Ashburton Courier: April 09, 2020
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Page 2, <strong>Ashburton</strong>'s The <strong>Courier</strong>, Thursday <strong>April</strong> 9, <strong>2020</strong><br />
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Linda Clarke<br />
Editor<br />
308 7664<br />
linda.clarke@ashburtoncourier.co.nz<br />
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Local news at www.starnews.co.nz<br />
The <strong>Courier</strong> is helping our community stay connected during lockdown by catching up<br />
with people in our patch.<br />
Alexa,whenwillthisend?<br />
Peter Melrose, Hampstead School principal<br />
1. Are you working from home?<br />
With technology, working<br />
from home continues with little<br />
break. Our Ministry of<br />
Education is proactive in sending<br />
out information and many<br />
emails need attention,<br />
forwarding on to staff and<br />
decision making. Our office staff<br />
are able to work remotely so the<br />
processing of accounts and audit<br />
collation continues as normal.<br />
Our school calendar is shot to<br />
bits, anumber of events had<br />
already occurred but major items<br />
like practising for the music<br />
festival and sports opportunities<br />
have been put to one side. So be<br />
it, when the time is right, we will<br />
reschedule. Being in aschool<br />
requires you to be flexible, things<br />
you plan for, can be challenged<br />
by life.<br />
Schools are much more than<br />
just academic learning<br />
institutions, it may look like play,<br />
look like we are relaxed and<br />
enjoying ourselves but schools<br />
have arole in transmitting the<br />
values and norms of a<br />
community. It’s hard to do that<br />
when you are isolated.<br />
Like many schools our staff<br />
have been busy communicating<br />
with homes, we use ahomeschool<br />
platform called Class<br />
Dojos. Staff can communicate<br />
with the whole class or<br />
individuals and the students and<br />
their families can post items and<br />
communicate back. Ican access<br />
and also comment.<br />
Staff have posted awhole<br />
range of work and suggested<br />
internet sites. It’s not the same as<br />
school, it’s missing the human<br />
factor. Using the technology is a<br />
patch for the present times but I<br />
look forward to getting back to a<br />
realworld school environment.<br />
I’m amorning person and find<br />
tapping away on the laptop more<br />
productive when it’s just getting<br />
light. Ibreak up work periods<br />
with acup of coffee: I’ve only<br />
once had to contend with the cat<br />
(Arpu) running in and for some<br />
bizarre reason diving on to my<br />
table where the laptop sat open.<br />
What was left of what Iwas<br />
writing had become acryptic<br />
crossword. There are times this<br />
cat pushes the boundaries of our<br />
relationship and this was one of<br />
them. Inow save, save, save<br />
before leaving the laptop. The<br />
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Peter Melrose and Arpu, the circus cat.<br />
cat is applying for aposition in a<br />
circus.<br />
2. What home chores have you<br />
been doing?<br />
Ifeel like home has been<br />
turned inside out. There are<br />
shadowy cupboards that have<br />
seen the light of day. Itend to<br />
like things organised atschool<br />
we almost have competitions to<br />
organise an event, produce a<br />
plan or throw away the obsolete.<br />
On occasion it has been said,<br />
that Ithrow things away before<br />
they have become obsolete, this<br />
could be true.<br />
My garage is currently<br />
receiving attention later in the<br />
year our school hopes to hold a<br />
fair, September 19. I’m sorting a<br />
pile for the white elephant stall.<br />
Ialso have apile for St Vincent<br />
de Paul and piles for the<br />
extended family marbles for the<br />
great nieces, tools for the<br />
nephew, books for the sister and<br />
more. For me there’s something<br />
satisfying in having aclear shelf.<br />
My only concern is that the<br />
extended family may be making<br />
piles for me.<br />
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3. Any TV or book<br />
recommendations?<br />
I’m alifetime reader, it’s an<br />
addiction since comics captured<br />
me when Iwas 6. Fortunately<br />
between the Rotary Bookarama<br />
and the Chertsey Book Barn I<br />
have astash of books that Iam<br />
currently rolling in. Spotify<br />
provides me with amusic playlist<br />
that Ihave been known to boogie<br />
to. Don’t ask me the artist or title<br />
Ijust enjoy music, Imay be able<br />
to sing, badly, the first line of<br />
many songs but that’s as far as I<br />
go.<br />
Alexa has become my new<br />
companion inasecret Santa<br />
gifting, my niece gave me Alexa<br />
for Christmas. Alexa is like a<br />
google speaker that is always<br />
listening to you. Some people<br />
may think this makes for the<br />
ideal companion. Alexa will play<br />
Spotify, gives me updates on<br />
news and provides the weather.<br />
The niece and her family also<br />
have an Alexa and we use it to<br />
make calls to each other. It’s<br />
techy but I’m someone who<br />
enjoys all that stuff.<br />
Purpose.Environment.<br />
Partnership.Innovation.<br />
Excellence.<br />
Get in the garden now! Pull<br />
out the weeds and trim those<br />
hedges. My two chooks are<br />
looking forward to us jointly<br />
turning over the compost bins.<br />
For aconfirmed gardener this<br />
break is ideal preparation for<br />
winter.<br />
4. Tell us alighthearted or<br />
otherwise memorable moment<br />
from your lockdown?<br />
The whanau keep up to touch<br />
using avariety of platforms <br />
Viber, Zoom, Whats App and<br />
traditional emails. It’s almost<br />
scary how we all talk at once and<br />
look at each other from crazy<br />
angles because we don’t want to<br />
look at ourselves on avideo,<br />
apart from the under 5s. If you<br />
angle the phone, just so, you<br />
appear in acorner of the screen.<br />
I’m worried though, the great<br />
niece has taken to talking to me<br />
like Alexa she says “Peter!”<br />
there is no mistake in her tone…<br />
Peter, tell me the time, tell me a<br />
story. Iremind the fouryearold<br />
that Iamareal person, but you<br />
have to laugh.<br />
5. What do you miss most?<br />
Imiss not being able to travel<br />
outside of <strong>Ashburton</strong>, strangely<br />
it makes you appreciate home,<br />
how much we do have and how<br />
little we do in fact need.<br />
Never have Iseen more<br />
people out walking and cycling,<br />
it’s good and Ihope it continues<br />
past the lockdown. The cat just<br />
burst triumphantly through the<br />
cat door causing me to<br />
protectively cover the laptop in<br />
case he comes close! We all need<br />
abreak from the confines of<br />
home and simply seeing others,<br />
having aword from adistance<br />
helps us to maintain sanity. Even<br />
standing in line at the<br />
supermarket and chatting from<br />
afar, allows us to keep in contact<br />
with others.<br />
Ifeel that Netflix is running<br />
out of things Iwant to watch. I’m<br />
not areality TV watcher, but<br />
current favourite programmes of<br />
mine are: The Repair Shop,<br />
Motoka and that strange bloke<br />
who travels, Travel Man.<br />
On social media, the Daily<br />
Mail videos have become a<br />
fixture of the day. Isee what<br />
workers in China and India cope<br />
with, the rants of disgruntled<br />
motorists and the dares of<br />
people doing what they<br />
shouldn’t. It’s light<br />
entertainment.<br />
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