North Canterbury News: January 16, 2020

NEWS AND ACTIVITIES
North Canterbury News, January 16, 2020
37
Parents not the best career advisers
By DAVID HILL
Parents can have ahuge
influence on future career
choices, but the changing
nature of work means they may
not be offering their children
the best advice.
Rangiora High School
associate principal Paul
Donnelly says involving family
is an important aspect of
North Canterbury’s careers
expo.
‘‘That’s one of the things we
like about what we do because
parents have the greatest
influence on future careers,
but because the nature of
careers are changing so fast,
parents often don’t know
what’s available.
‘‘There are many pathways
young people can take and it’s
not just about the tertiary
sector.’’
ANorth Canterbury youth
futures committee has been
formed, following the success
of acareers expo hosted by the
school in June. Planning is
already under way for a
second annual expo later this
year.
The new committee is a
partnership of the Ministries
of Education and Social
Development, the
Waimakariri District Council’s
community team, Enterprise
North Canterbury, Community
College North Canterbury, the
Ara Institute of Canterbury
and 10 local schools, including
Rangiora and Kaiapoi high
schools, and local primary
schools.
‘‘Careers education starts at
primary school now,’’ Mr
Donnelly says.
‘‘Research shows primary
school children should be
exposed to different careers.’’
Rangiora High School
principal Karen Stewart says
‘‘micro­credentials’’ or
competencies have become a
big thing as research suggests
young people today will have
five to seven different career
changes during their working
life.
‘‘Education needs to keep up
with what is the next step.
There is areview under way of
NCEA and tertiary education
and it’s very important we as a
school understand what the
implications are for our
learners and what they need.’’
Arecent community
consultation by the school’s
Board of Trustees found that
parents see training young
people to be ‘‘lifelong
learners’’ and ‘‘global
citizens’’ as priorities, Ms
Stewart says.
Mr Donnelly says meeting
these changing needs means
educators need to constantly
‘‘change and develop’’
alongside their students to
meet the needs of the modern
working environment.
In this environment, he says
school senior leadership
teams need to be ‘‘responsive
and quite agile’’.
In her 15 years as aschool
principal, Ms Stewart says the
role has changed to having ‘‘a
On the beat ... Rangiora High School student Evie Wilmott chats to Senior Constable Kim Munro, left,
and Sergeant Mel Noonan, both of Rangiora police, about careers on the force during last year’s North
Canterbury Careers Expo.
PHOTO: FILE
lot more focus on developing
responsive curriculums’’.
‘‘A lot of that is about
wellbeing and not just of the
staff, but of the students. We
are constantly reviewing our
structures to make sure
people’s wellbeing is at the
forefront.’’
Given the complexities of
changing expectations and the
changing nature of work, it is
not surprising anxiety can be a
big factor.
‘‘There can be so many
choices, but at the same time
there can be so few choices
and that’s where competencies
are so important, as it’s those
competencies that allow
children to be successful.’’
While technology may be
changing the nature of work
and knowledge is at your
fingertips, Mr Donnelly says
schools have an important role
in teaching people the skills to
‘‘evaluate that knowledge’’.
Young people need adults
‘‘they can trust in’’.
Rock painting for kids
Children 8years and over are invited to
asession on rock painting at Rotherham
on Monday, January 20, 10am to noon,
and Cheviot on Thursday January 23,
1pm to 3pm. It provides awonderful way
to explore creativity in paint, create
great gifts and decorate spaces or your
garden. Take your own rocks —there
will also be design samples. Adults are
welcome too. Cost: $2 per person for
materials. Registrations: Phone (03) 314
3406 or drop an email to
tbhlearningexchange@gmail.com.
Let’s Play! Drama for Teens
Play with movement, voice and group
games, make up stuff or tell your own
stories, and create surprising and funny
scenes together on Tuesday, January 21,
at Cheviot. Facilitator Belinda Meares
will teach InterPlay with players 10
years and over. It is an easy drama
method that supports performance and
life skills. The session runs from 1pm to
3pm. For registrations, drop an email to
tbhlearningexchange@gmail.com or
phone (03) 314 3406
Sugarcrafting flowers
Add adecorative touch to cakes for
special occasions. Gill Hobbs will
demonstrate the process of making
realistic­looking flowers, and discuss
ingredients and materials at Amberley
on Sunday, January 26, from 1.30pm to
3.30pm. Everything will be provided and
you can craft flowers to take home at the
workshop. Cost: 2TimeBank Hurunui
credits or $15, plus $3 for ingredients.
Registrations: (03) 3143406 or email
tbhlearningexchange@gmail.com
Growing seasonal veges
Sarah and William Hughes­Games have
been running avege garden year­round
locally for 20 years, feeding their family
and selling spray­free vegetables and
seedlings from their Waipara Gardens
shop. Avisit to their garden will be held
on Tuesday, February 4, from 10.30am to
noon, to learn about planting crops for
seasonal produce, and share ideas and
tips. Cost: 1.5 TimeBank Hurunui credits
or $12. Registrations: 03 314 3406 or
tbhlearningexchange@gmail.com.
Bee-keeping basics
Lindsay Moir has spent his lifetime with
bees and is abeehive inspector who runs
courses nationally. He will talk on
Monday, February 10, from 7.30pm to
9pm, at the Amberley Library, show a
video, and discuss what’s involved in
setting up and registering hives, ongoing
cost and time demands, keeping bees
healthy and making your garden beefriendly.
Cost: 1.5 TimeBank Hurunui
credits or $12 suggested. Registrations:
Phone (03) 314 3406 or email
tbhlearningexchange@gmail.com.
Seed-saving
Co­founder of the local Seed Sentinels
Group, Richard Watson, will show how
to harvest, process and store seeds and
discuss breeding strategies on Saturday,
February 15, from 2pm to 4.30pm. Cost:
2.5 TimeBank Hurunui credits or $15.
Registrations: Email
tbhlearningexchange@gmail.com or call
(03) 314 3406.
Rangiora Sunday Market
The next Rangiora Sunday Market in the
Blake Street car park will be held this
Sunday, January 19, from 9am to 2pm.
There will be lots of great bargains,
including plants, clothing, household
items and much more. Children are also
in for atreat. They are welcome to
operate Thomas and friends in the
nearby North Canterbury Model
Railway Club’s rooms.
Furious Hours, by
Casey Cep
This is the
stunning story of
an Alabama serial
killer and the
true­crimebook
that HarperLee
worked on
obsessivelyinthe
yearsafter To Kill
aMockingbird.
Now CaseyCep
brings this story to
life,fromthe
shockingmurders
to the courtroom
dramatothe
racial politics of
the DeepSouth.
Brothers in Arms,
by Geraint Jones
Darkly funny,shockinglyhonest, Brothers in
Arms is an unforgettable account of the brutal
reality of war –every boring,scary,exciting
moment –and the bondsoffriendshipthat can
neverbedestroyed.
Birdstories,byGeoff Norman
Afascinating, in­depth account of New
Zealand's birds, Birdstories spans their
discovery, their place in both Pakeha and
Maoriworlds, their survival and conservation,
and the illustrationsand art they have
inspired.
Thesetitles areavailableinboth the
Waimakaririand Hurunui district libraries.
To findout more aboutrecent additions to the
collections in both the libraries, go to the
library catalogue at waimakariri.kotui.org.nz
or hurunui.kotui.org.nz.
Alternatively,contact yourlocallibrary for
information on their library collection.