Coming Soon

One-to-one learning—teacher to student, student to student, student to the world.

Connect.

Join aa community community of of lifetime lifetime learners learners to to Join share lessons, lessons, learn learn tips tips and and tricks, tricks, and and share enhance your your ActivClassroom ActivClassroom experience. experience. enhance

Watch and Win an 8GB iPod Nano Visit the website below, watch the video, answer a question and you could win!!

www.activboardnz.com/schoolnews

.com

0800 368 474

enquiries@activboardnz.com

food & beverage coeliac disease

Coeliac disease and gluten sensitivity

P

phrase “The Gluten Syndrome” to describe this spectrum of disease that stems from an immune response to the ingestion of gluten, but with diverse manifestations such as the enteropathy (gut damage of coeliac disease), the skin damage such as eczema and dermatitis herpetiformis, and the neurological disorders such as gluten ataxia. The common trigger, gluten, means that these diseases overlap considerably.

It is only in recent years that gluten sensitivity in the absence of coeliac disease has begun to gain acceptance in the medical profession. “Recent research has supported my theory of a ‘Gluten Syndrome’, a cluster of symptoms experienced on reaction to gluten,” Dr Ford says. Although there is still much research to be done, this concept explains the extraordinary list of complaints experienced by those with coeliac disease and those with gluten intolerance. The symptoms are very wide-ranging,

OPULATION SURVEYS have found that adult coeliac disease occurs in one per cent of the population in New Zealand (that is 40,000 people). However, more than two-thirds of these people have yet to be diagnosed.

Perhaps more worrying is the size of the gluten-sensitivity problem – estimated to be 10 times that of coeliac disease.

Coeliac disease is diagnosed in people who have gut damage from the toxic effects of gluten on the intestines. Gluten-sensitivity is diagnosed when gluten (found in the grains of wheat, rye and barley), causes the person to get sick or unwell, but does not necessarily have any gut tissue damage.

Both are caused by an immune response to the ingestion of gluten.

Both need full investigation and diagnosis, with the treatment being complete removal of gluten from the diet.

Dr Rodney Ford has coined the

Kids love it

Parents approve of it

WE’VE GOT SIMPLE AND NUTRITIOUS LUNCHES ALL WRAPPED UP.

such that coeliac disease has been labelled as “the great masquerader”.

For the majority of glutensensitive adults, their first symptoms begin at a young age and continue into their adult lives. As children, they are often subjected to a range of medical investigations and interventions. If undiagnosed, by the time they reach adulthood, poor health becomes an accepted part of life, as they have no other experience to draw on. Although much is made of the dietary restrictions imposed on those with gluten sensitivity, when diagnosis and treatment provide a clear path to well-being it should be embraced and celebrated.

Thankfully, the medical paradigm on gluten is shifting, as health professionals learn more about the effects of gluten on health, and the general public become better educated about food and more in control of their own health.”

In a recent article, “Reaction to Gluten was not always Coeliac

Tailored to your school

Simple to organise

Disease”. Prof. Alessio Fasano, Professor of Pediatrics, Director, Center for Celiac Research, University of Maryland Hospital, Baltimore, wrote that many patients report that their symptoms resolve once they embrace a gluten-free diet, even when coeliac disease has been ruled out. Growing clinical evidence, still awaiting rigorous validation studies, suggest that these cases may be related to gluten sensitivity, a new form of food reaction.

Dedicated to ongoing research into the effects of gluten on the body, Dr Ford believes that patients have a role to play in helping the medical profession better understand the issues.

“No-one knows a patient’s body better than the patient themselves and parents also often have an innate ability to assess when their child is unwell. We can learn a lot from our patients if we take the time to listen and learn.”

Already successful in other schools

Your students already know and love us for our nutritious and delicious menu options. So when it comes to choosing an affordable lunch programme for your school, it’s hard to go past the SUBWAY® restaurants’ School Lunch Programme.

With two options to choose from, one with a Ministry of Health Food and Beverage Classification system ‘Everyday’ rating, simple administration and flexibility to meet your school’s needs, we’ve got school lunches all wrapped up.

Contact your nearest SUBWAY® restaurant or email schoollunches@subway.co.nz for more information.

© 2009 Doctor’s Associates Inc. SUBWAY® is a registered trademark of Doctor’s Associates Inc.

june/july 09 school news

27

stress

health & safety

Resilience the key to managing stress

Warwick Harvey Managing director Stratos Limited

R

ESEARCH BY THE Health and Safety Executive in the United Kingdom has consistently found that teaching is one of the occupations with the highest prevalence of work-related stress, depression and anxiety.

Their 2000 report on The Scale of Occupational Stress suggested that just over 40 per cent of teachers reported that they were “highly stressedâ€?. It seems likely that similar levels of stress will be found in this country, where teaching practices are similar. However, even if the levels here are half of those reported in the UK, stress among New Zealand teachers is a signiďŹ cant issue.

Stressed teachers are likely to lose conďŹ dence and worry about their performance. This might lead them to leave the profession, but before then teacher stress will show up in increased sick leave, depression and anxiety, more relationship diďŹƒculties both at work and home and potential dependence on alcohol.

When teachers are stressed, pupils suer, which in turn increases the teacher’s stress.

The keys are resilience, good leadership and minimising the causes of stress.

regular exercise and have plenty of non-work social activity.

Resilience is enhanced by sleep.

When evenings are occupied by marking and preparation, doing something else before going to bed can help.

Resilient teachers don’t rely heavily on caeine and alcohol to ease their stress.

Above all, resilient teachers try to keep a balanced perspective.

Despite the pressures they face, they remember that even on the worst of days some things went well.

“

What are the characteristics of good school leadership in minimising teacher stress?

Many school leaders are well aware that they are responsible for the safety of the teachers in their school.

They minimise the potential for stress on teachers in a number of ways. They support and encourage sta, even when things have gone wrong. Even when the going is tough they remain positive. They keep focused on the important issues and don’t sweat the small stu.

Resilient teachers know their personal values and set boundaries that they stick to.

What are the characteristics of resilient teachers?

Resilient teachers know their personal values and set boundaries that they stick to.

They have learned to put their own needs ďŹ rst on occasions, even if this means that they volunteer less for extra duties or additional tasks.

They have ďŹ gured out what their stressors are. They know which ones they can change or inuence and have determined practical ways of coping with the others.

They recognise their personal early signs of stress and don’t wait till they feel overwhelmed before implementing eective stressreduction techniques. They know how to wind down. For the resilient teacher, leisure time and relaxation aren’t optional extras to be ďŹ tted in when everything else is done. They are scheduled as part of a healthy lifestyle. Resilient teachers get

28

school news june/july 09

What causes teacher stress? t (PJOH UIF FYUSB NJMF UP IFMQ TUVEFOUT MFBSOJOH t %FBMJOH XJUI JODSFBTJOH OVNCFST PG DIJMESFO XIP IBWF CFIBWJPVSBM problems or lack motivation to learn t #FJOH FYQFDUFE UP PWFSDPNF EFmDJUT JO UIF IPNF MJGF PG QVQJMT t 6OSFBMJTUJDBMMZ EFNBOEJOH XPSLMPBET BOE MPOH IPVST t /FX XPSLMPBE BEEFE XJUI OP DPNQFOTBUJOH SFEVDUJPO JO BOPUIFS area t 5PP GSFRVFOU DIBOHFT JO QPMJDZ BOE QSBDUJDF t /FHBUJWF TFMG JNBHF o GFFMJOH JOBEFRVBUF UFBDIJOH TVCKFDUT material not comfortable with, lacking training (such as introduction of ICT) t 1SFTTVSF PG &30 WJTJUT t "HHSFTTJWF DSJUJDBM QBSFOUT 1BSFOUT XIP EFNBOE TQFDJBM USFBUNFOU for their children t $POnJDU XJUI DPMMFBHVFT EVF UP QFSTPOBM JTTVFT EJĂľFSFOU UFBDIJOH philosophy or lack of co-operation. t $POnJDUJOH EFNBOET GSPN GBNJMZ BOE QBSUOFST t -BDL PG SFDPHOJUJPO BOE QSBJTF

They provide professional and personal support for sta and back them up in discussions with parents and students.

They make sure that their teachers feel valued by getting them involved in decision making, listening to their opinions, recognising their strengths and praising them for their achievements.

When adding something to a teacher’s work load, they consider what could be reduced. As far as possible, they protect them from additional or unnecessary bureaucratic demands. They have eective planning and scheduling and try to minimise springing urgent or important tasks on sta without warning. They keep sta well informed about relevant issues and communicate with them directly on matters that aect them.

Eective school leaders create an environment where sta members feel free to talk about their concerns, are listened to with respect, and know that their concerns will be treated as valid.

They take stress seriously and are alert for signs of stress in teachers, such as mood changes, deteriorating relationships with colleagues, increased complaints about their health and increased sick leave.

When sta members are stressed, good school leadership considers providing mentoring and professional supervision in relation to teaching practice and classroommanagement techniques.

Another support tool is the establishment of a free conďŹ dential employee assistance programme that provides counselling for sta who feel the need for professional assistance to help them develop their resilience.

Stress minimisation is a shared responsibility Teachers and school leaders share the responsibility to minimise the causes of stress and to maximise teacher resilience. Both teachers and school leaders can create eective ways of dealing with stress. When these are successful the school is a better place to work and the quality of education is improved.

sports & recreation preparing for summer sport

Bowling for six

S

UMMER MAY SEEM a long way o in these cold dark months, but before we know it, schools will be trying to resurrect a smooth playable pitch from the mud puddles and divots created in the winter sports season, and players will be dusting o their bats and caps.

New Zealand Cricket runs a huge range of tournaments and oers a wide range of resources to help both individual players and schools prepare for the season and to get the most out of the game.

The Gillette Cup has become synonymous with secondary school boys cricket, and provides schools an opportunity to play each other.

The initial rounds are played as a knockout tournament, and then eight teams participate in a ďŹ nal tournament over four days in early December each year.

The sixth New Zealand Community Trust secondary school junior boys’ national cricket tournament is aimed at Year 9 and 10 cricketers and attracted 148 school entries this year.

The National Secondary School Girl’s competition was started in 1994.

The competition has provided an opportunity for every girls or co-educational secondary school

in New Zealand to participate in a limited overs knockout cricket competition.

Eight teams participate in a ďŹ nals tournament held in mid-December.

5IF .*-0 $VQ BOE .*-0 4IJFME National Primary School’s Cricket competitions started in 2000. The competitions give primary and intermediate boys and girls the opportunity to enter into a national competition and encourage children to play cricket.

-BTU ZFBS TDIPPMT BOE DIJMESFO UPPL QBSU JO UIF .*-0 $VQ PS .*-0 4IJFME DPNQFUJUJPOT NBLJOH it one of the largest primary school sporting competitions in New Zealand.

The preliminary rounds are played as a knockout or round robin tournament.

New Zealand Cricket has also moved into the classroom with the A.*-0 $SJDLFU JO UIF $MBTTSPPN $% ROM resource, comprised of a series of innovative lessons on the theme of cricket. *U DPOTJTUT PG DBSFGVMMZ QMBOOFE user friendly lessons compiled by a primary teacher. The aim of the unit is to provide a follow-up to UIF .*-0 $SJDLFU 4LJMMT "XBSFOFTT -FTTPO UIBU DBO CF SVO CZ MPDBM .*-0 Summer Squad cricket development personnel for your class. It extends

the experience and fun of the game into your classroom A.*-0 $SJDLFU JO UIF $MBTTSPPN DPNQMFNFOUT UIF .*-0 )BWF " Go Cricket programme which is New Zealand Cricket’s introductory initiative that encourages children to participate in the game of cricket, have fun and learn new skills.

This innovative unit of work builds on their sporting experience of cricket.

New Zealand Cricket also oers a School Support Health Check, which is a checklist for cricket development personnel working with school cricket personnel to assess the current policies, procedures and performance of cricket as a sport within a secondary school.

It allows school cricket clubs to prioritise their goals and incorporate them into their long-term plans. It’s all about ensuring sustainability.

Playing Surfaces When it comes to the grounds the game is played on, there are traditionally two options. Grass, carefully tended, rolled and mown to within an inch of its life, or the artiďŹ cial Astroturf variety.

Traditional pitches need a lot of tending and with that comes a fair bit of equipment.

First up is the mower. For the pitch itself, it should be able to

DVU EPXO UP NN BOE DPMMFDU UIF clippings. Extras such as groomers, reels, a brush and rake for conditioning are also helpful.

For the outďŹ eld, it is recommended it be cut to 10-20mm.

To achieve that length, a trailed or ride-on mower is needed. A rotary mower will do the job but will give you a slower pitch.

Rollers used to compact and prepare the pitch need to be a static weight of 1000-2500kgs to be eective.

Pitch covers, either raised or at, need to be in good order to both prepare pitches and prevent rain from adversely aecting them. They need to generally cover 5cm past the edges of the pitch.

When renovating old pitches, you will need other equipment such as groovers, decompactors, leveling bars, sprayers, line markers, fertiliser, seed and soil spreaders.

Many schools ďŹ nd Astroturf to be easier and more cost eective.

It also gives a much smoother and more predictable surface for the players. They are also easy to lay after a particularly wet winter or late spring.

Some information obtained from www.blackcaps.co.nz june/july 09 school news

29

waikato diocesan

property

A creative heart

A

T WAIKATO DIOCESAN School for Girls in Hamilton an impressive new building has taken shape. It is in stark but empathetic contrast to other historic buildings on the school’s leafy, bush fringed campus. Conceived in 2006, the Piki Mahuta Centre for Arts Education was designed by Chow-Hill and built by Fletcher Construction in 2008. It is a clear statement of Dio’s commitment to arts education and to the future. Sitting boldly alongside the gymnasium and across from the new multi-purpose turf, the Centre offers a direct and deliberate challenge to the high profile enjoyed by Dio sports teams.

The Arts Education Centre is a purpose-built, technology-rich facility, designed to meet the very specific needs of the drama, media studies and music curricula in particular. The building provides dedicated teaching and learning and performance spaces where

students can hone their creative and expressive skills and talents.

It is an acknowledgement of the growing importance of creativity, innovation and technology for the 21st century learner.

The drama rooms on the bottom floor of the building are cavernous spaces opening through bi-fold doors to the exposed aggregate terrace and looking out to the bush beyond. They are fitted with full length blackout curtains around the perimeter as a backdrop for performance or videoing of assessment pieces. They also feature floor to ceiling mirrors, a sprung plywood floor and a green wall for digital special effects. The rooms are large enough to serve as intimate performance venues as well as classrooms and rehearsal spaces, and lights and sound are controlled from an audio visual control room which overlooks both rooms through sliding viewing windows.

a blank canvas, duly delivered piki mahuta arts education centre

30

school news june/july 09

The impressive entry foyer for the new arts centre

“

The Arts Education Centre is a purpose-built, technology-rich facility, designed to meet the very specific needs of the drama, media studies and music curricula

The new Piki Mahuta Centre for Arts Education

property waikato diocesan

Design echoes performance

W

The perfect backdrop for drama student Hannah Muldoon’s Shakespearian sonnet

Mirror lined changing and makeup rooms and generous prop and wardrobe storage complement these drama facilities, as does a wet area with bench and sink for the construction of props. An exterior roller door to a large storage space enables easy access and storage for sets.

Two upstairs music rooms also oer generous, exible classroom spaces. One is a ‘dead’ room which is a quiet teaching space surrounded by computers and keyboards and the other is a ‘live’ room which provides a large rehearsal space and also has computers and keyboards on castors which can be pushed to the side to accommodate large performance groups. There are also ten soundproofed music practice rooms for individual or small group tuition by the numerous instrumental and vocal tutors working at the school. A generous amount of purpose-built instrument storage is provided to support the music facilities.

The Media Studies room includes a small suite of Mac computers and a designated editing room, which allows students to edit their ďŹ lms even when other classes are using the classroom.

Glass between the two rooms enables easy supervision.

Upstairs in the Centre there are also two other more generic classroom spaces with an interconnecting

resource room and oďŹƒce.

The foyer is an impressive space with a honed exposed concrete oor, ply curved timber panelling in the ceiling and an exposed staircase with glass balustrade. It is ďŹ tted with a large projection and PA system and is served by a generous kitchen and servery. The foyer provides easy access to the adjoining hall.

It oers endless possibilities for entertainment, performance and exhibition and is already arousing considerable interest as a convention venue.

The Piki Mahuta Centre is named for a beloved Dio old girl, the late Maori Queen, Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu, who was known as Piki when she was at school. The dedication ceremony was on April BOE UIF CVJMEJOH XBT PQFOFE CZ her son, King Tuheitia. The landing of the foyer staircase is adorned by a Fred Graham sculpture donated by the family of Dame Te Ata and created in her honour. As a facility the Piki Mahuta Centre for Arts Education Centre is a clear statement of Waikato Diocesan’s determination to face the future but its oďŹƒcial name also demonstrates respect and aection for the school’s history and an ongoing commitment to its connection with Turangawaewae Marae and Tainui.

By Debbie Stevens

AIKATO DIOCESAN SCHOOL for Girls’ initial brief UP $IPX )JMM "SDIJUFDUT -UE XBT GPS a functional teaching facility for arts education.

The facility was to incorporate performance as well as teaching areas including a public face for the campus.

Chow: Hill led a core team of consultants from Opus *OUFSOBUJPOBM $POTVMUBOUT -UE Design Acoustics and specialist lighting and sound engineers, working alongside senior management and user groups from Waikato Diocesan to develop the brief and reďŹ ne the design through the stages. Numerous site visits were undertaken for the new facility. The acoustic performance of the building was of high importance as music, drama and generic teaching spaces are provided for within the building.

Double stud walls control the transfer of sound between spaces with multiple acoustic treatments used to control the reverberation of sound within each space.

The architectural response was to enhance the existing context of Waikato Diocesan with a modern, functional and exible facility, maintaining a scale and proportion ďŹ tting to the surrounding buildings and landscape.

The building provides a major public face for the school and is also a key visual circulation link for the existing campus, as it is situated in front of the existing hall and is connected to existing classroom blocks.

The driving concept behind the project was that of ‘performance’, which is seen in the make up of the structure. The curved walls with their reveals represent stage curtains, panels of the façade are in the form of stage sets and the portal frame to the foyer a proscenium arch. Floating curved ceiling panels within the double height foyer continues with the theatrical theme. It has been rewarding to see the work of the diverse project team come together to enable Waikato Diocesan to extend their excellence within arts

By Brian Rastrick education.

june/july 09 school news

31

fencing

property

School security fences - a hot debate

D

OES A SCHOOL, a public funded organisation, have the right to steal its assets away from the community and its children?

Using the facilities of local schools; large fields, jungle gyms, slides and swimming pools, together with summer days filled with cricket, picnics of fish and chips with - 1 PO B 4VOEBZ BGUFSOPPO BSF becoming a thing of the past for many New Zealand Communities.

The minority seem to have spoiled this family right as thousands of metres of spike top security fence is installed around school boundaries all around New Zealand.

As parents, we get frustrated that our children are forced to scale security fences in order to drench themselves on a hot summer’s day in the school swimming pool, then on their way out, streaming with water from their enjoyable swim, slip and impale themselves on the sharp razor spike tops of the

32

school news june/july 09

perimeter fence. Do school boards have no heart? Do the school boards have the right to hide away their public funded assets from our community children?

What many of us seem to be oblivious to, is that after the cricket game or swim, when the parents have gone home, children are challenging each other to see how much damage they can inflict on the school assets.

How would you feel as a principal or teacher, when you arrive at work on Monday morning ready to teach the children of tomorrow only to find that one of your classrooms was burnt down over the weekend, or that the school pool needs to be closed because someone has defecated in it?

Or the field on which the school’s limited funds have been spent to keep in good condition, has massive ruts throughout it because a drunk in his car has

decided it would be fun to do donuts all over. There maybe graffiti and swear words all over the buildings or that there is a used condom around the back of the toilet blocks and a five year old has picked up the used condom, taken it to the teacher and asked, “excuse me miss, what’s this?”

The above examples are the harsh reality that school principals, teachers and children are consistently battling against every day. Again, I ask, does a public funded School have the right to steal its assets from the community?

In my view it is not a school’s right to fence off its grounds, but its obligation. A school has an obligation to its staff, students and parents to protect its assets, thereby continuing to be able to perform its core duty: to teach the children of today and tomorrow.

Publicly funded schools actually get very little money from the Government and they rely mostly

on school fees in order to provide the best environment it can for their students.

I do find I am confused when there is an outcry from the public because the local fire department and ambulance have been called to remove a hooligan from the spikes of a perimeter school fence. Did the hooligan not see the spikes on the top of the fence? Did the hooligan not understand that razor sharp spikes might hurt when they try to climb over them? Why would there be sympathy for someone who hurts or impales themselves while scaling a fence that clearly has sharp spikes on top. Especially when they are high after sniffing paint fumes, spraying swear words on the side of classrooms, smashing classroom windows in order to steal the new AV equipment, defecating in the school swimming pool or urinating down the junior children’s slide.

I ask the public whether a person should be held accountable for his

property fencing

“

School security fences are not there to inflict harm. They are there as a deterrent to keep people out so the school may protect its assets on behalf of its children

or her own actions. In the writer’s view, the answer is yes. The answer is that a person who sees a fence with spikes on top has a choice.

They can decide whether damaging school property is worth the risk of impaling themselves or not.

Nobody wants to see a person hurt or impaled on top of a fence but how can sympathy be given to a person who has a choice?

The person chose to risk hurting themselves in order to inflict damage to school property.

School security fences are not there to inflict harm. They are there as a deterrent to keep people out so the school may protect its assets on behalf of its children.

-FHJUJNBUF PSHBOJTBUJPOT XBOUJOH to use school grounds need only but ask and it is likely the school will provide keys and assistance in any way they can to help these organisations to use school grounds.

A school is not a monster set out to deprive or injure its community, but an organisation that is in the business of teaching, and like any other organisation, has an obligation to protect itself.

Steven Robertson is managing director of Auckland company, Fence and Gate, which supplies fencing solutions for both residential and commercial customers.

RELIABILITY - SECURITY - SAFETY

Town and Around Fence and Gate is a proven supplier of quality fences and gates to Schools and Kindergartens throughout the Auckland region and beyond. We offer a full range of products to suit your school's requirements.

Call for a free quote or advice today on:

0800 433 624 www.fenceandgate.co.nz

Partnering with New Zealand schools since 1993

safe & secure school fencing With the experience of well s protection s enhances the school over 100 completed school projects, we fully understand the s strong s durable unique criteria that a s well priced school project presents s fast & easy installation

WARNER.

Fences Path & Driveway Gates Auto-Gate Openers Balustrades p 0800 353 500 info@warnerfences.co.nz www.warnerfences.co.nz

quality & style. out front.

june/july 09 school news

33

lawncare

property

The right equipment to get the job done

T

YPICAL NEW ZEALAND schools are set amongst leafy grounds with expanses of grass that oer great opportunities for sports and school events, as well as a place for the wider community to gather.

Care of this asset can be a major part of the maintenance costs of any school and one part of the decision making is what equipment best suits the needs of each school.

-BXOT OFFET NPXJOH UIBU T B given, but what you use to mow those lawns and keep the edges tidy depends on the size and conďŹ guration of the spaces you have.

Having machines that work together to lesson the work load is the best choice, for example, having a small manoeuvrable ride on mower that is used in tandem with a line trimmer, the time required can be reduced by approximately 40 per cent compared with mowing with a lawn mower.

In general, the larger and more open the grass areas, the more important it is that the machine has a generous cutting width, at least 90cm.

If it’s a large area, but with lots of obstructions like trees and bushes,

34

school news june/july 09

it’s more important that the cutting width is small enough for the mower to pass through the tightest passages.

Tractor or Rider?

The dierence between a tractor and a rider is simply that a tractor has the cutting deck under the middle of the machine while a rider has a front-mounted cutting deck.

For large, open areas you can just as well choose a garden tractor with a mid-mounted cutting deck, as a rider. But if the grounds have a lot of bushes and obstructions, a rider, with its front-mounted cutting deck, is a better choice, thanks to its superior maneuvrability and the superior reach of the cutting deck.

How often do you mow and which high cutting system is most suitable?

How do you want the lawn to look and how often do you want to mow it?

Taller, wilder grass and coarser types of grass should be cut with a rear or side ejection cutting deck that can manage large amounts of grass.

There are mowers (mulching)

that return the ďŹ nely-cut clippings to the lawn as fertiliser. And since the clippings contain a large proportion of water, this method means that the grass becomes more resistant during dry periods.

Collection makes for a very neat job, and is a good choice for instance if you want to avoid allergic reactions to grass or if you want to avoid spreading weed seeds inadvertently.

Side ejection t EJTUSJCVUFT UIF DMJQQJOHT CFUUFS than rear ejection t DBO IBOEMF MBSHFS WPMVNFT of grass than collection, rear ejection and mulching t EFDSFBTFE NBOPFVWSBCJMJUZ because of the protruding side ejection outlet t SJTL PG TUPOF BOE HSBTT TQSBZ

Rear ejection t CFUUFS NBOPFVWSBCJMJUZ UIBO side ejection t TUPOF TQSBZ JT WFSZ SBSF t OP HSBTT TQSBZ JOUP nPXFSCFET and the like t UIF HSBTT DVUUJOHT TUJDL UP UIF underside of the machine t SJTL PG DMPET GPSNJOH FWFO JO relatively dry weather

Mulching t CFUUFS MPPLJOH SFTVMUT UIBO XJUI side or rear ejection t MFTT SJTL PG TUPOF TQSBZ t OPVSJTINFOU BOE XBUFS JT returned to the grass t OP HSBTT TQSBZ JOUP nPXFSCFET and the like t HSBTT DMPET DBO GPSN XIFO mowing tall grass, especially if the mower is travelling quickly t UIF DVUUJOH EFDL JT NPSF sensitive to stones and roots

Collection t HJWFT UJEZ SFTVMUT t QSFWFOUT UIF TQSFBE PG XFFE seeds t SFEVDFT UIF SJTL PG BMMFSHJD reactions t OPVSJTINFOU NVTU CF BEEFE UP the lawn t UIF DPMMFDUFE NBUFSJBM NVTU CF emptied, transported away and composted Of course, some schools may decide that it is preferable to have outside companies do the mowing duties for them and not have the expense of buying and maintaining the equipment, which could well be a viable option.

For a long term and effective solution to all your “slip and fall” issues, contact New Zealand’s #1 SOLUTIONS PROVIDER FOR NZ SCHOOLS at www.safetystep.co.nz or free phone 0800 367 723

Safety Step NZ Ltd. A NZ owned and operated company