Bay Harbour: February 17, 2021

Wednesday February 17 2021 Bay Harbour News
NEWS 9
Former Sumner School
principal remembered
Former Sumner
School teacher
Nancy Meherne
writes about Peter
Vesty, a former
principal at the
school, who died
on Christmas Eve
PETER WAS headmaster
at the school for 16 years
from 1976 to 1992.
The teachers, parents
and children attending
the school during these
years will be upset with
death, but will have strong
feelings for his ability in all
respects.
The response from children,
parents and teachers
to his energetic and highly
responsive personality, and
his ability to develop good
humour, meant laughter
was most evident in this
school.
Children loved and respected
him, and if a message
had to be taken to the
office, everyone put their
hands up to volunteer.
I know, I had a list of all
names on the blackboard
and as they were chosen
their name was rubbed out.
One time in weekly
assembly, juniors were
told a very important man
• By Samantha Mythen
FURTHER amenities
will be added to Te Papa
Kura Redcliffs Park as it
transforms into the new
community locale.
The former school site
is to receive a new toilet
block, drinking fountain,
signage and furniture.
More plants and trees will
also be added to the area.
All of this will feature
alongside the two sports
fields – junior and intermediate
– which opened in
December.
Said city council head of
parks Andrew Rutledge:
“The park has been a huge
boost for the area and it’s
been great to see lots of
people making the most of
it as we know it is a really
significant space for the
community.
“We’re getting under way
with plans to make this
asset an even better space
for people to visit.”
Heathcote Ward city
councillor Sara Templeton
said the development of
this park has been a longtime
coming.
from the Royal Family was
coming to walk along the
Esplanade in the weekend.
Who would that be?
So many children’s
hands went up, the children
saying: “Mr Vesty.”
The answer was: “No.”
They all looked puzzled
and disappointed until one
small boy put his hand up,
then down and up again,
saying loudly: “Is it, (pause)
God?”
The answer was: “No. It
is Prince Charles”.
“Oh,” everyone sighed,
and their heads were shaking
with disbelief.
One boy in my classroom
was so impressed by
the head, he always had
an eye on the door ready
to open it and salute Peter,
and close it when he left.
We teachers knew that
we could discuss our ideas
and desires with Peter. He
A lot of the delay with
the park’s development was
because of the extensive archaeological
work that had
to be carried out first.
The park is next to the
Moa Bone point cave,
which is an area of extreme
cultural significance to
local iwi. The cave and surrounding
area are thought
to have been the site of
some of the earliest Māori
settlement in New Zealand
around the 14th-century.
Said Templeton: “Having
the park up and running
now is very exciting. It has
been a community-focused
project.”
trusted us to work hard.
One idea he supported
was a music scheme involving
the whole school
which developed into 230
children playing together
for concerts, and groups
visiting aged people homes
and other schools.
As well as good relationships,
other aspects of the
school received attention
and real improvement
occurred.
The Education Department
planned to pull two
old classrooms down, but
Peter knew we needed a
school hall for all our assemblies,
concerts, breakups,
and fundraising for
school improvement.
At that time we had to
use the village hall.
He succeeded in producing
a good sized hall and
later a big swimming pool.
This resulted in a high
standard of swimming
ability, necessary for safe
swimming in a seashore
zone.
Mr Vesty’s hard work,
energy and determination
to achieve a fully
functional school has never
been forgotten; so highly
appreciated and valued,
which has perpetuated the
high standard of Sumner
School today.
Transformation planned
for Redcliffs Park
UPGRADES: New amenities are on the way at
the former Redcliffs School, which is now Te
Papa Kura Redcliffs Park.
Before the former
Redcliffs School buildings
were demolished, members
of the community were
taken round the area and
asked what they would like
to keep.
The playground was a
key focus and has since
been refurbished and is
extensively used.
The community also
wanted to keep a classroom
which was not badly
damaged.
The Mt Pleasant
Pottery Club has recently
taken up that lease and will
be operating from there
soon.
McMaster & Heap
Veterinary practice
Dental issues in puppies
and kittens
We seem to be seeing or are more aware
of a number of our young patients with
teeth issues at an early age. A thorough
dental check needs an accommodating
patient and a patient vet and is not always
easy! Your initial training of your puppy
and yes your kitten with handing the feet,
looking in the mouth and ears certainly
helps. Positive reinforcement with praise
and play or treats afterwards really helps
this become an experience they look
forward to rather than shy away from.
At our vaccination checks which we do
every 3-4 weeks until your puppy or kitten
is 16 weeks, we will give them a full health
check and examine the mouth to try and
identify any dental issues early so we can
hopefully correct them and not need
major surgery later on.
Some of the things we usually see are
malocclusions where often due to face
shape and size the teeth don’t align in a
normal way. Often these may not cause
any major problems and simple dental
care to help keep the teeth clean will be all
that is needed.
Unfortunately sometimes we have teeth
that erupt in the wrong place or the bone structure
of the mouth does not have enough room for the
teeth to come
up where they
should do.
One situation
is where the
lower canines
hit the roof of
the mouth and
can cause big
painful holes.
Sometimes
we can
correct these
with specific
ball therapy
techniques
but others may
require surgical
extractions
as soon as
possible. Our
goal is to try
and keep your
puppy or kitten
pain free and
to try and sort
Macy at 12 weeks
out issues early
so hopefully
we can save the adult teeth.
Retained teeth are a common problem and it is
often the canines involved. The big issue is that
if we don’t remove these teeth quickly then they
can displace by blocking the normal pathway of
the adult canine teeth. Then we can have long
term problems. This is one of the reasons your
vet may suggest a check up around 6 months
of age so we can recognise this issue early and
prevent permanent problems.
Open 7 days
Cnr Hoon Hay & Coppell place
phone 338 2534, Fax 339 8624
e. mcmasterandheap@yahoo.co.nz
www.mcmasterheap.co.nz
Another condition that happens is that some teeth
don’t erupt or are missing. This seems to affect
dogs more commonly and we notice that there are
missing teeth, often when they are
neutered. This seems to be relatively
common in Boxers, Shih Tzus and
Chihuahuas. If there are teeth under
the gum line we sometimes can do
a simple technique to allow them to
erupt but unfortunately others may
just be too deep. These teeth can
form huge cysts in the bone and if
not detected can end up with a dog
needing it’s lower jaw removed!
These are a couple of x-rays from a
wonderful patient Pepper whose
lower canine teeth hadn’t erupted and
caused these massive cysts.
All in all it is about early detection to
prevent long term problems, your help
with handling training and rewards
can really make a big difference in our
ability to examine your puppy or kitten.
Treats and Cuddles!!!
Dr Terryne Loney
McMaster & Heap