Mahurangimatters 16 October 2013 | 27

HUNGRY CREEKART & CRAFT SCHOOL

www.hungrycreek.ac.nz 09 4220752 NZQA Reg

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33 Glenmore Drive, Warkworthwww.natures-nest.co.nz

Phone 425 0511

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classroomLicensed from birth to 5 years

Full days or 9am-3.30pm

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FEATURE

Hungry Creek Art and Craft School is increasing its range of subjects at its Albany Campus.The Puhoi-based school started the branch in 2007 offering jewellery courses, but demand has seen the curriculum extended to art and craft. The branch is based at the Kawai Purapura Retreat Centre and Holistic Village, in Oteha Valley Road.Former South African jeweller and sculptor Andrew Venter founded the school in 1978 after buying eight hectares on a steep hill beside SH1.The school’s head of studies Ruth Tait says Mr Venter taught jewellery, metal spinning and pottery in the 1980s under a Labour Department art scheme to help young unemployed people develop a skill.“It was a revolutionary idea at the time. Most people thought you used them for their energy rather than teaching them something.”Ruth says former Rodney MP Lockwood Smith helped the school become NZQA accredited when he was Education Minister in 1990. “Before then students at private schools and polytechs weren’t allowed access to loans and allowances. It changed the landscape of tertiary education hugely.”Mr Venter, now 85, lives in a house

Marketing coordinator rohan Arlidge (left) and director of studies ruth tait.

above the school and still keeps a close eye on what’s going on.The school has 10 buildings surrounded by native bush, including sculpture, ceramics and life drawing rooms. Tutors are practicing artists and jewellers and class sizes are limited to 20 students.Marketing coordinator Rohan Arlidge says a new gallery was set up a year ago to give graduates the opportunity to experience putting on a show. A different artist is showcased every fortnight and the public is invited to visit from 10am to 4pm on weekdays. An end-of-year show is also held during the first week of December when all workshops are turned into gallery spaces.

Subjects at the Puhoi campus include Certificate in Art and Craft, which includes a semester in jewellery, Diploma in Art and Craft and Diploma in Art and Craft advanced. Options in Albany include Certificate in Art and Craft, Certificate in Jewellery, Diploma in Art and Craft advanced and Diploma in Jewellery. Short and part-time courses are offered at both campuses. Diploma graduates have the option of completing the final year of a Bachelor of Applied Arts at NorthTec in Whangarei.

Exhibitions coming up at the Puhoi campus: rebecca hughes, October 17-29; and richard hopkinson Drawn to Boogie, October 31 to November 12.

Wellsford

Our services cover the Warkworth, Wellsford and Mangawhai areas. 

1 Matheson Road, Wellsford09 423 7333 or 0800 367 222

Email: cab.wells@xtra.co.nz

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| Mahurangimatters 16 October 201328

"Enjoying school makes a big difference to learning," says local principal, Helen Pearson, and that's one reason why her school is seeing such improvement in academic success and a change in school culture."At Mahurangi Christian School, we have actively created an environment in which children and young people can enjoy learning."Games are used in learning, couches, cushions and slippers make classrooms feel more like home, and older children have some choice about how and when they will learn key concepts and skills during the day.iPads, computers and opportunity to create their own MCSTV programmes engages learners and connects with their world."We have deliberately removed some of the constraints of institutions and are a community that welcomes parents, siblings and retired friends in classrooms to allow children to build a wide range of positive relationships," says Mrs Pearson. There is even a school dog who joins in with fitness runs and has children read to her in class.Mahurangi Christian School students don't all come from Christian homes, but an environment that encourages good relationships with God, with themselves and with each other seems to be a basis for success in learning if this year's excellent achievement of National Standards is anything to go by.“Sometimes people think that such a highly resourced school must be expensive, but Mahurangi Christian School fees are only $20 per week.”

The school is having Open Days at its Year 0-8 campus at 410 Mahurangi East Rd every Tuesday in Term 4 but is always open to visitors.

Being happy at school is important

410 Mahurangi East Rd, Snells Beach Phone: 09 425 6878

Email: admin@mahu.school.nzWebsite: www.mahu.school.nz

ADVERTORIAL

HOMEBUILDERS FAMILY SERVICES 5 Hexham Street, Warkworth • Phone 425 7048

TERM 4 FREE COURSESPLEASE ENROL AS PLACES ARE LIMITED

All courses free of charge, free childminding is available if you request it when you enrol. For more information or to enrol call Homebuilders 425 7048 or email homebuilders.courses@hotmail.com

Terry Healey’s Bag of Tricks – Part 1: Parents & CaregiversThis course is based on techniques to manage children’s behaviour, enhance self-esteem and at the same time build and maintain warm, happy and loving connections between family members. Dates: Monday 21st October, Monday 4th November, 11th November, 9:30 - 11.30 Venue: Wellsford Community Gardens Main Office, 72 School Road, Wellsford

Terry Healey’s Bag of Tricks – Part 2: Siblings without rivalry & when kids fight For those who have completed the Bag of Tricks course, Part 2 is relevant for families with more than one child, covering some strategies to minimise fighting & bickering.Dates: Monday 18th & 25th November, 9.30-11.30 Venue: Wellsford Community Gardens Main Office, 72 School Road, Wellsford

Grow & Eat from Your Garden ... Introducing Justine GreenPlaNNiNG YOuR FOOD GaRDeN This class begins with a site analysis which gives us the info to start to plan and place growing beds, orchards, small animals/poultry, compost/fertilizer making areas, shade/greenhouse, paths, water access & whatever else your needs are.Dates: Thursday 24th October, 9.30-12.30 Venue: Homebuilders Family Centre

Grow & Eat from Your Garden ... Introducing Justine GreenBaCkYaRD CHOOkS We’ll cover the legal requirements, ideal environment including food and shelter, choosing your chook and uses of the by products.Dates: Thursday 28th November, 9.30-12.30 Venue: Homebuilders Family Centre

Chris Pedersen’s Cooking SeriesNeW iDeaS FOR SCHOOl luNCHBOxeS Running short of ideas for school lunches? Chris will show you how to make delicious and healthy lunches while keeping an eye on the budget.Date: Monday, 4 November 9.30-12.30 Venue: Snells Beach Community Church Hall

BBQS – MaRiNaDeS, RuBS & SuPeR SalaDS A morning making those special extra touches that can lift an everyday backyard BBQ to a special & festive meal as an alternative to more traditional roasts. Date: Monday 11 November 9.30-12.30 Venue: Snells Beach Community Church Hall

FeSTiVe GiFTS FROM YOuR kiTCHeN Edible gifts prepared with love are good value and will be welcome by your family and friends. Come and join Chris for a morning of hard work in a hot kitchen!Date: Monday 18 November 9.30-12.30 Venue: Snells Beach Community Church Hall

Families who live more than six kilometres from their nearest licensed early childhood education centre have free access to preschool education through Te Kura – the organisation formerly known as the Correspondence School.Manager of Te Kura’s early childhood service Jenny Hayes says it offers learning with the support of experienced teachers and a variety of materials sent to the home.The service started 35 years ago with a small number of children and grew until the Ministry of Education capped the roll at 880 students.“Five or six years ago there was a waiting list but not anymore,” she says. “There’s more businesses servicing isolated and rural communities now. Also, economic circumstances mean people on farms are taking paid employment in town. They end up commuting and take their children to childcare centres near where they’re working.”Te Kura, also known as Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu, has around 300 places available for children between three and five years of age.“Our teachers work closely with parents to provide a very personalised learning programme that takes into account their child’s interests, surroundings and learning opportunities,” Jenny says. “Sometimes parents aren’t sure how they’ll get on. But one of the aims of our service is to empower parents as teachers, and often the parents are pleasantly surprised.”Enrolled children can also attend a local face-to-face preschool programme for up to eight hours each week, meaning they can get the best of both worlds.But Jenny warns some kindergartens or centres may not be as welcoming for rural families who might only want to join in for one day a week.She says kindergarten or play centre funding systems require children to attend for a minimum of 12 hours in order to receive Government money. “Our ceiling is eight hours and we’re negotiating to have that raised.”She says the importance of socialisation depends on children and families. “If there are other siblings children learn to give and take and get their view heard in a group. It’s more

te Kura early childhood service manager Jenny hayes says parents are often pleasantly surprised at their teaching abilities.

correspondence offers early childhood learning options

important for a child when there’s no other children around.”Families are sent a variety of teaching and learning resources, including printed material, audio CDs, DVDs, CD-ROMs, books, puzzles and games.Regular contact is made with a teacher in Wellington using phone, Skype and email. Parents can also borrow items from the school’s library, which has a good supply of picture books as well as information on child development and learning.Teachers travel regularly to towns across the country to hold event days, which are an opportunity for children and parents to come together, meet their teachers and do some practical learning. A get-together was recently held in Dargaville.The overall number of rural students studying through Te Kura has dropped and Jenny says a change in bus routes is partly responsible.“The Ministry of Education is encouraging people to attend face to face schools to keep numbers up. To qualify for Correspondence School at primary or secondary school, you have to live more than a certain number of kilometres from a local bus route. If that changes, pupils are expected to use the bus.”Info: www.tekura.school.nz

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A group of Mahurangi students were up at the crack of dawn on the first day of the school holidays to participate in Taratahi Agricultural Training Centre’s farm open day at Tauhoa.The school’s Northland regional manager Ceres Sharp says the event gave students a chance to step into the working life of a farm for a day.The students started the day with a guided tour over a hill country property, owned by the Innes family.“It was fun being able to see everything and to hear a bit of the history of the kauri,” Alex Stucke, 15, says.Alex is an Orewa College student and lives on a two-acre block in Hatfield’s Beach with her family, three dogs and two cats. The animal lover says she was keen to do the Open Day so she could sample farming life.“I’m not really sure what I want to do so I’m making the most of the opportunity and finding out what I like.”Samara Beentjes, 15, already has it in her mind that she wants to go farming

when she leaves school. The year 11 student works on her cousin’s farm at Puhipuhi, near Hukerenui, during the school holidays and hoped to acquire a few more skills from the open day.Ryan Gaastar, 16, lives at Wenderholm Regional Park, where his father is a ranger. He has always wanted to be a farmer and hopes to be accepted for a school Gateway programme.Tutor Tim O’Leary says the open day offers students the opportunity to appreciate the diversity of farming. “Farming is not all about putting up fences, docking lambs or measuring pasture,” he says. “Farmers have to be jacks of all trades.”He cites an example of recent flooding washing away a bridge on the Innes’ farm. “It’s up to them now to build a new one.”The Open Day included activities such as riding ATVs, motorbike skills, calf feeding, docking and ear tagging, as well as an impromptu game of badminton in the woolshed in the lunch break. Info: taratahi.ac.nz

Orewa College student ryan Gaastra docks his first lamb’s tail, assisted by Youth Guarantee student Jono hutton (left) and tutor tim O’Leary. Looking on is Jayden Underhill, of Westlake Boys’ high.

Taratahi open day draws crowd

www.zero2five.co.nz

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